Comics
Advanced Review: ‘Sheltered’ #6
With its second story arc beginning, “Sheltered” is back and better than ever with more action, suspense, and survival goodness. A perfect installment for newcomers and regulars alike, this issue offers plenty to push the story forward in the “Sheltered” series.
WRITTEN BY: Ed Brisson
ART BY: Johnnie Christmas
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: Jan. 8, 2014
In the shocking cliffhanger of the fifth installment, Lucas and his sadistic followers were suddenly discovered by someone from the outside world. For some time, Lucas and the rest of the teens were living a rebellious and violent life without adult rule. In an unexpected turn of events, someone they have never met, above their age range, has arrived at their front gates. What this interloper doesn’t know is that Lucas and his others murdered their own parents in cold blood. What will Lucas do with this invader who has unknowingly stumbled upon a bloody crime scene?
Writer Ed Brisson does something that is quite clever, yet unbelievably risky at the same time. Brisson moves away from the Safe Haven compound and tells the narrative from the point-of-view of a new character. For those who want to know what Victoria and Hailey are doing, you’ll have to wait. Brisson tell a different aspect of his mythology through a fresh perspective. Because the previous installments have all been told with a rather bleak tone, Brisson gets a chance to throw in some humorous banter, which is a welcomed addition.
What I really enjoy about this new character, Clifford, is that Brisson uses him to focus on the themes of survival and fate. The survivalists of Safe Haven have been running away because they’re afraid the whole world will fall apart. With his wife and children, Clifford has been facing hard times because the economy is in a jam. Just because the economy is bad, that doesn’t mean the apocalypse is going to happen. Clifford sticks around, even going to the extreme, to make sure his family has food on the table.
Because the story moves outside of the Safe Haven compound, artist Johnnie Christmas is able to illustrate different settings and characters. Christmas steers away from the eeriness and coldness of the winter setting, focusing more on the mundane, suburban backgrounds. Through Christmas’ artwork, we’re inside family diners, apartment buildings, and houses, which you never see at Safe Haven. In his character design, Clifford has an everyman quality about him with his overweight physique and long hair.
Christmas is also able to heighten Brisson’s witty humor in his illustrations. In one laugh-out-loud scenario, Clifford is having dinner with his family. I thought it was hilarious that Clifford’s daughter is wearing pink pajamas while eating her food. It’s a small detail, but it got me. After all, it’s the nuances that make books like “Sheltered” stand out.
“Sheltered” #6 takes the series in a new and unexpected direction, which will hopefully bring in great results as the story progresses. As always with “Sheltered”, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
4.5/5 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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