Comics
Review: “Undertow” #6
Such is the end of an incredible journey. “Undertow” # 6 serves as a beautiful conclusion that is grounded in character and offers a revealing reminder that sometimes our homes can be the worst parts of us.
WRITTEN BY: Steve Orlando
ART BY: Artyom Trakhanov
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: July 23, 2014
I’ve been in love with this series from the beginning. However, I wasn’t expecting a conclusion like this. It’s as thoughtful as they come and grounded in an ugly truth that I didn’t know I wanted to learn. It also has tons of action and confrontation that needed to happen for everything to get neatly wrapped up. In short this is a phenomenal conclusion.
After the events of last month the fates of the main trio of characters were lying in question. Orlando quickly answers this questions and moves his final script into high gear within moments. The finale plays with breakneck pace and despite never slowing down, doesn’t miss a single character beat. It’s an impressive feat.
Artyom Trakhanov handles the heavy script as if it’s a walk in the part. He makes the final confrontations in this issue into a dizzying ballet of death and never loses the reader in the process. His colors are at the absolute height and prove that he’s a force to be reckoned with in the comic book world. The pastel colors put an eerie glow over the death on display throughout the pages. And holy hell, the work on the final confrontation with Anshargal is just what dreams are made of. It’s executed so simply but still remains on the issue’s highpoints.
I struggle to think of how to cope in a world without “Undertow.” I feared that this final issue would lay on the conflict a little too heavily and forget about the characters, but I should have known better. Orlando makes it look easy and never visits character beats as an afterthought, instead their worked organically into the core narrative.
Anshargal is a compelling force that I could never quite get a fix on throughout this entire series, and here I was pleasantly surprised by his motivations. He makes everything clear and even evolves as a character. I was too quick to dismiss him, and was floored to see how Ukinnu’s relationship with the leader is about to evolve.
The epilogue of the issue shows the unsightly home of Atlantis we’ve heard so much about, and shows exactly what these characters have fought so hard against during these six issues. It’s a beautiful dessert after the main course that helped ground one of the main characters struggles in a horrifying way.
“Undertow” is a spectacle, it’s well written, beautifully drawn, and evokes incredible emotion. It’s a story of self-discovery, and new frontiers. I can’t recommend it enough, and encourage you to learn a thing or two by picking it up.
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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