Comics
Review: ‘Saga’ #5
Saga steamrolls back onto into the scene this week with a heart wrenching issue that’ll have you feeling some serious empathy. As always BKV and Fiona Staples use their skills to create an amazing comic, the amount of talent it takes to pull this book off is beyond measure. After every issue, I let myself believe that there is no way the book can be topped, until I pick up the following issue…This month is no different.
WRITTEN BY: Brian K. Vaughan
ART BY: Fiona Staples
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
RELEASE DATE: March 20th
PRICE: 2.99
“Saga” chapter 11 is an emotional rollercoaster; kicking off the issue with the climax of Hazel’s conception and light humor makes us forget just where the last issue left off. The steamy and humorous opening cuts into the drama filled crazy situation both the protagonists and antagonists were left in: giant space baby trying to kill everyone. The book has an incredibly fast pace as events begin to unfold and both ships need to GFTO as quickly as possible. Here is when the emotions really start to take over as excitement, relief, and despair wash over the reader, in no particular order. This book is lethal.
BKV shows off his writing skills in more way than one in this issue, with both the organisation of the story and the dialogue itself being the prominent factors. Using the flash back and narrative methods are key to “Saga” as a whole and this particularly rings true in this issue, both at the beginning and towards the end the flash back helps the reader gain more insight on the character’s lives. Hazel’s narration acts as a catalyst throughout the story as her witty thoughts create a relief in tension right before an occurrence that would leave anyone stressed. The dialogue of this book is top notch, when I read “Saga” I don’t feel like I’m reading a story from a different time and place, I feel as though all the characters interact in a realistic modern way the only difference being they’re shooting around space and are most definitely not human.
Another element that “Saga” brings to the table is the incredible skills of Fiona Staples. She makes every illustration look as though it was painted on a canvas. Very soft minimalist lines give these fantastic images a human look while the colours give that extra depth and realism. To say Fiona is talented is like saying the sun is hot, she could quite possibly be one of the best artists in the game.
Another home run is put into the books for “Saga”, I’ll just quietly lock myself into my room and cry softly till next month’s issue.
5/5 Skulls
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.