Comics
Review: “LOW” #2
“LOW” #2 picks up 10 years after the events of issue one. Salus has descended into the depths of squalor and depravity. Stel somehow escaped the wreckage of her family’s sub, and with her daughters still missing; she’s left with Marik who, like Salus, has been corrupted by loss.
WRITTEN BY: Rick Remender
ART BY: Greg Tocchini
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: August 27, 2014
Reviewed by Nick Brehmer
I mentioned in my review of issue #1 the homage that is being paid to the great illustrators of the late 70s and 80s such as Frank Franzetta. I like to imagine Rick Remender conjuring up Marik’s drug trip in the early pages of issue #2 just for this reason – an excuse for Greg Tocchini to go nuts and flip through Franzetta’s portfolio for inspiration. It’s a nice thought.
The beauty and Edenic nature of the underwater city is almost drained from the pages of issue #2. I say almost because, as I’m sure Remender planned it, hope and beauty remain in the character of Stel. As the issues are released, “Low” will continue to act as an aquatic mirror for the struggles brought on by our human condition. Mother and son are juxtaposed here for this very reason. Stel, although faithfully hopeful, is diminished amidst her now unfortunate home. She clings to belief despite the immense pain of losing her family. With all that pain and her witnessing of Marik’s self-destruction, doubt is an inevitability. But, in true seeker fashion, she journeys to visit a long-forgotten shaman who, while floating in white space, echoes the sentiments of Tolstoy – belief is necessary for a meaningful life. Despair closes doors.
Speaking of despair, Marik does what I’d say most of us do when confronted with struggle and dissatisfaction – we medicate, we numb, and we lose ourselves in the nothingness of self-indulgence. A certain carelessness is bred resulting in the use and enslavement of people. Ruin proceeded by recklessness.
The pacing of this series is incredible. If you care to know what I looked like while reading the final few pages, Kristen Wiig’s “so freakin’ excited” sums it up.
That’s how I feel about this series. I can’t wait to see what surprises the creators have in store for us.
Being a romantic, my hope for the future of “Low” is that it changes minds. Maybe readers who recognize themselves in Marik, bitter and terrorized by reality, will see a transformation through the mastery of Remender and Tocchini. Maybe the opposite will prove to be true. Will the creators indeed make Stels or Mariks of us all? Time will tell. For now… group hug.
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.