Comics
Review: “Black Science” #8
After Kadir’s heroic but ultimately disastrous rescue attempt last issue our heroes have been divided into two separate yet equally important groups in “Black Science” #8. Kadir and what’s left of the Black Science team, including the mentally compromised Chandra, and Grant’s children, who can only rely on each other in an utterly foreign forest.
WRITTEN BY: Rick Remender
ART BY: Matteo Scalera
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: August 27, 2014
Reviewed by Torbin Chimners
The issue swiftly opens on Pia and Nate in a free fall following their tumble over the cliff last month. Before then even make landfall they are assaulted by the spectacularly out of this world local wildlife. Nate narrates the whole intro and it’s really damn engrossing. He speaks at length about his relationship with his father, Grant, about how he raised him with some rather unorthodox parenting. Up until this point Nate’s mostly been like a piece of scenery that no ones really paid much attention to besides to protect, with no real personality to speak of. Now he’s finally coming into his own and becoming one of the paramount characters of “Black Science.”
As we move out of the jungle and into Kadir’s camp we’re reminded of Chandra’s alien gas ‘condition.’ I’d forgotten all about this and had to go back a couple issues and refresh myself, but that didn’t make it make any more sense. I’m sure this subplot will come to a head by the end of this arc but for now it’s still as confusing as ever.
To counteract that confusion the Shamans startling reveal answered some questions I’d forgotten I’d had from way back in issue #2. Although I’m still convinced that he has some kind of secret connection with Grant, possibly being the Grant McKay of his dimension.
The void left by Grant is really starting to sink in now, a few issues after his death. While he was the glasses through which we saw the world of Black Science, with him dead there’s a lot of room for secondary characters to really grow and show their true colours. It’s an exciting time for the series.
Last issue was all spectacle with Kadir’s valiant rescue attempt but this issue is all character. Nate and the Shaman fundamentally take over as the stars and boy do they shine. While I miss Grant immensely the series high level of quality has not wavered an inch. As the book continues I’m sure we’ll see many characters come and go, some well before their time, because not one character is infallible. The star of the show and true backbone of the series is and always will be, for lack of a better word, The Multiverse of “Black Science.”
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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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