Comics
Review: “Nailbiter” #2
“Nailbiter” #2 pushes the serial killer fascination to a whole new level with a deeply engaging look at what makes Buckaroo, Oregan such a special place to live. Joshua Williamson spares no time getting into a rich history of murder and just when you think you’ve figured things out, he blends his history into something entirely new.
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Williamson
ART BY: Mike Henderson
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: June 4, 2014
“Nailbiter” is stunning. The story defies anticipation and goes to marvelous lengths to redefine comic book horror. Mike Henderson has brilliantly crafted slasher movie tropes into his art and the book is infinitely more chilling for it. It’s hard to gush about it without spoiling the magic, but rest assured the perspectives at play on these pages will actually haunt you.
The mystery deepens within the opening pages. We’re treated to a resolution to last issue’s final page reveal that adds more intrigue than answers. Finch’s temper basically channels our frustration into the page. He’s looking for answers and the deeper he looks the more confusing things become.
Everyone is tied together in Buckaroo. Small towns exist within a tangled web, and when you pull at one thread you pull at them all. Finch learns this hard and fast. Things start to implode and as if to celebrate someone sets fire to Carroll’s motel room. From here Williamson plunges the script into darkness. He takes a wild tour through some insane and terrifying killers that haunt Buckaroo’s past. Each of them are more unique than the last, and prove that Edward Charles Warren was a pussy compared to his coworkers.
Mike Henderson will get under your skin this month. He’s really flexing his skills with this book, and if he’s use of one-panel insanity flashbacks don’t get you than you’re stronger than I. He does something this issue that effectively changes the game for horror comics for all time. The warped perspective of a serial killer takes its full toll and Henderson ensures you’ll feel the whole thing. It’s a bone chilling sequence and one of the most exciting and terrifying things I’ve experienced in my life.
“Nailbiter” comes with a hefty recommendation from those of us at Bloody-Disgusting. I can’t even fathom where this story is headed but it’s an enthralling and horrific look at what makes a town go insane. Chances are good Williamson still has plenty of surprises left up his sleeve, and Finch’s anger still hasn’t really got the best of him.
With a unpredictable narrative, innovative paneling, and a rich horrific setting “Nailbiter” is everything you could want in a horror comic, in fact it’s the crowning achievement of the genre, and it’s only two issues in. It’s my new favorite comic on the stands. I’ll be biting my nails in anticipation as I go through the agonizing wait for #3.
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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