Comics
Review: ’13 Coins’ A New Digital Comic Experience
From the game writers that brought you Hitman: Absolution comes an exciting and new eComics experience designed to revolutionize visual effects and interactivity through an inventive application created for smartphones. Martin Brennan, Michael B. Jackson, and Simon Bisley’s “13 Coins” is the first comic to be published by Corinthian Productions, and the first to be developed with Inlifesize’s digital comics platform “Deep Paper” for the iPhone and iPad. This innovative technology boasts a remarkable display feature that utilizes an impressive 3D graphics engine to produce an array of visually engaging 3D covers for the series, and is ultimately transforming, and redefining, the face of digital comics as we know it.
WRITTEN BY: Martin Brennan, Michael B. Jackson
ART BY: Simon Bisley
PUBLISHER: Corinthian Productions
PRICE: #1 is FREE, $2.99 to follow
RELEASE: October 24, 2013
“13 Coins” is a heavily mythologized 6-issue horror comic which offers an incredibly extensive “Good vs. Evil” back story involving two warring angel factions. The first call themselves The Fallen, a group of 13 rebel angels who had escaped Hell only to create an army of evil to orchestrate a full-fledged attack on Heaven. The second are referred to as The Sons of Noah, created by a warrior angel sent from God, for the sole purpose of expanding the S.O.N bloodline over the centuries in order to protect humankind from The Fallen and all their descendants. This fictionalized historical setting coalesces with a modern narrative which follows a once promising basketball star — now turned ex-con — named John Pozner, who inadvertently becomes entrenched in the fight for Earth’s protection and Heaven’s downfall.
The official website for the series provides a thorough rundown on the established mythology, and presents a solid list of main characters along with detailed biographies on each one. I recommend checking it out. Like most comic books, there appears to be some problematic concerns with race, gender and sexuality, as evidenced through one specific character bio in particular, but overall the characters are super dynamic and extremely interesting. Not only in personality, but design as well. The latter is a testament to Eisner Award winning artist, Simon Bisley, and his creative vision for this entire project.
Bisley’s artwork is a huge elemental factor in regards to the overall visual experience derived from the “13 Coins” app, and a welcomed ingredient to Brennan and Jackson’s narrative. Providing the cover art and pencilled interiors, his take on the writers’ story effectively brings the creators’ vision to life. From the historical war between the Watchers and the rebellious angels, to his detailed interpretations of the cast, his energetically violent style of art really suits the gritty and dark tone of the series well, and helps to establish the accelerated pace of the narrative. Ryan Brown adds his vibrant touch to Bisley’s interior work by digitally painting the issues using a large palette of solid colours.
The visual effects features of the app really allows for the panels to pop through the screen, and that can be attributed to one of Inlifesize’s Chief Executive Officers, Greg Maguire, who is the visual effects and animation guru behind the project. So far, the new “Deep Paper” technology is only being used for the series covers, and not on the interior pages, which is one of the main criticisms I had overall. But in an interview with Pipedream Comics, Jackson states that the creative team plans to develop the 3D graphics engine features on the interior pages for the release of the next “13 Coins” series, which is a fantastic decision on their part.
Another issue many people had with the “13 Coins” app was the lack of pinch and zoom navigation features offered within the technology, which ultimately devalued the experience on the iPhone. Fortunately, the developers have since updated the app to include said options, and the results were pretty significant. There’s also an ominous score of music and sound to accompany the app, including instances of relevant sound when users are turning pages, but it’s very limited. Personally, I think a stronger element of sound would be beneficial in the future.
At this moment in time, the digital issues are only being released through the “13 Coins” app for the iPhone and iPad, and the first installment is currently being offered for free. In-app purchases for the following installments, as well as various collectors packs are available for $2.99, and issue #4 drops on January 24th. You can download the free app HERE.
4.5/5 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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