Comics
[5 Skull Comic Review] “LOW” #5 Inspires Awe
Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini’s “Low” #5 opens with yet another significant time jump. Such large cuts in narrative structures would usually make me furrow my brow, but in this case, it just makes me wonder in awe. I desperately want to know what details Remender would have revealed within those four months and I want to see what Tocchini would have shown us. But then again, if it were up to me, this series would be a lot longer than the projected 60 issues.
WRITTEN BY: Rick Remender
ART BY: Greg Tocchini
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: December 3, 2014
Reviewed by Nick Brehmer
After being betrayed by a brainwashed Tajo, both Stel and Marik are prisoners of Polluma; Stel’s being tortured by Roln while Marik has become a sort of celebrity gladiator in the giant monster fishbowl that serves as entertainment for the deranged masses. Roln is in fact using Marik newfound fame as a way to slowly draw out the coordinates of the fallen probe. That’s right – this issue contains a stunning, underwater gladiator fight against massive sea monsters.
But it’s in this scenario that makes apparent the brilliance of Remender’s character development. While it may be emotionally rewarding to get behind Stel and her ferocious optimism, the villains of this story need to be respected. Why? Because they’re romantics. They aren’t bent on destruction or chaos. – they want to live. They want to see the sky, feel the wind, and hear the birds. Roln knows that how Polluma exists isn’t really living. The probe and the prospect of a new home are just as appealing to Roln and his minions as it is to Stel and Marik.
Remender understands human nature. He understands hope and despair and what they do to people, for better or for worse. This is why “Low” is such an incredible story. We’ve already seen so much radical change in characters. You can look at the broken, yet-to-be-revealed story arc of Tajo and see how hope is so cruelly stolen from youth into adulthood. Conversely, you can see how, especially through Marik’s narration in the latter part of this issue, how good intentions are also easily corruptible and how that corruption can indeed be rectified.
I’m not sure if I want to spend many words on Tocchini’s art from this issue within this review. Deep – that’s all I’ll say. The process that the two creators have presented to us is just so ambitious and noble that each issue draws up very appropriate moisture to my eyes. Their process is definitely one to be trusted.
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A product of the harsh lands of Northern Ontario, Nick Brehmer is in fact a sensitive flower currently blooming in the GTA. He spends his downtime wishing he was British. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @nicholasbrehmer
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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