Comics
Review: ‘The New Ghostbusters’ #4
How many Ghostbusters does it take to bust some major ghosts? Normally, the answer is four. How many is too many? We find out in this finale to the first arc in The New Ghostbusters #4. Not surprisingly, this cartoon in comic form would benefit from being an actual cartoon series.
WRITTEN BY: Erik Burnham
ART BY: Dan Schoening
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: May 22nd, 2013
The story mashes up the original Ghostbusters with the new squad as they try to track down their tormentors from the past few issues. The bickering is cute and even the word “horked” comes out which I’ve never seen before. The fights with the supernatural spirits are pretty by-the-book which did not help the dramatic tension of this story.
The art by Dan Schoening is clearly influenced by animation. Each character has its own unique look which helps keep readers straight on who is who. I like that each character does seem to have their own voice and gear, like Janine. Her wrist-mounted blasters, although very super-villain-like, is a good attempt at mixing up the look of a Ghostbuster. It reminds me of the slime-shooters from Ghostbusters 2. As ridiculous as it is, these guys are supposed to be scientists. Scientists invent things so their gear should be evolving from the 1980s classics at some point.
The back-up story is fun as always. It shows some of the ghosts and demons from the animated series from the 1980s-90s and their plotting while contained. It’s a nice device for sub-plots to boil while not taking away from the current storyline. Erik Burnham can write and draw a nice little slice of a story here. Overall, I still feel these creators would better serve Ghostbusters if they animated this comic. Reading a cartoon isn’t as satisfying as watching one so I’m a little underwhelmed by this series. Unless they change up the look entirely, I’ll just be reminded that this was a good show but a marginal comic.
2.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Your Friendly Neighborhood Brady
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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