Comics
[Comic Book Review] “Nailbiter” #8 Superbly Stings With Tense Thrills
I’m running the risk of sounding like a broken record but “Nailbiter” #8 is another absolutely superb issue. This book is consistently outstanding and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, which is a blessing.
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Williamson
ART BY: Mike Henderson
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: Dec 3, 2014
Reviewed By Torin Chambers
We’ve been with these people for 8 months now and it shows. We have an excellent sense of who these people are, what drives them, how they see themselves, and in turn how the world around them sees them back. Our care for their safety and wellbeing is at an all time high, which makes life or death situations altogether more immediate and visceral.
Williamson is on track to cover as many phobias as possible over the course of Nailbiter’s run. He’s done body horror, cannibalism, fire, stabbing, and now this month we’ve got bees thrown into the mix. That also means another potential serial killer/at the very least an incredibly unhinged individual. We open on a sight that should intimately familiar to any psychopaths out there: cutting off the wings and pulling out the stinger of a bee with an x-acto knife and tweezers.
Well at least it’s all set to the tender humming of “I’m bringing home my baby bumblebee,” that keeps it at a special level of unsettling. The especially cryptic dialogue that follows may initially come off as a madman’s ramblings but don’t take it lightly. There’re a couple other hints throughout the issue that make it almost sound like he’s really onto something. I’m sure we won’t understand the implications fully for some time.
This issue does an excellent job of juggling Finch and Crane in separate situations that don’t intersect. They’ve spent most of the series in more of a buddy cop capacity, so it’s super interesting to see them go about their own business. Finch especially because his scene would have gone down infinitely different if Crane was present. Without Crane to act as a moral compass of sorts for Finch, he’s free to dig even harder and get his hands dirty. Warren also gets a lovely moment this issue but that’s his extent of involvement.
“Nailbiter” is the pinnacle of horror in comics right now, it’s also a tense thriller, an emotional drama and it’s got a wicked sense of humor. The complete package any way you look at it, even under a tree this holiday season.
—
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 @TorinsChambers
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.