Comics
[Comic Review] “Descender” #1 Begins An Enthralling Space Epic
Reviewed By Torin Chambers. “Descender” #1 marks the start of a glorious new space epic, massive in the sheer scope of its universe and ideas. This is the beginning of something monumental that could span the entire universe, possibly even beyond. The mystery at the centre of Descender is thoroughly engaging, one with an infinite amount of possibility. It’s all encompassing and at the same time so incredibly simple.
WRITTEN BY: Jeff Lemire
ART BY: Dustin Nguyen
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: March 5, 2015
It’s a whodunit playing out on the galactic stage and it’s utterly enthralling. But the story isn’t the only draw here. The visuals are out of this world and very different from what you’d expect for a tale such as this. Dustin Nguyen brings his signature style to the table, realizing a vast galactic community in a way you rarely, if ever, see. Every page is beautifully rendered in flowing and vibrant water colours, giving an intriguingly natural feel to this incredibly unnatural space age world.
Opening on The Planet Niyrata, “the technological and cultural hub of the group of nine Core Planets known as The United Galactic Council” where everything’s dandy and everyone’s going about their normal day to day activities. That is before the unthinkable happens. A towering machine of massive scope appeares from nowhere, holding its position immediately before the planet. Think Galactus or The Celestials from Marvel, this thing is essentially standing next to the planet and towering over it. This also isn’t the only one, 8 more have taken up posts next to the other 8 planets that make up The United Galactic Council. All seem to be relatively harmless and entirely inactive. Enter Dr. Quon, the man who “practically invented modern robotics.” He’s their foremost expert, if anybody can decipher where and who these things come from it’s him.
That’s the basic set up from which the book truly takes off. I dare not say more and possibly ruin your experience, but trust me it only gets better. There’s more than a few twists and turns in this first issue that keep it readily engaging from start to finish.
I’ve only got a couple concerns. This first one’s almost paltry; there’s a robot that’s speech bubbles are neon teal with neon yellow text overtop, it’s no fun at all to try and read. The other is that there’s not a lot of diversity shown for the other races. This is a galactic community made up of numerous other races and besides a short reveal late in the book we only get a glimpse of 1 person that’s not human. My hope is going forward that we get to see a lot more of them.
Lemire and Nguyen have crafted an story that oozes style and originality. With a plot on the grandest of scales and refreshingly unexpected visuals Descender is sure to excite anyone who reads it.
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Torin Chambers is a rad dude from the nineties who does film stuff or something. Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite transformer. Find him on Twitter @TorinsChambers
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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