Comics
Review: ‘Sheltered’ #1
An intense and gripping first issue, “Sheltered” #1 will leave readers shocked with its chilling last page. Survival at any cost takes on a whole new meaning in this apocalyptic tale that explores the war between adults and their offspring.
WRITTEN BY: Ed Brisson
ARTY BY: Johnnie Christmas
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: July 10, 2013
Victoria has just arrived with her father to Safe Haven, a gated community away from the rest of the world. Safe Haven belongs to the “Preppers,” survivalists who are ready for the end of the world. The adults are well-stocked in food, ammo, and guns, while the teens are gearing up for their own apocalypse. As the danger mounts, the adults and teens don’t see eye-to-eye on how they are supposed to protect themselves. Who will Victoria choose to side with when the apocalypse does happen?
Writer Ed Brisson creates a believable and claustrophobic environment where paranoia has been heightened to the max. It’s the rebelliousness of youth versus the cynicism of adulthood; where both sides think they’re right. What I really liked is how Brisson doesn’t say why these Preppers locked themselves in Safe Haven. Are they running away from zombies, terrorism, or the government? We don’t really understand how they got there; we just know they created an illusion where the rest of the world is already gone.
Brisson presents Victoria as an outsider who doesn’t belong with the community. This is Victoria’s coming-of-age tale at the end of the world. She doesn’t really care what the media is telling her. She wants to make decisions on her own, even if it means being cast out. Her father just wants her to play nice with the other children. But, how can he raise her in a neighborhood where everyone has a loaded gun in their home?
Artist Johnnie Christmas creates a small world drenched in snow and an atmosphere clothed in isolation. With the rest of the world gone, there is only snow and mountains in the background. As paranoia sinks in, Christmas focuses on the close-ups of the teenagers. The teens look like they’re in pain, as if they are getting sick from hearing how the world is going to end. Because of her rebellious attitude, Victoria likes to get right into people’s faces.
When nighttime comes, notice how Christmas drapes the gated community in shadows. Because Safe Haven is away from the cities, there is little electricity in the woods. In the illustrations, the light source comes from the stars and moonlight. Christmas follows the narrative structure and paints his panels from morning to nightfall.
“Sheltered” #1 leaves readers with a surprising twist at the last page. I can’t wait to see what happens in the second issue.
4/5 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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.