Comics
Review: ‘The Walking Dead’ # 116
All Out War continues in “The Walking Dead.” Rick and his forces push to make the first strike in an incredible issue that ratchets the pacing up to eleven. This is purely pulse pounding stuff that will have you contemplating the next move for everyone. Which is exactly why this year will be absolutely dizzying. Already things are moving faster than they ever have and there appears to be no end in sight.
WRITTEN BY: Robert Kirkman
ART BY: Charlie Adlard
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: November 13, 2013
This issue took me around five minutes to complete cover to cover. There isn’t much dialogue, and not a lot of time is wasted. The result is an issue that never stops moving for better or worse.
All Out War kicked off with a resounding success. Negan’s threat feels large and disastrous but for once Rick actually feels prepared. I’m starting to believe in his leadership again. He brilliantly plans and executes an attack using his knowledge of Negan and the world around them.
Kirkman shines here. As it is clear he is developing a whole new type of warfare. Zombie warfare. Something we’ve never seen before. He aims to give us a full-scale war between these camps within a world gone to shit. It’s totally admirable and it’s working really well.
Adlard’s pencils are on point yet again. He is able to capture the frenzied pace with relative ease. I’ve had my times where I haven’t been his biggest fan. His unclean, hard lines seem to be at home within the flurry of battle. His work shines brightest when he takes a step back. Showing us the grand scheme of the war, pulling out from the intimacy of the frame and showing us the lumbering legions of the undead. Adlard dances this fine line between Rick and the walkers, and in the end it all comes beautifully crashing together.
Small character moments rise to the top of the script. Kirkman makes sure to stop in briefly with all his major players. Showing how they react under stress and how they stick to a plan. Some are more interesting than others.
Negan’s reaction to the events is typical. He is cool, calm, and completely unhinged. It works wonders for his character, but also shows that his sense of confidence may be a little unfounded. As he is not ready or aware of what Rick has just done to him. Ezekiel has a nice moment here as well. Showing him amidst the battle in complete control. He’s a phenomenal character who has only just begun to develop.
So far this arc is truly unlike anything Kirkman has done before. Which is no easy feat after writing the same series for ten years. With any luck the fantastic pacing will keep up and we’ll be treated to a new gold standard of zombie story by years end.
Let the good times roll.
Rating: 4/5 Skulls.
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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