Comics
Review: “Skinned” #2
“Skinned” deals with perception and reality in such a fun and engaging way that it can’t help but be captivating. Truly this is a book worthy of your attention for its ambition alone. I’ve never experienced a story so imaginatively aware of the conventions of it’s medium. It’s a challenging and fun read from cover to cover.
WRITTEN BY: Jeremy Holt & Tim Daniel
ART BY: Joshua Gowdy
PUBLISHER: Monkeybrain Comics
PRICE: $0.99
RELEASE: June 18, 2014
The world that Tim Daniel and Jeremy Holt have created here should be filled with wonder and whimsy. Yet, seeing reality as a projection isn’t enough for Aldair and Buoy. Because of this, these two characters push through the boundaries of their own world and upbringing in pursuit of something more than the “utopia” they’re given.
This is a world of subservience and order. It’s the world we’re headed towards, being shepherded by our smartphones into a herd that is consumed by the screen in front of their face. Holt and Daniel take it a step further plant the screen inside the head, which creates a whole host of solutions to reality, or problems hiding in the guise of reality if you’re Aldair and Buoy.
Joshua Gowdy should be commended for his work on this book for any number of reasons. Not the least of which is his perfect reimagining of the main characters into a seamless rendition of pop culture icons, or how he somehow can keep likenesses in check with changing everything the characters are wearing from panel to panel. Somehow this constant evolution isn’t distracting but totally holds the attention and keeps flow from page to page. In the hands of a lesser artist this would be one of the most confusing comics on the stands, but Gowdy’s work makes it easy to follow.
“Skinned” may not have been conceived as a metaphor for our obsession with technology and how it’s shaped our relationship to reality, but it certainly feels that way. It’s a beautiful deconstruction of what people have come to value as ideal and why that idealism is an inherently flawed version of reality. Reality is finite and unalterable or is it? Is the OccupEye any better or worse than our own interpretation of reality? I have a knee jerk reaction to say yes, but I could be persuaded the other way.
The narrative continues forward from the threads left dangling in issue one and the two characters align in their pursuits. We’re given horrifying glimpses of the power they’re up against and pushed forward with a fantastic pace that ends the issue with a fantastic cliffhanger that will leave you dying for issue #3.
“Skinned” is an intelligent look at perception and reality that challenges you as you read it. The themes on these pages are heavy but the art is colorful and light. It’s the perfect mixture that is a cause for celebration, it’s a comic that pushes the medium and forces you to think. What more could you ask for?
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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