Comics
Review: “Ghosted” #12
With each new arc of “Ghosted” Joshua Williamson aims to undo everything you know about a particular brand of horror. This month is no different as we see contract hauntings become a terrible reality, and the mystery surrounding Jackson’s past is further deepened in an incredible chapter that may be the series most exciting yet.
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Williamson
ART BY: Davide Gianfelice
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: August 13, 2014
It feels like far too long since we last had a proper issue of “Ghosted” on the stands. So Williamson makes it count by packing issue twelve to the brim with tons of story content. Characters return, new characters enter the limelight, and Jackson’s character is deepened in ways I truly didn’t see coming. Whatever the direction, “Ghosted” remains irresistibly compelling thanks to a strong central character who just can’t keep himself away from the world of the undead.
The new shakeup involves Jackson trying to track down a mark, alive. It’s a great twist on the old formula and the revelation of who this person actually proves tantalizing. I can’t wait to see how Williamson develops the antagonist of the arc and something tells me he’s even more ruthless than what little we already know of his family.
Davide Gianfelice used to rub me the wrong way. I don’t know what it was about his art, but I never found it suitable for the book in comparison to the first arc. However, I’m proud to eat my words as this month he knocks it out of the park with a few panels that come to show he’s growing more comfortable in this world. His handle on Jackson is dynamic and gives a lot of attitude in every panel. While the single panel of Jackson’s scarred back told us more about the man than we ever got up until now. Finally the sequence of the contract haunting near the end of the issue solidified Gianfelice’s art as the only fit for the book. It was haunting in all the right ways, and this month he really made use of some incredible match cutting between panels that made the action feel incredibly dynamic.
I’m frothing to see where things go next. I need to know more about Jackson’s past but I also crave to know what is going on with the newly introduced idea of paying to haunt someone. Surely this makes the relationship between Anderson and Jackson even thicker, serving to complicate just about everything.
I love this book. I love how it can seamlessly transition from moments of pure terror, to comedy, to crime without missing a beat. The most interesting elements are when Williamson takes a terrible turn for just a single panel, it shows where his brain goes when nobody keeps him in check. “Ghosted” continues to be a riveting thrill ride that gets under your skin.
Bring on the dreaded issue #13.
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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