Comics
Review: “Sovereign” #4
Image describes “Sovereign” as an “epic fantasy in the tradition of Game of Thrones”. While this issue certainly demonstrates a comparable level of complexity, with massive swaths of exposition and a truly dizzying cast of characters, it fails to capture its audience’s attention in the same way. The accessibility that has made George R. R. Martin’s series a massive hit is nowhere to be seen here, and the final product suffers greatly as a result.
WRITTEN BY: Chris Roberson
ART BY: Paul Maybury
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: June 25, 2014
Review By: Ooknabah
Sovereign #4 is divided into three parts, chronicling the inhabitants of a city besieged by the undead. Names are scarce, as is context, even while additional intrigues play out over the course of the story. Not much actually happens over the course of the issue, although it all portends to greater action to come. Still, as a new, lost reader, it is difficult to care.
This may all be solved when the series is collected in trade format, as the dense plotting almost demands the ability to flip back to previous scenes to figure out how all the various storylines manage to fit together. Being unfamiliar with what has come before, there is no doubt that many details are passing me by unnoticed. However, there is little to encourage one to delve into those previous issues to retrieve that much needed set up based off what is presented here.
Chris Roberson’s writing captures the voice of your typical fantasy novel, however the individual voices of the characters are almost indistinguishable from each other and the long exposition that covers the first third of the issue fails to entice. Paul Maybury’s art manages to produce a unique look which captures a wide variety of designs, with mixed success. At the more emotionally charged moments of the story it captures the emotions of the characters or the horror of the undead that threaten to overrun our protagonists. At its worst, it comes across as rushed and amateurish.
Dense to the point of being almost impenetrable, Sovereign #4 presents a considerable challenge to the new reader. Perhaps readers of previous issues may be hooked at this point and will see fit to continue, but newcomers will have a hard time finding reasons to do so.
Ooknabah AKA Brent Hirose is a writer, actor and gigantic nerd from Vancouver B.C. You can listen to his podcast about that at HugeNerds.Podomatic.Com or check out his many other projects at BrentHirose.com
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.