Comics
Review: ‘Miniature Jesus’ #2
Ted McKeever is back with another boldly themed and rakishly illustrated installment of Miniature Jesus, courtesy of Shadowline Comics. Dominating his roles as writer, illustrator, and letterer, McKeever writes a bizarre tale of fantastic religious weirdness all while maintaining a palpable level of intimacy. “Miniature Jesus” #2 doesn’t let down, and it’s definitely an issue worth checking out.
WRITTEN BY: Ted McKeever
ART BY: Ted McKeever
PUBLISHER: Shadowline/Image Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: April 22nd, 2013
Following where Part One left off, Part Two begins with our protagonist, Chomsky, walking by the same run-down church where the series’ namesake was resurrected from the cross he’d been nailed to. As the recovering alcoholic mulls over thoughts of disillusionment, and deals with the physical embodiment of his demonic conscience, he stops in detached wonder as McKeever pays homage to Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” in full page glory.
With a depiction of God’s massive hand emerging from the Heavens, index finger extended to crash through the church’s roof, McKeever draws upon the traditional Biblical creation narrative from the Book of Genesis, in which God breathes life into Adam. Only this outstretched hand seems to be awfully destructive, as it wreaks havoc upon the church.
From here, readers are introduced to new and strange characters who, along with the pastor, begin placing blame on Chomsky for the events that transpired at the destroyed church. What follows is a turn for the grotesque and creepy before the issue ends in the same fashion as Part One — with a focus on miniature Jesus’ resurrection.
McKeever’s artwork remains consistent, in that he continues to draw with an instinctually raw style, forgoing a colour palette, and merely relying on his powerfully heavy, but clean black line and shading work to bring his illustrations to life. His ability to take readers on a journey from panels of divine artistry, to pages of disturbing imagery, only goes to show the depths of his talents as he effectively portrays the inner workings of Chomsky’s tormented mind. While McKeever’s style unfortunately serves the hit-or-miss market, his work honestly suits the overall tone and themes of the series well, and should definitely be checked out.
4/5 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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