Comics
Review: “The Memory Collectors’ #3
“Do not confuse having your eyes open with being awake” Lapis tells Edith. And it’s immediately clear to me: this issue is Edith’s awakening. Menton3 has written a piece of work so gut wrenching and overpowering — I’m purposefully avoiding the word “profound” because it feels too cliché — that it sounds trite to call it a ‘comic book’. Not that comic books can’t be deep and insightful, but just like the characters that Menton3 has crafted in “The Memory Collectors”, this comic stands on a higher realm.
WRITTEN BY: Menton3, Jason Mote
ART BY: Menton3, Christopher Mitten
PUBLISHER: IDW
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: February 12, 2014
If you’ve read the first two issues of this series, you know that Menton3 combines heady, gallery-worthy art, thought-provoking dialogue, and (rarely seen in comic books) several pages of compelling prose. In the past two issues, the prose has served more as an information-vehicle—a break between narration and dialogue in order to aid the reader in understanding such a weighty plotline. However, in this concluding issue the prose serves as emotional insight, thus making it far more poignant than its predecessors.
Watching Edith experience so many transformations and yet having the strength to realize that she is not part of the changes rather they are a part of her, is nothing short of inspirational. As I mention above, this issue is Edith’s awakening. Pummeled with dense hardships, life-changing mutations, and terrifying new obligations, she manages to take them in stride. She’s witnessed selfless, horrific sacrifices made by her beloved sisters Beatrice and Magdalena, and though it would be simple to just let go and stop fighting, she’s too principled, albeit innocent, to let those sacrifices die in vain.
Menton3 utilizes common scripting format to move the plot along while using prose to drive the reader into a fugue state full of gripping sensations. In particular, the first prose section will reach its hand into your chest cavity, grab hold of your heart and tug like a helpless child in need. The sentimentalities that are touched upon so eloquently are enormously universal. I can’t imagine one single reader who won’t relate to at least one pain, heartache, or crushing responsibility emphasized within the walls of this issue.
What I appreciate most about these female powerhouses is their ability to brush off any tired misconceptions about the fairer sex. Yes, their emotions run deep but their intuition, instinct, rage, control, and logical decision-making balance out any so-called “female” platitudes. Menton3 shreds the tropes of the genre and uses the scraps to rebuild a new type of stylistic storytelling. One with moxie, deep philosophical and theological undertones, metaphysical writing, and long lasting reverberations in the hearts and minds of his audience. And in line with any excellent writing, Menton3 keeps you guessing until the very end. There was not one single moment when I knew (or even thought I knew) what was coming next.
This is a comic about change, acceptance, love, responsibility, and reaching your full potential. But don’t let those poetics completely fool you. It’s got blood and guts, hot-ass fetish models, and all sorts of evil beings. It truly is… the complete package.
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Bree Ogden
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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