Comics
5 Skull Advance Review: “Nailbiter” #1
Why do we have such a fascination with serial killers? Why do small towns harbor so many secrets? And why did the small town of Buckaroo Oregon birth sixteen of the world’s meanest murderers. Joshua Williamson slowly builds the answers to these questions in his unbelievably chilling and stellar new series “Nailbiter.”
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Williamson
ART BY: Mike Henderson
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: May 7th, 2014
It’s clear where Williamson draws his influence. David Fincher’s Se7en comes to mind, along with Twin Peaks, and Zodiac. Yet, these influences are left in a pot to simmer for some time and birth something entirely new. It’s a beautiful concoction that lingers on what makes a serial killer. We’d like to think it’s nurture and the town of Buckaroo Oregon certainly seems like the place to push someone into serial killing, but what if it’s more than that?
That’s the general conceit of the series. Within short order we’re introduced to Edward Charles Warren, the titular “Nailbiter” and the man who took him down, officer Carroll. Yet, after a gruesome confrontation with Warren’s crimes the story fast forwards three years later to a man obsessed with unraveling the town’s secret. He calls Nicholas Finch in a huff; sure he’s figured it all out. So Finch packs up and leaves for hell on earth.
Except when he arrives Carroll is no where to be found. He’s left to wander the haunting city on his own accord and meets some of the more colorful townsfolk. We learn that Finch may not be the all around good guy he says he is, and seems to have a dark history all on his own.
So within this complex narrative you’ll be constantly searching for answers. Williamson does a beautiful job at balancing the narrative between his intense cast of characters and ensures that the town itself is given the most time to develop.
Mike Henderson has seemingly mastered the task of being an horror artist. He plays with paneling to brilliantly pull off some major genre tropes from film, and gets away with them squeaky clean. His work is chilling and moody, and manages to instill the horror in the expressions of his characters. He begins the issues with the bombastic debut of The Nailbiter, and while the whole display is chilling in and of itself. It’s the small moments like the sting of a bee that really stays with you after the issue is over.
Speaking of which. This issue ends with a complete smack to the side of the head. Easily one of the best final pages I’ve ever seen. I was left in awe, and completely taken aback. Everything I thought I knew about the book was called into question with the final page.
“Nailbiter” will get under your skin. That’s where it’s most comfortable. It’ll fill you with a vague sense of dread as it drags you into the fascinating world of serial killers. It’ll hold you tightly in it’s grip and compel you to think about the more unsettling parts of human existence. It’s chilling, unique, and a total revelation for horror comics.
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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