Comics
Review: Buzzkill # 3
“Buzzkill” goes through the motions this month as Ruben tries to clear his conscience of all those that he wronged. Along the way we’re introduced to complicated past relationships with a myriad of colorful heroes, love life complications, and a major challenge that could potentially destroy our hero. The comedic insight on addiction doesn’t stop this month, but the real star of the show is Ruben’s past.
WRITTEN BY: Donny Cates & Mark Reznicek
ART BY: Geoff Shaw
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: November 20, 2013
Donny Cates, Mark Reznicek, and Geoff Shaw create such a great deconstruction of the superhero genre with “Buzzkill.” Every month takes another step in changing what we know about our protagonist and experiencing the character through a new lens. This month said lens is a Justice League type of organization. Ruben does his best to make amends, but these heroes will hear nothing of it.
Cates and Reznicek ensure that Ruben speaks through them, giving us a scathing analysis of the superheroes here. Characterization here is spot on. Both writers and Shaw have gone the extra mile to ensure you understand all of these heroes with a single panel. It borders on parody but it works so well. These colorful characters chose to distance themselves from Ruben because of the nature of his powers.
From here we’re drug back into Ruben’s personal life. The past of issues one and two come back to haunt him here. Everything comes full circle. A fantastic battle breaks out, but abruptly comes to an end as a bigger threat is posed.
This month the real star of the show is Doctor Blaqk. The character is imbued with such energy that he manages to liven up every scene. He continues to be a positive force in Ruben’s life, and at this very moment seems to be his only friend.
Geoff Shaw’s art is nothing short of miraculous. Over the course of the series he has done his best to transition Ruben from a strung out loser to a better, cleaner, version of himself. Which is in conjunction with his fantastic display of action scenes. Shaw makes sure you feel it when High Guard grabs Ruben and pins him against the glass paneling above the earth.
Actually, High Guard is particularly and fantastically imposing in every panel he’s in. He’s a looming presence, and the writers ensure us that Ruben doesn’t give a shit. He’s not afraid of this bulletproof bastard.
“Buzzkill” has amounted to an atypical story of redemption. Unlike other stories of redemption, this seems to be for Ruben and Ruben alone. At first his motivations seemed to be for others. A feeble attempt to win back the life he lost. Yet, in a moment of realization near the end of the issue Ruben is willing to lose everything just to make a difference.
Cates and Reznicek make sure that it’s not that easy. They dreg Ruben’s past back to haunt him and we learn a fantastic piece of backstory that gears us up for the finale. With nothing left to lose, and no powers to speak of, Ruben heads to his demise. Of course, things won’t be that cut and dry. They never are with this book. Now that Ruben has accepted his fate we head into what promises to be a fantastic and emotional battle.
With that promise, I’ll be jonsing for my next fix of “Buzzkill” for a whole month.
Rating: 4.5/5 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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