Comics
[Preorder This] Joshua Williamson’s “Birthright” #1
So this is a new article for me. But something I’ve gotten pretty passionate about over my last year in the comic book world: preordering. It’s an important part of the comic book process that shows your invested in a book before it comes out. It’s important to show retailers what books you’re interested in before they hit, and this is an effort in my infinite wisdom to steer you in the right direction.
If you dig dark fantasy then you’ll love BIRTHRIGHT it’s a love letter to movies of the 80’s like The Goonies, The Dark Crystal, and Dario Argento’s Phenomena. The colors evoke an 80’s fever dream, the art is simply astounding. It’s dripping in tribute, but manages to be completely original. I’ve since taken in the first two issues and cannot recommend them enough. The first issue is a fast paced character study that functions around the hole a missing person can create, but operates on the dream of every little boy: what if you were whisked away to a fantasy land to become the ultimate hero?
That’s the main conceit of “Birthright” but it’s so much more. It’ll blow you away with the last page and just dare you to read issue two. Don’t miss it, and preorder the first issue with this handy form.
It’s dangerous to go to the Comic Book Store alone!
TAKE THIS!
FROM IMAGE:
Creator/writer Joshua Williamson (NAILBITER, GHOSTED), artist Andrei Bressan and colorist Adriano Lucas present BIRTHRIGHT, a bold new fantasy adventure from Skybound/Image Comics, debuting this October.
What started as a game of catch in the park between father and son turned into a parent’s worst nightmare. For the Rhodes family, losing their son was the most devastating thing that could’ve ever occurred… but it couldn’t prepare them for what happened when he returned. Skybound’s newest original series will turn fantasy into reality in this oversized debut issue.
Williamson explained BIRTHRIGHT’s origin predates both his current hit horror series: “People have asked me if I get worried about being typecast. But I knew BIRTHRIGHT was coming. Even though it opens with what I think is one of the scariest things imaginable in real life… it’s a fantasy adventure book at heart. And one Skybound and I have been working on for a long time. Before GHOSTED even came out.
“As a fan of adventure and fantasy stories as a kid… it was always great seeing these young kids going on amazing journeys to far way magical lands. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter Pan, Explorers, The Neverending Story, Wizard of Oz, Flight of the Navigator. But there were never any real consequences to those adventures… What happens when you come home from this great adventure? What do you do next? How do you go back to normal life?
“Those thoughts lead to my obsession with the idea of destiny. If your whole life has been about one moment… one thing that you had to accomplish… what do you do after it is over? How do you go on knowing that the main reason you were born is finished?
“That’s what Birthright is about: what happens after the adventure.”
BIRTHRIGHT #1 arrives in stores on 10/8, as an oversized 40 page issue, available for only $2.99. It can be pre-ordered with Diamond Code AUG140536.
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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