Comics
Review: ‘The Wake’ #2
An epic tale in the making, “The Wake” #2 is a satisfying blending of fear and drama. Within each page, this sci-fi thriller delivers a genuine sense of terror, while finding ways to keep the reader’s attention sustained in suspense and intrigue. I can’t wait to see how this underwater mystery unfolds.
WRITTEN BY: Scott Snyder
ART BY: Sean Murphy
PUBLISHER: Vertigo Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: June 26th, 2013
Lee Archer, a marine biologist, has been asked for help by the Department of Homeland Security on a shadowy project. With her son away from her side, Lee will travel to the murky bottom of the ocean. Lee and her underwater team will discover an ancient evil that has been hidden in the depths of the Arctic Circle. Is Lee’s discovery the scientific breakthrough, the miracle she has been waiting for? Or, has she just unleashed an unstoppable killing machine and brought about the end of mankind?
What I really liked about the narrative is how Scott Snyder plays around with nonlinear storytelling. Breaking the story down into chapters, Snyder jumps around between the past and present, providing glimpses of “The Raindrop.” To make his point, Snyder uses themes from classic literature, specifically from “The Odyssey” and “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” The mystery is about what lies beneath in the water and the secrets that are buried there. Has Lee and scientific team found something that deserves to remain hidden and kept far away from modern society?
What really keeps the suspenseful pace going is the protagonist, Lee Archer. Snyder presents Lee as a scientist and a maternal figure, with both sides clashing at times. As a scientist, she has discovered something that will make history. But, Lee has something to lose in the process, her own son. Notice when Lee is surrounded by members of her team, she makes her decisions based on being a parent.
Sean Murphy is able to evoke a claustrophobic vide with his gritty illustrations. Through close-ups and medium shots, Murphy builds a suspenseful pace with his eerie atmosphere. By taking a minimalist approach to backgrounds, Murphy focuses more on the tension from the facial expressions. Though the creature is contained, Lee and her team are always in a state of panic. Are Lee and her team really the ones studying the monster? Or is the monster actually watching them?
Murphy creates an interesting character design for Lee. Because she is not a fighter, Lee looks more like a librarian because of her neatly combed hairstyle. Because of her slim figure, Lee might have been studying her research through books, rather than being out in the field. To show her thought process working, Murphy keeps Lee by herself, staring off into an object, like a computer.
Suspenseful, mysterious, and creepy are the perfect words to describe the “The Wake”. A ambitious team-up, Murphy and Snyder are at the top of their game with “The Wake” series. Fans of John Carpenter’s “The Thing” or any Lovecraftian tales will definitely get a kick out of this title.
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Jorge Solis
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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