Comics
Comic Book Review: Veil HC Will Keep You Hooked To The Last Page
Hypnotically frightening, “Veil HC” is a wicked combination of a love story, crime drama, and horror. Who knew meeting a naked woman coming out of the subway would end going horribly wrong? With gripping storytelling and unflinching artwork, “Veil” is guaranteed to keep you hooked until the very last page.
WRITTEN BY: Greg Rucka
ART BY: Toni Fejzula
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: January 14, 2015
Reviewed by Jorge Solis
In the middle of the night, a naked woman walks out of the subway and into the big city. All eyes are gawking at the mysterious nude woman stopping traffic as she walks across the busy streets. A group of criminals are interested in gang-banging the nudist, who never stops speaking in riddles. Though he’s part of the gang, Dante knows something is wrong and decides to rescue her. Dante doesn’t realize he’s saving the life a of a succubus and she’s very hungry for flesh.
Writer Greg Rucka delivers a well-crafted thriller deep-seeded with themes about superiority complex and male dominance. In the war between genders, it’s about males seeking control over females through their mind, body, and soul. Dante breaks the mold when he suddenly meets Veil. The cops, demons, and gangs are all after Dante as he never lets go of Veil’s hand, protecting her from them.
I really liked how Rucka focuses on the relationship between Dante and Veil. Dante is attracted to Veil, even sexually drawn to her, but he doesn’t have a lot to offer. He comes from a poor neighborhood and his life is down in the pits. They are both lost in their own way, which is what keeps them connected.
Why did it have to be rats? Adding to my nightmares, artist Toni Fejzula starts off the page with a naked Veil covered in rats, from head to toe. That’s not how you want to wake up one morning at all. Fejuzla then adds graphic close-ups when two rats start clawing and biting at each other, before one them is run over by a vehicle.
Fejzula illustrates childlike expressions on Veil’s face, as if she’s always in awe of something. Throughout the narrative, Viel is trying to understand her own sexuality, even as she becomes a seductress. That childlike innocence is all gone when Fejzula depicts Veil in her monstrous form. From there, it’s a succubus in beast mode, with horns growing out of her head, as she tears a man’s chest apart.
An enjoyable read, “Veil” HC should not be missing. Now I’m going to see a therapist about my fear of rats, thanks Rucka and Fejzula.
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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