Comics
Review: “Veil” #2
Rats. Rats are very important. These vile little creatures skitter through life unknowingly breeding disease and disgust. Yet, Veil embraces them entirely. The mystery of “Veil” is deepened, the world is fleshed out, and the stakes are raised even higher in this second issue of Greg Rucka’s mystery about the objectification of beauty.
WRITTEN BY: Greg Rucka
ART BY: Toni Fejzula
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: April 2, 2014
Rucka said himself that the story of “Veil” would become much clearer with issue two. Bullshit. Not that I’m calling him a liar, because it does, but only somewhat. I mean the larger world of the comic comes into play, and now we know nefarious people are after Veil. That’s it though. We don’t know much else.
Which is part of the charm. Dante is our conduit for this beautiful and haunting journey. He’s a bad dude caught between his reputation and trying to do the right thing. He can’t understand Veil for the life of him, and the harder he tries the harder she pulls away.
The real magic in this issue comes with well… literal magic. We’re treated to some nefarious dudes who have performed sacrifices seemingly in their quest for Veil. One dude in particular harnesses power much like Veil’s. Rucka does a fantastic job at expanding his world and deepening the mystery of how this beautiful and lost girl relates to it.
There is a moment here that shows even the most “upstanding” of people find something magnetic about Veil. It stands to reason that most people lose control around her, and cannot resist her otherworldly charm. Although its not clear why Dante seems immune. In any event Rucka manages to make it all compelling by never answering these things. It’s not important to the story, at least not yet.
Toni Fejzula’s art has apparently gone through some progression before reaching the look that has come to define this book. Everything feels like a neon soaked fever dream that is captured in stained glass. It’s absolutely gorgeous and hard to shy away from. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it, but the style imbues the adventure with a distinct otherworldliness that only deepens the mystery. I can’t sing the art’s praises enough. You’ve never seen anything quite like it.
“Veil” is this unique concoction of ideas that might seem a little cliché at first. The amnesiac with great powers has been done before, but never like this. The thematic implications within the narrative tell a story about objectification. Dante is an exciting and almost tragic character who is about more than likely about to enter what Walter Sobchak called “a world of pain.”
Dark things are brewing on the horizon, but the charm of this book far outweighs its grim implications. The mystery still runs rampant through the pages, but the pieces are moving across the board. We know more than we did before, but we still don’t know much.
Rating: 4/5 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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