Comics
Review: ‘The Extinction Parade’ #5
A frightening vision of the apocalypse, “The Extinction Parade” #5 is a terrifying read that doesn’t hold back on its shocks and scares. With vampires on one side and zombies on the other, two opposing forces are about to meet in an unforgettable collision. Each issue keeps getting better and better, and “The Extinction Parade” series continues to give readers a disturbing tale that crosses vampires and zombies.
WRITTEN BY: Max Brooks
ART BY: Raulo Caceres
PUBLISHER: Avatar Press
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: February 19, 2014
Laila and her immortal sister have been watching from the sidelines as the zombie horde has taken over their food source. As vampires, Laila and her sister have taken advantage of their human supply, thinking their river of blood would never drain. The zombies have somehow managed to steal what is theirs, right under their noses. Now, riot police have geared up and barricaded the streets to prevent the horde from feeding upon the large city population. Laila and her sister have patiently waited for the humans to defeat the living dead, but now they are beginning to realize that day will never happen.
If you have read “World War Z” novel, you understand that writer Max Brooks knows how to slowly build up the creepy vibe of his narrative. Since the first installment, Laila and her sister have been bystanders as they watched humanity being devoured by zombies. Their unwillingness to get involved has always been their downfall. The vampire sisters continued to feed and have fun, while the rest of the world fell into chaos. But when the destruction strikes home, the two realize they can’t just sit around and do nothing anymore.
Brooks is able to explore the growth of his two protagonists in clever ways. Why should the vampires get involved if the zombies cannot hurt them? If the vampires do get involved, what will be the consequences? In his mythology, Brooks establishes why vampires are meant to hide in the shadows and not be seen. We will get to see in the story what actually happens if vampires are witnessed clashing with the zombies.
Artists Raulo Caceres brings out the suspense and dread of Brook’s apocalyptic themes in his illustrations. Notice the detailed differences in the character designs between the zombies and vampires. In these graphic shots, Caceres illustrates the intestines spilling out of the zombie’s chest. One of the zombies even has his jaw dangling from his face. The vampires always look like they are young and in their prime. But when the bloodsuckers get sick, their dying body begins to show its true age.
Caceres lets loose on the gore and carnage when Laila’s sister finally makes up her mind. Through creative layouts, Caceres depicts Laila’s sister taking down the horde in a spectacular series of splash pages. Laila’s sister plunges her fist straight through the zombie’s head as she recklessly jumps onto the horde. The gory action intensifies as Laila leaps into the bloody fight just for the fun of it.
War has just been declared between the zombies and vampires in “The Extinction Parade” #5. With such memorable imagery and eloquent narration, “The Extinction Parade” takes an interesting premise and has bloody fun with it.
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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