Comics
5 Skull Review: ‘Ballistic’ #1
Adam Egypt Mortimer and Darick Robertson’s “Ballistic” truly needs to be seen to be believed. A hapless hero and his talking gun sidekick amidst the backdrop of a bioengineered future makes for one of the best and most original comic book series in years.
“Ballistic” is one of the best premiere issues I’ve ever read. A true homerun on every level that is impossible to put down. Don’t miss this book.
WRITTEN BY: Adam Egypt Mortimer
ART BY: Darick Robertson
PUBLISHER: Black Mask Studios
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: July 10th, 2013
“Ballistic” is an incredibly original and deep look into the criminal underworld of the future. In this future all technology is biomimetic, bioengineered and literally alive. Vivid creatures offering a unique blend of biological and technological qualities populate the world.
We follow Butch an air conditioning repairman who lives in Repo City State. Air conditioners are complicated machines here. Butch is introduced and quickly removes an optical nerve switcher from a dysfunctional unit. He’s good at what he does, but he longs for more. He wants to be a criminal. A bank robber specifically, like John Dillinger.
Butch is accompanied by Bang Bang, his talking gun sidekick. Mortimer uses amazing dialogue to establish playful animosity between the two heroes. Bang Bang is always busting Butch’s balls, and what results are some truly fantastic exchanges between the most unlikely paring: an action hero, and his weapon of choice.
Mortimer’s script is rock solid. Repo City State is fully realized and exposition flows seamlessly on every page. The world is dense and full of new terms, creatures, and rules. Mortimer manages to communicate these things in a clear and interesting way, while not slowing down the pace of the book. Through all of this Repo City State manages to become the most interesting character on the page.
The entire thing feels very Cronenberg-esque, and is truly own of the most original takes on the future put to print. The tone is serious and funny at the same time. The stylistic use of narration allows for some levity in otherwise very dark moments.
Darick Robertson’s art is nothing short of incredible. The depth to which he evokes this world is almost staggering. Page five is a splash panel that truly flexes the art muscle and still tells us a lot about the world we are in. Robertson’s depiction of these biotechnological creations is so unique and beautiful. Everything has the disgusting feeling that it is real and breathing.
Then you have moments like page seven that defy conventional paneling and display information in such a dynamic way that the book captivates you. The detail in Robertson’s work is so incredible that you’ll find yourself wasting a lot of time studying the intricacies of a table leg in a dialogue driven panel.
Butch’s journey is engaging and entertaining. The world is unlike anything else, and the art is nothing short of amazing. The tone is haunting and charming, and the book is irresistible.
Every meticulous detail of this world has been thought out. Mortimer and Robertson have gone to great lengths to create something unavailable anywhere else. This book is deeply researched and clearly a labor of love.
Often first issues suffer from issues of pacing, and even more often science fiction books spend too much time explaining their world. “Ballistic” gets everything right by explaining the world in an interesting fashion while showing how the world works. The main character is so engaging that the entire book is irresistible to put down. I’ve been singing this series’ praise ever since I got my eyes on this issue and I urge everyone to pick it up.
Currently “Ballisitc” is set to run as a limited series. Rumblings about the further adventures of Butch have come up if the series does well. Repo City State has so much to offer that we cannot possibly let the character die. “Ballistic” is the beginning of a whole new world and it’s one I want to be part of for a long time.
5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Jimbus_Christ
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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