Comics
Review: ‘Sheltered’ #5
As each installment becomes even more unsettling than the last, “Sheltered” #5 kicks up the excitement another notch. The “Sheltered” series has become a creepy and moody thriller about angst-ridden teens trapped in their self-made prison.
WRITTEN BY: Ed Brisson
ART BY: Johnnie Christmas
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: Nov. 20, 2013
Safe Haven once belonged to the “Preppers,” survivalists who have trained themselves for the impending doomsday scenario. What the parents didn’t know is that their children were secretly planning to murder them. Led by their psychotic leader, Lucas, the teenagers gunned down their parents in cold blood. Though she wants revenge for the murder of the father, Victoria has to hide with the injured and innocent Hailey. After killing one of his cult members, Lucas has framed Victoria and Hailey for a heinous act they didn’t commit. With these murderous savages on the loose, how will Victoria and Hailey last on the run?
Writer Ed Brisson delivers a suspenseful turn of events as Lucas orders his cult to bring him the heads of Victoria and Hailey. Brisson mixes the jealous rage lurking inside Lucas, along with his cunning leadership skills. Lucas does care about the survival of his teammates, but he wants everything done his way. But, not everyone in the camp intends on following Lucas’ orders and worshipping his feet. Every time Lucas tells a long fabricated lie, the camps seems to be divided as to whether to believe him or not.
More of a side character in the beginning, Mitch, Hailey’s brother, has developed nicely into the forefront. Mitch questions Lucas’ decisions and sees the plot holes in his stories. Never for a second, Mitch will not believe Hailey is capable of committing murder. Just because Mitch killed his parents, that does not mean Hailey would also do something like that. Even though his innocence is lost, Mitch will do anything to save his sister.
Johnnie Christmas brings out the eeriness and coldness of the winter setting. In the opening pages, Christmas demonstrates how there is no hope for these unbalanced teens when the sun rises. What should be a ordinary campfire scene slowly turns into a gruesome cover-up. Lucas has gathered the entire camp to watch as he burns the murdered dead body. He is actually getting rid of the evidence, right in front of them.
Pay close attention to how Christmas illustrates Lucas’s scarred cheek. Even when half his face is covered in shadows, Christmas highlights the stitches on Lucas’s face. Using the stitches as a metaphor, Christmas wants you to visually see how Lucas is barely able to keep it together. Mid-way through the narrative, there’s something really disturbing how Christmas captures the teens running around with locked and loaded shotguns.
“Sheltered” #5 is a terrifying and gripping look at teen rebellion gone horribly gone. With the conclusion of the first story arc, the “Sheltered” series closes the suspenseful ride with a frightening plot twist.
4/5 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.
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