Comics
Review: ‘The Walking Dead’ # 118
Maggie takes center stage in an action packed issue that sows seeds of doubt in Rick’s leadership. The multiple angles of war are examined from many perspectives. Giving us an issue that deals with loss, doubt, and small victories. All Out War continues in “The Walking Dead” # 118.
WRITTEN BY: Robert Kirkman
ART BY: Charlie Adlard
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: December 11, 2013
All Out War has certainly been a departure for this series. Often this book feels like it’s treading the same ground without ever really moving forward in new or exciting ways. Then we have an issue like 118 that takes a step back and examines the repercussions of everything going on.
Rick isn’t the best leader. He makes due, but people see the error in his ways. For the meantime he’s fucked Negan over, but Gregory is losing hope. Too bad Gregory’s a fucking coward and should be mounted over Negan’s fireplace. Luckily, Maggie realizes this and when Gregory sows seeds of doubt she steps up. She sets him straight and looks after the camp.
The latter half of this issue goes into a stream of consciousness like narration accompanied by razor sharp art from Adlard. We follow someone’s voice as they walk us through Rick and his group attacking an outpost on the way back to camp.
Adlard springboards off the voice to show us some truly horrifying imagery that readers of the book are not used to. The voice speaks of the horrors of war, the vastness of the conflict, and the sheer insanity caused by it. Adlard takes the time to show the differences in this type of bodshed. Be it the constant “Baraka, Baraka, Baraka!” outside the warehouse, or soldiers being torn to pieces by bullets, it’s all-new here.
The lynchpin of the issue rests with the revelation of the disembodied narrator. It comes out of left field and serves as a nice surprise. It’s also touching, heartbreaking, and infuriating all at once. The narrator experiences a real loss in this issue, and its something that will resonate with this character for the rest of their lives. It demonstrates the needless destruction of war and the innocence that is lost with conflict.
Kirkman did a fantastic job at varying the pacing of the book this month. He takes a step back to examine the world at large, and the book is infinitely better for it. Instead of continually plodding forward this issue takes a step back and looks at the ramifications of what’s going in. It’s an interesting and welcomed choice; one that I hope will inspire the rest of the year. The larger context of the issue allows each member of the huge cast a little time to breath and still manages to push the story forward.
“The Walking Dead” has been a rollercoaster as of late. All Out War seems to push the book into an upswing that we won’t soon forget. The losses have only begun in this issue, but there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight.
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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