Comics
Review: X-Force #1
The Marvel black ops world is densely populated. Among all of these shady teams Mutantkind finds enough time to stop fighting itself to form the “X-Force.” A team of mutants who carry out the work deemed too unsavory for the likes of the X-Men. Simon Spurrier and Rock-He Kim bring this newest incarnation of this irresistible team to life with varying degrees of success.
WRITTEN BY: Simon Spurrier
ART BY: Rock-He Kim
PUBLISHER: Marvel
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: February 12, 2014
Most of the charm from any of the “X-Force” books is taken from a team comprised of mutants who don’t play nice with others. The misfit, the brute, the outlier, whatever you’d like to call them their unifying factor is generally a roguish attitude. So naturally gathering up these rogues should result in a lot of internal team conflict.
For the most part Spurrier’s X-Force gets along rather amicably. The exception lies in Psylocke and Fantomex’s relationship, but the tension is remarkably playful. Instead the team functions pretty well. Which is interesting given newcomer Marrow’s attitude about the whole operation. She finds it a joy to belong, to be a tool, and she enjoys the violence most of all.
It’s clear that Spurrier relishes writing Marrow and to an even greater degree Fantomex. Both of these characters have outstanding bits of dialogue and really shine in this debut issue. However, Cable is left to drown in his own convoluted mission and Psylocke is reduced to the same beat over and over.
Rock-He Kim’s art does a fantastic job at capturing the grit this kind of team offers. The conflict that begins the issue is brought to life spectacularly by his detailed anatomy work. The muscle tone of these mutant brutes is always on display, and gives the book a distinct eastern appeal that is almost impossible to find anywhere within Marvel right now. His previous cover work was absolutely stellar and his internal page work is downright awesome here. Page four of this issue sells his style beautifully.
The plot is relatively standard black ops fare but remains a little convoluted for a first issue. As things ramp up near the final pages an interesting twist is provided to bring readers back for issue two. While the twist is enough to keep my interest I really did feel as if the potential of this book hasn’t been fully realized. The team dynamic was fun, but was far too casual and easy going for my tastes.
Cable remains an uninteresting leader that save for the initial physical conflict at the onset of the issue has very little to do or say. It’s a shame for a character with such a robust history to be outshined by those around him, but as it stands right now his voice is the least developed of Spurrier’s team. I look forward to seeing more of this jovial “X-Force” and perhaps this new take is exactly what we need to see in the world of mutants, I’m just not entirely sold as of yet.
Rating: 3/5 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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