Comics
Review: ‘Doomsday.1’ #1
Doomsday.1 tells the post-apocalyptic tale of seven venturesome astronauts in the International Space Station who are forced to watch as a massive solar flare annihilates most of the Earth. Inspired by Joe Gill’s “Doomsday + 1” which was released nearly four decades ago, this four issue miniseries is brought to life by IDW Publishing and original series illustrator, John Byrne; but without the fantasy elements of the original series. Taking the reigns as both writer and artist this time around, Byrne delivers an honorable, though inordinately exhaustive, opener to the series.
WRITTEN BY: John Byrne
ART BY: John Byrne
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: May 19th, 2013
As far as monotonous scenarios go, “The End of the World as We Know It” trope is very commonplace in fiction, but there is a copious amount of ways in which apocalypses can actually manifest. Moreover, the magnitude of these apocalypses can be measured on two sliding scales of scope and severity. The former deals with the size of the destroyed “world”, and the latter determines to what extent the world actually “ends”.
In John Byrnes “Doomsday.1” #1, the narrative begins high up in the International Space Station as astrophysicist Dr. Hikari Akiyama discovers that a massive solar flare is heading straight toward the blue planet. Minutes before the flare’s impact centres on the Indian Ocean, the ISS crew launch their shuttle away from the station and orbit the Earth until the firestorms, which are completely engulfing it, burn out. They finally land “home” where the scope of the destruction is on a planetary level, in that the vast majority of planet Earth is destroyed. The severity of such a catastrophe results in species extinction and physical annihilation. Most species are almost completely wiped out, save for a low population of people.
This installment weighs in at 32 pages, and offers an extensive amount of explanatory and descriptive dialogue that lays the foundation for the overall narrative and introduces a huge cast of characters. This level of comprehensiveness in a single issue seems overwhelming considering the common decompressed style of storytelling in comics, but it does make for a complete reading experience, regardless of the fact that at times it feels like the characters are just being made to spit out information for the readers. But, Byrne writes a secure and established story with four interesting side-plots that steal the issue, and will surely weave their way into the main storyline.
These side-stories take the readers to Washington where the President breaks the news to the American public. We go from the Vatican where the pontiff and his men are fleeing, to Southeast Texas where a violent prison riot seems to be in its early stages, and finally to a submarine crew attempting to wait out Armageddon at the bottom of the ocean somewhere near New Orleans.
The artwork by Byrne is reminiscent of old-school comics of the 70’s, and while his style is not something that seems to go hand-in-hand with this particular subject matter, his impressive attention to detail makes up for it. His work is so thoroughly detailed when it comes to the background that the foreground sometimes plays second fiddle to what’s behind it. His knack for nailing facial expressions and perfectly executing body language to convey certain emotions effectively is commendable. And his recreation of the Vatican is stunning; even more so thanks to the colours by Leonard O’Grady. Overall, O’Grady seems to have chosen a light colour palette which doesn’t necessarily go with the feel of the series. If he follows suit with the colouring job he did on Byrnes regular cover for issue #1, it would have been a huge improvement.
All in all, “Doomsday.1” #1 doesn’t offer much in terms of innovating the End of the World trope, but it has the potential to take readers on a dramatically engaging adventure with all the stories it’s weaving. Cliché as they may be, the characters are surprisingly, and refreshingly, diverse. Readers will be looking forward to discovering more about them, as well as what remains on post-apocalyptic planet Earth.
3.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed 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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