Comics
Review: Hack/Slash #29
As I walked the aisles of my local shop this week, my eyes gleefully bouncing from cover to cover of all the new issues, I realized something: that just 1 of the titles on my pull and holds came out this week. Worse yet, no matter how hard I looked at each and every title, I couldn’t find anything of interest for you loyal readers. I was at a loss. I was down right downtrodden. But thankfully though that 1 title so happened to be Hack/Slash #29, and like an IV pumping coffee straight into the veins of Dave Attel, I was rejuvenated. Read on for the review.
“Hack/Slash” #29 marks the kickoff of the “Super Sidekick Sleepover Slaughter” story arc, aka the countdown to the arrival of new series artist Daniel Leister (“Wonderland”) in issue #30. This month Seeley ups the anti pretty hard, which is tough to do given the track record of the series. The story starts out with a nerdy high-schooler named Ronnie, the a-typical walked on comic book geek, calling in to Late Knight rambling on about real life super-heroes. The story progresses from here, introducing us to the first 2 generations of Nightmare & Sleepy, a supposedly real super duo back in the day.
If this all sounds a little like “Watchmen”, then you’re not the alone. In fact the entire rant that Ronnie goes off into is pretty much torn straight from the lore of an Alan Moore novel. And though it is an unoriginal, borrowed idea, it still poses an interesting dilema when both generations of the hero Nightmare wind up dead at the hands of The Jack O’Lantern. A serial killer ripped straight from the comics within a serial killer comic you say? A serial killer ripped straight from the comics within a serial killer comic is right.
Issue #29 is as good as ever, not missing a beat from the glory of the previous months issue. Seeley seemed to have hit his stride some time ago, and he doesn’t look to be slowing down. Each page is leaves you wanting the next, never seeming to give you enough before you’re scouring the internet looking for the preview for next months issue. If ever there were a writer perfect for his role in a series it is Seeley. To imagine ‘Hack/Slash’ without his penmanship attached is nearly unfathomable at this point.
The artwork this month is still quite impressive as we wave farewell to the myriad of artists that have been lending their lead to the series the past few issues in preparation for Leister. Chris Burnham, Ross Campbell, and Jason Millet all bring their own touches to the issue this month, giving Ronnie’s old-school comic books a vintage feel that almost feels genuinely authentic.
That being said ‘Hack/Slash’ continues to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the pack as far as slasher comics go. Next month threatens to be a huge step for the series as it fully brings together its new creative team for the first time, but for a series that has done so much right it is hard to imagine them doing any wrong.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Skulls
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
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