Comics
Review: “Tech Jacket” #1
Re-launching Robert Kirkman’s space-faring character, “Tech Jacket” #1 doesn’t have a lot of original ideas to bring to the table, the original series being a remix of some well worn cosmic comic tropes to begin with. That said, the series promises some star-hopping fun, and who couldn’t use more of that?
WRITTEN BY: Joe Keatinge ART BY: Khary Randolph PUBLISHER: Image PRICE: $2.99 RELEASE: July 2, 2014 Review By: Ooknabah
When it comes to his time at Image, one cannot accuse Robert Kirkman of abandoning his early work. While his first projects were short lived, once his super hero comic Invincible began to take off it wasn’t long before characters from previous series like Capes Inc or Brit were folded into the larger Invincible Universe. So too was Tech Jacket, Kirkman’s first original work for the company, a Quasar meets Iron Man (with some Nova, Green Lantern, Spider Man, etc thrown in) manga-esque effort, that follows the adventures of Zack Thompson (no relation to our esteemed comics editor as far as I’m aware) a high school student who becomes bonded with a powerful alien technology which he uses to defend the earth from extraterrestrial threats.
While the character had a supporting roles in Invincible’s Vitrumite War storyline, he has remained largely a background player and this new series is a welcome effort to give him a spotlight. Welcome, because while far from ground breaking, the series offers the potential from some real fun comics, even at these initial stages. While Kirkman has no direct involvement in the series, the sense of humour and opportunity for fun that made the initial run of Invincible so great is in evidence here. There is also the potential to follow Invincible down the path of becoming overwrought, but I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt to start off.
Khary Randolph’s art is great, Keatinge’s dialog captures Zack’s endearing relationship with his father perfectly and now that the ground work has been laid in there could be some great adventure to follow. I’m excited for it, and you should be too.
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.
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