Comics
Review: ‘Colder’ #1
As a supernatural thriller, Colder #1 is packed with creatively smart threads and a menacing antagonist to boot. After the intense opening pages, the story deliberately slows down its pace and focuses on its characterizations. This is a twisted story about a well-adjusted young man who suddenly realizes he might be insane. How do you trust someone who isn’t sure if he is crazy or not?
WRITTEN BY: Paul Tobin
ART BY: Juan Ferreyra
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: November 7th, 2012
Many years ago, the inhabitants of an insane asylum were trapped inside a blazing fire. A mental patient, Declan Thomas, became the sole survivor of the deadly inferno, but everyone involved suspects he may have caused the fire. Ever since that horrible night of screams, Declan’s body has been mysteriously changing. Though he never gets sick or feels pain, Declan’s body temperature is slowly dropping. Time is running out for Declan as his temperature steadily reaches towards zero.
What’s interesting is how Paul Tobin starts off the story as a psychological thriller, then follows it up as a character drama. In the opening pages, Declan suddenly sees an evil entity coming out of a hole in the wall, as if traveling from one dimension to the next. Could all this be happening inside Declan’s mind? Or, is he really seeing something no other sane person can? With the premise established, the narrative then switches over to a character drama about Declan’s nurse. This is a deliberate change of pace as Tobin takes time establishing Declan’s nurse, who is quite likeable and well-grounded, completely opposite of her patient. Tobin gives readers a chance to fully understand how she fits into Declan’s regular life and what her relationship is to him.
What stands out the most is Jack Nimble Jack, who makes for a worthy antagonist. Jack Nimble can either be seen as a devilish prankster or a sadistic killer. Could Declan have a split personality and Jack Nimble be his alternate persona? During his introduction, Jack crawls out of his hole like a spider. After years have passed, Jack’s movements are more human-based as he stands on his own two feet and wears a business suit. Jack’s first murder echoes one of the kill scenes from the original Nightmare On Elm Street In his artwork, Juan Ferreyra illustrates a creepy facial reaction from Jack whenever he flashes a smile. Like a circus performer, Jack contorts his body into exaggerated positions as if he’s presenting a show before his murders.
The opening pages start out with a bang. When the mental institution is being burnt down, Ferreyra depicts the chaos as the nurses are running around and screaming for their lives. In the midst of the destruction, some of the mental patients are actually enjoying the fire. In the second half of the story, Tobin has to go through a lot of exposition. Through medium and wide shots, Ferreyra keeps the panels engaging as the police officer and Declan’s nurse are having a regular conversation. Always active, these characters are constantly moving around in a single location. It is quite impressive how Ferreyra can make these day-to-day situations look interesting, even though there is no scare or action taking place.
“Colder” #1 is an effective supernatural/psychological thriller with a few great scares. More importantly, it brings up many questions about the state of mind of the narrator, who always seems unhinged. After a satisfying beginning, I’m looking forward to getting some answers.
Rating: 3.5/5 skulls
Reviewed by Jorge Solis
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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