Comics
Review: ‘Amala’s Blade’ #2
Following a successful first installment, Steve Horton and Michael Dialynas turn in another gem for Dark Horse Comics, with Amala’s Blade #2. Focusing on the remarkable world-building of Naamaron in both script and art, this issue shows Amala’s supremacy as a master assassin. Through a gripping depiction of fantastically illustrated violence, the second installment surpasses the level of quality produced in issue #1, and promises more greatness in the issues to follow.
WRITTEN BY: Steve Horton
ART BY: Michael Dialynas
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: May 29th, 2013
Picking up right where issue #1 left off, Part 2 pulls no punches as readers are thrust into a brief flashback teasing Amala’s origins. The issue then jumps to the present narrative which follows the assassin on her suicide mission to kill a Purifier noblewoman named Lady Strawbale. Unfortunately, the bounty on her head is making the journey an arduous one. Amala is able to enlist possessive help from her spirit companions, leaving a pile of ravaged and dismembered corpses in her wake—and making for an awesome carnage-heavy panel-piece by Dialynas.
Horton moves the story along by expanding on the Naamaron universe he’s building, and giving his readers a more in-depth look at the Purifier vs. Modifier culture. As it’s already been established from last month’s issue, Naamaron is a land divided by twenty years of civil war between the two warring factions. The low-tech Purifiers, powered by steam, are on the West, while the high-tech Modifiers, worshippers of technology, are to the East. Traditional steampunk and Biopunk aspects are extensively featured throughout most of the issue, and are brought to life by Dialynas’ colours and creative renderings of Horton’s world.
By the end of the issue, readers become closely acquainted with two clashing capital cities on either side of the divide. We also meet the respective spiritual leaders of both: Lady Strawbale of Ouon and the Prince of the Modifier capital, Avatouon. While the status of their relationship is being revealed, Dialynas expertly illustrates Amala’s sneak attack and infiltration of the Purifier Palace. The precision in how she successfully scales the palace walls and takes out the palace guards is perfectly executed by Dialynas’ knack for authentically capturing the fluidity of her movements.
The last few pages are probably the most intense in terms of dramatically paced action scenes, narrative progression, and reader speculation regarding Lady Strawbale’s true identity. With only two more issues left, it’s hard to see where Horton is going to take the series, especially considering the fact that Amala’s target is the answer to bringing peace to Naamaron. So much seems to be going on, and there are still many questions that remain unanswered, but if the first two installments are any indication, the last two will surely deliver. Here’s hoping both Horton and Dialynas have more in store for Amala beyond this Dark Horse mini.
4.5/5 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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