Comics
Review: ’47 Ronin’ #1
A grand and articulate undertaking, 47 Ronin #1 tells a sweeping tale of honor and revenge with the utmost confidence. Full of epic and stunning visuals, this is a promising start of truly bold ambition. The exotic images of Japan will stay in your mind long after you’ve finished reading. With so much attention to history, readers will feel like they are reliving the past.
WRITTEN BY: Mike Richardson
ART BY: Stan Sakai
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: November 7th, 2012
Referred to as Japan’s national legend, the tale of the 47 Ronin has been translated into plays, books, and movies. As the most celebrated tale in Japanese history, this centers on a group of samurai who band together against a tyrannical official. The loyal 47 Ronin constructed a carefully planned scheme, a year in the making, to seek revenge for their fallen master. They stick together even when the opposition was great in numbers, and death was the only possible outcome.
To keep the narrative engaging and at a steady pace, writer Mike Richardson plays with storytelling techniques. In the opening pages, Richardson doesn’t use any dialogue as his protagonist, Murakami, performs his daily routine of meditation. In a story within a story, Murakami narrates the tale of the 47 Ronin, centering on a samurai named Asano. In the upcoming issues, the difficult challenge Richardson has to face is providing a large amount of characters with their own distinct personalities and voices. But with the eloquent dialogue, readers can easily tell Richardson is up for the task in providing his characterizations with real emotion. Even though Asano’s daughter shares just one scene with him, the focus is on the heartfelt message of a father saying his last good-bye.
By recounting the tale from mythology and accurate testimonials, Richardson uses themes, such as survivor’s guilt and corruption, that are still contemporary concerns. Richardson portrays Asano, as a soldier who has no war to fight. Asano feels out of place because he has no function in society without the samurai’s code. Richardson could have easily made Kira an over-the-top caricature, but instead chose to depict a realistic and grounded antagonist. As a high authority figure, Kira enjoys the fact he can manipulate and bully others into doing what he wants.
Just by looking at each illustrated page, Stan Sakai’s achievement in recreating a past history of Japan cannot be denied. In each panel, there is such meticulous detail in the backgrounds, hairstyles, and wardrobe. Because of the beautifully designed graveyards, forests, and interior rooms, you’re brought right into the atmosphere. Sakai has clearly put loads of research into creating a specific environment. The use of samurai action comes out more as shock value. Sakai illustrates Asano, who seems to be in complete control, even when he is taunted by Kira. But when he reaches his breaking point, Asano slashes his sword and draws first blood. Sakai uses wide shots to create a suspenseful vibe when Asano is surrounded by an army of swordsmen. This is almost like looking at a Mexican standoff, but without the use of guns.
Off to a promising start, “47 Ronin” #1 provides flashes of the trouble and vengeance to come. With so much dedication to research, readers will feel like a forgotten time period has been brought back to life. With Sakai and Richardson giving equally solid work on this project, “47 Ronin” is on its way to becoming an elegant hit.
Rating: 4/5 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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