Comics
5 Skull Comic Review: “The Ghost Fleet” #4 – Shit Get’s Really Real
Reviewed By Torin Chambers. “Ghost Fleet” #4 gets real this month, swapping out hardcore action for an emotional rollercoaster. The best part? It works, it works really well. With each passing issue and the deeper we get into this story the more it strays from how it was originally presented. From seeing its original announcement at NYCC last year there’s no way I could’ve guessed it’d be going in the direction it now is. Which is in no way a negative, as this series has proven to be superbly intriguing.
WRITTEN BY: Donny Cates
ART BY: Daniel Warren Johnson
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: February 4, 2014
Initially we’re treated to a flashback showing Ward and Trace in an incredibly different time. Wards been drinking heavily in his car, too ashamed or too scared to enter his own home. Until he hears a scream and goes rushing in, hand on his gun, ready for anything. Except to deal with his wife’s cancer. Turns out Trace and Sara have been waiting for him for hours as he’s been out drowning himself in the drink. Trace takes him outside in the friendliest way possible and lays it all out for him, how he’s gotta step up and really be there for his wife. This whole scene is a real gut punch I was never expecting from Ghost Fleet, but one I welcome with open arms. (maybe that’s how they gut punched me so easily)
Later in the issue things get really gnarly and supernatural but I won’t spoil any of it because it’s totally rad. Another character is also introduced this issue, he beautifully takes care of the balls to the walls action for this month. How he ties into everything isn’t very clear but make sure to keep an eye on his t-shirt, trust me.
Meanwhile Lauren Affe’s colors add a surreal texture to the book that you really can’t find anywhere else in comics. It straddles the line between a old school pulp book and new school awesome.
The concept of this series has evolved into something tremendous and has built with every subsequent issue. Now that we’ve reached the fourth chapter everything that has been teased is coming together beautifully in a way that doesn’t feel forced but organically challenges every thing that came before in brand new ways. This is one stellar read. If you come to the series for amazing action scenes, you’ll find plenty to love this month, but if you linger a little longer you’ll find yourself immersed in an emotional and surprising read.
Donny Cates and Daniel Warren Johnson have truly hit their stride now, this is the best Ghost Fleet issue yet and I’m craving that next issue more than my many chemical dependencies.
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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