Comics
Review: ‘Hellraiser: The Dark Watch’ #8
“Hellraiser: The Dark Watch” #8 has the right balance of disturbing scares and dark humor. Clive Barker’s revisit to the “Hellraiser” franchise continues to make its stamp in the comic book medium. The last page brings in a new twist that readers will not expect.
WRITTEN BY: Clive Barker and Brandon Seifert
ART BY: Tom Garcia
PUBLISHER: Boom! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: Sept. 18th, 2013
Trapped as prisoners inside an orb, Kirsty Cotton and Elliot Spencer are at each other’s throat, destined to kill each other. Never giving up, Tiffany has been looking everywhere for her adoptive mother, but has failed many times to rescue Kirsty. After discovering that Harry D’Amour secretly knew Kirsty’s whereabouts, Tiffany doesn’t know if she can trust him anymore. With her demon-killing knife, Tiffany must follow an old enemy of Harry’s past straight into the depths of Hell. But if Tiffany successfully saves Kirsty from Hell, will she bring about the end of the world as well?
As the issues progressed, Barker and co-writer, Brandon Seifert, have developed Tiffany into a tough and rebellious heroine. Tiffany has become a major highlight of the “Dark Watch” series and her character arc continues to grow. Though I thought of Kirsty and Tiffany as having a “sister” relationship, I really liked how these writers have explored their mother/daughter relationship. Though they are not related by blood, Tiffany has never given up in her pursuit to rescue Kirsty. But will there be any rewards, a sense of satisfaction, when Tiffany does finally find her?
If you remember “Lord of Illusions,” the major antagonist, Butterfield, has returned to the Hellraiser universe. More of a conniving trickster, Butterfield continues to play his own mind games to get what he wants. I am anxious to see a rematch between Harry and Butterfield. Though his sarcasm remains the same, Harry has become more than the regular guy thrown into an extraordinary situation. I look forward to seeing what Butterfield, who was a fanatical cult leader in the movie, will do to the Cenobites.
Artist Tom Garcia definitely knows how to illustrate the gruesomeness of monsters. When Butterfield transforms into his new body, his appearance looks like a giant worm with claws. The only recognizable part of his human half is his head. Butterfield uses his enormous slithering body, to wrap his enemies around and squeeze them, like a snake. To add to the torture, Butterfield licks his squirming enemy with his drooling tongue.
Inside the orb, the more Kirsty and Elliot fight, the less they have of their humanity. Using the metaphor, Garcia captures close-ups of Kirsty’s farcical expressions, depicting her never-ending struggle to hold onto her humanity. In an eerie scene of body horror, Elliot has nothing left of his humanity as his face melts. The monster inside Elliot is coming out and there is nothing to hold him back.
Fans will be very excited with what happens at the shocking last page of “Hellraiser: The Dark Watch” #8. After so many disappointing sequels, the “Hellraiser” franchise has settled nicely into the comic book medium. Horror fans should definitely be picking up “The Dark Watch”.
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.