Comics
Review: Undertow #3
Steve Orlando shifts into a steadier pacing current this month as the land mission makes a huge development, and the crew aboard The Deliverer become even more uneasy. The machinations of a political thriller with the makings of an action book, told through the eyes of an impressionable and idealistic youth make for another must have chapter of “Undertow.”
WRITTEN BY: Steve Orlando
ART BY: Artyom Trakhanov
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: April 23rd 2014
Steve Orlando has crafted a story around larger than life characters. Redum has opened up Ukinnu’s world and he’s out being intrepid on the surface. He has a rosy idealism that we start to see chip away. He’s in over his head. So enter The Amphibian.
The Amphibian is a unique beast. He is vile and assertive. He has taken control and keeps rule with an iron fist of insanity. It’s hard to tell what his ultimate role in the story will be. His introduction took me by complete surprise, as I didn’t expect him to be such an unruly figure. He’s a creature who thrives on death and destruction. Not exactly the best fit for the team right now.
In any event, he’s now part of the story, and will only make the predicament on The Deliverer more complicated. There is a lot of talk about whether or not Redum is fit to lead the excursion anymore, but this is a lot of idealistic bullshit that doesn’t understand the true perils of standing up to Atlantis. The new leadership will fall to error, and it will be as quickly as its risen here.
Artyom Trakhanov has something about his style that comics really haven’t seen before. It’s so beautifully unique and expressive. The pastel colors evoke a sense of otherworldly warmth that is contrasted with a murky sea of death on the ground. Which, is honestly some of the best work this comic has ever produced. There is something brutally appealing about these Atlantians ripping through humans. Trakhanov even reminds us how fragile our warriors are in a single panel. The sharp stone clinking against the glass dome helmet actually sent shivers down my spine. Way to close to total destruction…
There is a panel near the end of The Amphibian’s introduction that labels him as “The God of Death.” It’s a roundabout way of telling us we’ve entered a whole new world here. The surface is relatively under control, but the new ally might be too volatile to control. Orlando and Trakhanov deal with many complicated themes in “Undertow.” They spend this month slowly developing them through their characters and the book becomes all the better for it. This is another stellar chapter of the best new series of the year.
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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