Comics
5 Skull Review: “Deadly Class” #6
As Marcus comes down from his gorgeously destructive acid trip so too does “Deadly Class” wind down its first arc. Issue #6 is horrifically intimate. The confrontation that Marcus was literally running away from last issue comes to a spectacular head with his life hanging in the balance.
WRITTEN BY: Rick Remender
ART BY: Wes Craig
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: June 25, 2014
Reviewed By: Torbin Chimners
Rick Remender never ceases to please and this is no exception. His razor sharp writing cuts deep. These boys are not having a minor dispute here, they’re having an exceptionally violent altercation. Remender practically throws the dialogue at us. It makes the tension palpable, every moment could be anyone’s last.
The end of this issue functionally locks down the core group of kids that Deadly Class will continue to follow down the line, giving us some really interesting dynamics for the future. All the major players get stand out moments here. In previous issues, a couple of them felt like borderline throwaway characters, but this time they’re solidified as constants. The one notable exception is Saya, who gets a paltry two lines that don’t contribute anything to the overall plot. This is forgivable, however, because she has already been solidly established as a character.
Wes Craig is out of this world. As much as I love Remender’s writing, I would pick up this book just for the art. Craig’s drop dead gorgeous visuals stand tall on their own. The visual storytelling is brilliant. I’ve read quite a few comics that rely on word boxes like a crutch, stringing together nonsensical panels, but that simply isn’t the case here. Take away the words, and I’d make the argument that “Deadly Class” could work beautifully as a solely visual story.
I’d like to take a moment to talk about how Deadly Class handles the aesthetics of exposition in a comic. Instead of cluttering up the art with endless world boxes letterer Rus Wooton’s are off to the side, in an almost margin like space. There’s something that feels oh-so-natural about it, I find it strange that this is the first time I’ve really seen it.
Steve Orlando and Artyom Trakhanov’s superb series “Undertow” comes the closest. Their letterer, Thomas Mauer, is doing something similar by putting the words directly on the art and forgoing boxes altogether. I’m really digging how creative and bold both of these books are getting with their lettering.
“Deadly Class” #6 has everything you want in a comic: original and captivating writing seamlessly mixed with breathtaking art peppered with some truly creative lettering. Remender and Craig deliver on all fronts, backs, sides, tops and power bottoms.
Torbin Chimners AKA 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@Vulgar_Rhombus
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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