Comics
Review: “X-Files: Conspiracy” # 1
The “X-Files: Conspiracy” # 1 sees the Lone Gunmen discover internet files from the future that threaten to destroy humanity as we know it. To uncover the truth they must touch base with all of IDW’s hottest properties. The Ghostbusters, The Ninja Turtles, The Transformers, and The Crow all fit into this huge crossover event. Paul Crilley lays down a decent foundation for the series while Stanisci’s art adds a moody layer to this issue that ultimately fails to deliver on the promise of its premise.
WRITTEN BY: Paul Crilley
ART BY: John Stanisci
PUBLISHER: IDW
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: January 15, 2014
This should be the X-Files story everyone has been waiting for. Upon first hearing about “X-Files: Conspiracy” I thought “why hasn’t this happened before!?” The concept is almost too perfect to be executed poorly, but this issue borders on it.
The groan worthy dialogue here is overwhelmingly ham fisted in its execution. The Gunmen are pleasant when engaged in banter, but the exchanges between Mulder and Scully feel so forced that it pulls me out of the issue. The sheer fact that Scully repeats herself takes away from her succinct intelligence. Instead, she is stumped and at a loss because the story needs her to be, which just isn’t the character at all.
The scenes with Mulder and Scully only serve to derail the story from an otherwise good time. The Lone Gunmen are the perfect protagonists for such a crossover farce. Their motivations are much more clear and their bewilderment is a common theme throughout their time within the series.
The story does a somewhat decent job at cobbling together a reason for all these different crossovers but fails to really make a case for an overarching plot. There doesn’t seem to be any connection to each property outside of a collection of photos. It’ll be interesting to see where the plot takes each successive issue. As an introduction, the issue is heavy with exposition, and offers little mystery. Enough to get readers to come back for the second installment, but almost zero delivery on the other properties crossing over is disappointing.
John Stanisci’s art is dark and moody when it needs to be. Yet, I found a certain sense of fluidity to his character designs that wasn’t for me. He understands the Gunmen. I love the way he draws Frohike, with element of Twitch from Spawn coming to mind. Yet, his Mulder and Scully don’t quite do it for me. In the actions scenes Stanisci is able to handle himself quite well. The paneling is clean and dangerous.
This first issue of “X-Files: Conspiracy” fails to deliver on the promise of it’s premise. A conspiracy is completely lacking from the pages of this book. Instead we’re treated to hints at a viral outbreak that is somehow linked to several other properties in some completely unmentioned fashion. I would have loved to see some of these properties garner more than a mention, but I will stick around to see how they are handled in future issues.
Rating: 2/5 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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