Comics
Interview: Jeff Parker Talks ‘Willow – Wonderland’
Dark Horse Comics continues to deliver more Buffy goodness with a new Willow mini-series that’s sure to please Willow and Whedon fans alike. Written by Jeff Parker (“Thunderbolts” and “Agents of Atlas”), the story of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow – Wonderland, takes our favourite witch on a quest to restore magic to the Buffyverse after the destruction of the Seed at the end of “Season Eight”, and following the events unfolding in Christos Gage’s “Angel & Faith.”
The anticipation surrounding “Willow – Wonderland” has been building for weeks, and the series is finally hitting shelves November 7th. Even though Parker is incredibly busy with the launch of “Red She-Hulk”, his new series for Marvel Now, he’s taken the time to chat with BD about Willow’s trying adventures in a magic-less world, his experience collaborating with penciller Brian Ching (“Skaar: King of the Savage Land”), and his incorporation of some familiar faces that will be figuring into the five-part mini-series.
BD: The idea of working with established and pre-existing characters is not that uncommon in the comic book industry. Did you feel secure enough, given your experience in the industry, to step into the Buffy universe with Willow – Wonderland, or did you have reservations?
Parker: I felt pretty good about it- I watched the show for years and felt like I got the character. I’ve written a few hundred licensed comics, it’s not something I’m going to be insecure about. I like writing women leads, too.
BD: Realm-hopping is nearly impossible now thanks to the destruction of the Seed, but somehow Willow finds a loophole. What can you tell us about her journey in Wonderland? What kinds of challenges will she face?
Parker: Willow runs into many dark and ugly things that exist in undercurrents of the ‘normal’ world, things you might intuit but have a physical presence here. And the landscape itself is a character.
BD: I’m under the impression that Whedon doesn’t deal directly with the writers on the comics he produces. Were there discussions detailing where he wanted the mini-series to go, or were you given full creative control over the main storyline?
Parker: The editors have an overall shape to the Buffyverse development taking into account what’s going on with Buffy, Angel, and so on. So they described that for me and I came back with specifics about Willow’s part of the greater story. Not all of my stuff got through, but most of my favorite bits did.
BD: You are working on this series with Brian Ching. How has the collaboration been?
Parker: He’s brilliant and easy to work with. He has a big imagination, so this is a natural fit for him. His very organic drawing really fits the land Willow adventures through. And, he’s great at monsters which you’d imagine came in very handy.
BD: David Mack’s cover art is mesmerising and oozes spirituality. Joss doesn’t tend to do much with the transcendent aspect of spirituality himself. Do you dabble in the former in terms of an overall theme for the series?
Parker: Sort of- I tried to get into some expanded consciousness on Willow’s part, learning some universal truths from her experience. Mack’s paintings hit that tone quite well!
BD: There’s so much to explore with Willow as a witch in a magic-less world. How far will she go to restore magic, and will we have to worry about the re-emergence of Dark Willow?
Parker: You DO have to worry about that, and she certainly does. We examine Dark Willow from some other angles and get a new perspective on her.
BD: You’ve mentioned that some familiar faces will be making brief appearances, and revealed that the “snake-demon-woman Aluwyn” will be figuring into the series. What kind of relationship can we expect between her and Willow?
Parker: A very indulgent relationship. In fact, Willow may forget exactly what she journeyed out here for when she finds Aluwyn and the Supercoven.
BD: Do you have any upcoming projects or appearances we should be on the lookout for?
Parker: I hope you’ll check out the other woman with a book I’m writing, Red She-Hulk. It’s very much a power fantasy with an espionage backdrop- big escapism.
Interview by – ShadowJayd
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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