Comics
[Comic Book Review] “Arkham Manor” #2 Needs Less Batman
Now that Bruce has returned home, and determined to solve a double homicide in the newly formed “Arkham Manor” things can really get started. This month we’re treated to a briskly paced adventure through the former safe haven that offers further psychological analysis of what makes Batman tick.
WRITTEN BY: Gerry Duggan
ART BY: Shawn Crystal
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: November 26, 2014
It’s going to be hard for “Arkham Manor” not to compare itself to the seminal classic “Arkham Asylum” from Grant Morrison. Each story has a variety of similarities, and I applaud Gerry Duggan for being so bold as to emulate the story in his own way. Now that Batman is fully immersed in another personality, much akin to Matches Malone he can begin to understand the inner workings of the labyrinth.
It’s nice to see an oddly confident Batman in light of what Scott Snyder is doing on “Batman.” Duggan showcases his protagonist as overly confident to a point, and plays with the idea of reducing him down to nothing. Inside Arkham Manor he may have a home field advantage, but he’s got none of the tools he’s used to.
Instead we see Bruce attending group therapy and given what we know now about the identity of the Joker, things have an especially sinister tone in this issue. I can’t help but giggle when the whole group notices that Jack Shaw is hiding something. What’s more is their laser focus on Batman. They have him figured out there, even the petty thugs know why he does the vigilante thing.
Shawn Crystal is a sight to behold. His muddy pencils add a certain level of gritty charm to the newest member of the batman mythos: Arkham Manor. His pencils bring the property to life with such vigor that the building itself feels like the newest character in the book. Over the course of twenty two pages we’re treated to the inside, the outside, and the grand halls of Wayne Manor.
Combined with the dark sunken in eyes of the characters you really have something different and approachable. “Arkham Manor” doesn’t look like most other Bat books and it’s a good thing. It’s got a darker charm on its sleeve than it first lets on. It’s perfect too, because the final showdown on the last few pages plays with the darkness in such a perfect way that you’ll be on edge right until the final panel.
This book doesn’t do much yet to justify its own existence. We’ve learned nothing new, and so far it just reads like an extension of the Bat-book formula which is to say a different writer taking Batman on monthly adventures against a different set of backdrops than the core series. I can’t help but wonder where things will go when the trapped inside the manor storyline resolves itself. Because this book could survive without Batman, in fact at this point it’s just what the Bat-books need: less Batman.
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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