Comics
Review: ‘Mars Attacks’ #4
I can’t say was a big fan of Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks movie when I saw it so many years ago. Nor was I even alive when the trading card were going around. Suffice it to say, I held reserves about the new “Mars Attacks” series from IDW, but what I found is a dashingly fun, furious ride packed with stellar artwork from John McCrea. John Laymon does an excellent job developing the wild Martian universe through the use of flash backs and a strong narrative arc, while John McCrea’s art brings it all to life.
WRITTEN BY: John Laymon
ART BY: John McCrea
PUBLISHER: IDW
PRICE: 3.99
RELEASE: September 26th, 2012
The story follows the Martian warlord, Zar, who is organizing a mass invasion of Earth from his flagship. The issue shows his family history, who at one point have come and made contact with Earth. These past visits always resulted in death and war which is why Zar has assembled a massive invasion team to wipe the planet clean. Layman brilliantly places two human men on the ship who come from different time periods. one is a South American aboriginal and the other is from colonial America, this is a cool take on the alien abduction paranoia inherent to our culture. The story is perpetuated by the use of quirky flashbacks, which reveal essential background details of the invasion and the humans involved in the story.
As Layman and McCrea bring the reader through the historical context of the invasion, it culminates with a skirmish and leads into what will be a massive conflict on Earth. John Laymon’s story is much deeper than I would have thought possible, giving testament to his skills as a writer.
Despite how good Layman’s script is, John McCrea steals the show. He brings incredible depictions of the alien life forms, and all the death and destruction that comes with them. This book is laced with bloodshed from spear wounds to the Martian ray guns. One of McCrea’s panels is a clinic in over-the-top gore, where a Martian unloads a ray beam into a human leaving the head and legs intact while nothing but his skeleton remains of his torso. Stylish, hilarious, and bloody.
From the first issue, the writing and illustrations have been top notch, with no shortage of comical violence.
3.5/5
Reviewed by –GreenBasterd
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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