Comics
Review: ‘‘Toxic Storm’ #2
Built more for thrill than profound story-telling, Adam Cheal’s creator owned graphic novel, “Toxic Storm”, is a subtle ode to the exploitation films of the 80s. But underneath the delicate homage of said bygone era of film, there’s a prepossessing energy and spirit that compliments Cheal’s imaginative take on the style. The writer embarks on a challenging exercise in supernatural-horror, and artist Alberto ‘Renzo’ Rodriguez is along for the ride to effectively illustrate Cheal’s impossible world on paper.
WRITTEN BY: Adam Cheal
ART BY: Alberto ‘Renzo’ Rodriguez
PUBLISHER: AAM / Markosia
PRICE: N/A
RELEASE: November 6th, 2013
Originally, the graphic novel was marketed as “Zyklon-B”, the cyanide-based pesticide used in multiple gas chambers during the Holocaust. But for whatever reason — perhaps to do with the trade name infringing on intellectual property laws; or concerns surrounding the marketability of such a controversial title — the creator decided to rebrand his series as “Toxic Storm”. With an eclectic mix of genres and themes, Cheal’s first two installments highlight the abuse and corruption of power, the injustice of a broken judicial system, revenge and ultimately, redemption.
The story follows wrongfully convicted Simon Fisher, who’s sentenced to death by gas chamber in San Quentin Prison. Under the guidance of his occultist cellmate Caleb Fontana, Simon is able to use black magic to transform himself into a toxic gas, and successfully escapes his execution. Unsurprisingly, the first chapter takes readers on a journey of revenge and murder, as Simon vows to make all those responsible for his mutant condition pay. Issue #2 sees the introduction of a key player in Cheal’s series, Special FBI Agent Jack Storm, who strikes a deal with Caleb in exchange for Simon’s whereabouts. Without spoiling the reasons why, Agent Storm turns rogue in his quest to apprehend his target, and will stop at nothing to retrieve him.
What’s interesting about “Toxic Storm” is that Cheal presents readers with a protagonist who has yet to prove himself as a ‘hero’, and a villain who is, essentially, just as ‘good’ — or ‘bad’ — as the lead. He establishes this dark and unfair world, where the majority of the people characterized within the pages are generally awful; so, the line between ‘Good vs. Evil’ is a very thin one. His narrative travels at such high speeds that it’s sometimes hard to keep up with all the plot developments and unexpected twists. But while the fast pace of the story is extremely conducive to his narrative building, certain aspects of character development and likability seem to be suffering.
Alberto “Renzo” Rodriguez and Joel J. Cotejar shared artistic reign in the series opener, but the latter failed to impress with his pencils. Fortunately, Rodriguez provides his stylistically distinguishable talents for the entire second issue, with Mike Summers assisting with colours. His lines are clean, boldly defined, and offer a finished look to Cheal’s dark world. He produces finely detailed illustrations and expressive characters that nail the script’s horrific beats. And his renderings of Simon in his toxic gas form are particularly interesting, especially with Summers’ greens to finish it off. Summers uses an infinite palette of colours to bring Rodriguez’ pencils to life, but he excels where the scenes call for less. There’s a fantastic flashback scene where he opts to work with grayscale to distinguish time, and he uses contrasting reds on things like occult symbols and blood, to make the panels pop.
Issue #1 of Cheal and Rodriguez’ “Toxic Storm” will be making its digital release via ComiXology, on November 6th, with monthly installments to follow. The trade paperback will be released by UK publishing company Markosia Enterprises Ltd in February, 2014. For more information, check out the graphic novel’s official wesbite.
3/5 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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