Comics
Advance Review: “Five Ghosts” # 9
This month Barbiere further diversifies his main character through a flashback to Fabian’s origins as a treasure hunter. Fabian Grey is a hero plagued by the demons of his past and we witness the birth of his outstanding moral compass that time and again carries him to higher means amongst a cavalcade of questionable characters. “Five Ghosts” # 9 offers a sharp and revealing chapter with character driven thrills.
WRITTEN BY: Frank J Barbiere
ART BY: Chris Mooneyham
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: February 5th, 2014
“Lost Coastlines” peels through the layers of Fabian’s history with every chapter. His past is as complicated as his present. He hasn’t afforded the best life, but among his scummy and villainous associates he still proves to have a moral compass. Yet, Barbiere reminds us that there is no honor among thieves.
The chapter begins with Fabian as a prisoner. His captor is angered about the past and is determined to destroy our hero. This creates a wonderful backdrop for a trip into Fabian’s origins as a treasure hunter. We get to see the birth of the dashing rogue we know today.
Mooneyham embraces the flashback with a parchment scrawl approach to the story. You feel as if you’re looking at first hand accounts in wild energetic pencil lines of the past as it’s happening. The origin feels organic and brought to life effortlessly by his work. Mooneyham brings his all to the action, showcasing muzzle flashes with a certain ferocity that owns a panel along with an impromptu sword fight that ends in one of the best deaths in “Five Ghosts.”
So we take a step foreword by taking a step backward. The momentum of the “Lost Coastlines” story does momentarily hit a bump because of it. This short sideline manages to add further depth to a protagonist already dripping with allure. For me this chapter was an incredible journey to the origins of what makes Fabian a true hero. There is something special here that has come to define the character amongst everyone else we have encountered in the book.
It may have been something we’ve known already, but it is nice to see the birth of the trait. In doing so Barbiere reminds us just who Fabian is, and why we are rooting for him. It also shows that he is brash and sometimes careless. Which makes him all the more fun to share an adventure with.
Barbiere and Mooneyham don’t let up for a moment, and “Lost Coastlines” manages to keep up the thrills while telling us more about the characters we’ve come to love. This is a delicate balancing act that most comics don’t seem to understand or care about, but everything about “Five Ghosts” screams that the men behind it are the biggest fans of the story they’re telling. Which tells me we’re in good hands.
“Five Ghosts” blazes a trail through what I like to call a pulp revival. There are so few comics out there that take us to beautiful locales, treat us to engaging complicated characters, and have thrilling adventures with larger than life supernatural elements. If you’re not reading it, well shit, I really don’t know what you’re waiting for.
Rating: 3.5/5 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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