Comics
[Comic Review] “Rat Queens” #9 Marks An Extremely Effective Comeback
Reviewed By Katy Rex. “Rat Queens” #9 features a new artist, Stjepan Sejic, previously known for his work on Sunstone and Death Sigil. His high-fantasy art is a good fit for the series, albeit a very different one. Yet, the tone of the series remains unwavering and despite a few narrative hiccups thanks to a lengthy hiatus, the new art is welcomed even if we have to wait until next month to get its full effects.
WRITTEN BY: Kurtis J. Wiebe
ART BY: Stjepan Sejic
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: #3.50
RELEASE: March 5, 2015
The artist change is more apparent in a book like “Rat Queens” because Upchurch also colored his own work, Stepan does as well, which has caused a dramatic shift in palette. Upchurch’s work had previously been lighter, slightly more cartoon-y without being cheesy, with visual cues that allowed you to both take the series very seriously and recognize its parody aspects. Sejic’s tone is much darker, both in colors and in realism, while maintaining the unique character designs that attracted many fans to the series in the first place. The humor is still unquestionably present, but it’s also different from the earlier jokes, in a way that is largely attributable to the aesthetic. Wiebe is versatile enough to write for a variety of artistic styles and strengths, and Sejic’s strength in this issue is clearly the dynamic layouts of the action scenes.
The story is particularly appropriate after the series’ hiatus, because it features the cast of Rat Queens regrouping for the next step. Not only does this echo the series’ own position, but it allows Wiebe to remind us of each of the characters’ voices, their backgrounds and relationships, such that they each have a moment in this issue. This of course also gives a spotlight to each character’s new adapted design under Sejic’s eye, a moment where they are each acting and appearing as exactly themselves.
The most unfortunate thing about this issue is that, while the characters are back and strong as ever, this feels like a first issue all over again. It’s understandable, certainly, for the reasons outlined above, but for those of us who have been waiting since October, the minimal plot movement was somewhat of a disappointment. The story spends almost all of its time allowing each of the characters to recover from the psychic attack of madness from the Lovecraftian hellmonster, but since that attack occurred in issue #7, published on July 16 of last year, more forward trajectory could have been nice.
This is an extremely effective comeback issue, and while it isn’t plot-heavy, it’s easy to be optimistic about the future of this series.
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Katy Rex writes comics analysis at endoftheuniversecomics.com, comicsbulletin.com, and bloody-disgusting.com. She really likes butt jokes, dinosaurs, and killing psychos and midgets in Borderlands 2. She has a great sense of humor if you’re not an asshole.
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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