Comics
Review: ‘Hellboy in Hell’ #5
After a decent hiatus “Hellboy in Hell” is back with its fifth issue following the fallen hero on his journey through the bowels of his forsaken kingdom. It’s no surprise that Mignola has waited to release this issue. There has been a lot of action since the inception of this book and even more since its break with the two companion titles, “B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth” and “Abe Sapien”. As these other titles have come to a big events, the Hellboy story continues.
WRITTEN BY: Mike Mignola
ART BY: Mike Mignola
PUBLISHER: Dave Stewart
RELEASE DATE: December 4
PRICE: 2.99
Hellboy is coming off a pretty significant story arc, after having been killed he was taken on ridiculous jaunt through the kingdom he has willingly forsaken and to the eventual confrontation with some long lost relatives. After opening hell’s doors and letting lesser demons freedom, Hellboy finds himself at a loss as to what to do next. Luckily for him a damned soul appears and offers him his services. This journey is one of self-realization and allows Hellboy to feel empathy for another person for the first time since his unfortunate demise.
Mike Mignola’s work is genius and there is little doubt about that. He is able to infuse dialogue with such cryptic language, leaving each sentence with underlying messages. This book is not my favourite issue to date, but it offers a reflection on the character of Hellboy through social interaction. The story itself is very dark and uses a sort of sleight-of-hand maneuvering as the conversation follows one story line and the art tends to shift around, giving an eerie air to the tale. As the issue closes out it becomes clear that this incident is but blip on Hellboy’s radar and that he is finally ready to get the ball rolling.
When I think about Mignola’s art, there is one word that immediately pops into mind: creepy. I don’t know if it is the excessive amount of shadows or the sketchy structure of his illustrations but there is definitely something undeniably creepy it. I always find it strange how appealing his drawings are. There are so many other artists that give very realistic images, really bringing the image to life that scream talent, but this is a different kind of art. When you look at Mignola’s work for the first time the images appear crude and almost unfinished in some regards, the lines are uneven, robbing the illustrations of any semblance of symmetry. Upon closer inspection the images come to life as the shear care put into every squiggly curve gives the art a sinister look to reflect his word. This book is a testimonial to this raw style that makes me crave “Hellboy in Hell”. Dave Stewart continues to excel at colouring as the contrast of soft pastel colour and pure darkness gives the images the brilliance they deserve.
A slower issue overall, but I’m not to worried about it. With so much going on in the Mignolaverse Hellboy will surely play a predominant role.
3.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – GreenBasterd
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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