Comics
[Comic Review] “The Witcher: Fox Children” #1 Delivers On Every Level
A licensed comic that captures the essence of the subject matter and uses it to tell a compelling story? Hard to believe but ‘The Witcher: Fox Children’ truly does deliver. Paul Tobin has an exceptional grasp of the lore, fluidly throwing around terms and locations that longtime fans will recognize. Those not up to snuff don’t have to worry though, these references are not critical to the story and ones that are are fully explained.
WRITTEN BY: Paul Tobin
ART BY: Joe Quiero
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: April 1, 2015
The lack of an intro page is a bit disorienting, a brief paragraph to help place when this tale takes place in The Witcher timeline would’ve been nice. Even an explanation as for why Geralt is traveling through a swamp with the Dwarf, Addario or where they’re headed. Nowhere do they actually state what their mission is so it’s all up to your imagination. Alas, as far as I can tell this a self-contained story that could realistically take place at any time during Geralt’s Witcher career.
Opening blind with Geralt and Addario camping in a swamp at night our heroes have a couple chance encounters with varying degrees of success. Both are decidedly quite comedic, which gives the book an almost optimistic and carefree feel. The second encounter in particular had me chuckling out loud as our heroes interact with a hungry but peaceful troll.
In an effort to leave the swamps and continue on whatever their unexplained journey is our heroes find themselves in Windley Port looking at ships. They chat with the owner of one of the ships and he lets slip that they’re on a rescue mission before he’s cut off by a mercenary and his companions. They happen to be the ones the ship owner is working with and don’t want his loose lips spilling the beans about something.
Geralt is recognized by the mercenaries and is asked to assist if need be in exchange for passage aboard the ship. He immediately questions their secrecy and presses them for answers of which they promise to divulge once the ship has set sail. It’s bewildering why Geralt pushes them so hard for answers but then without a thought agrees to board the ship and wait to be told. Wouldn’t the whole reason he’d push them for answers be because he doesn’t want to be surprised out as sea with nowhere else to go?
This small annoyance aside the book does pick up tremendously from here to the end of the issue. It becomes a real page turner as events develop and conflicts arise. Going in I didn’t think this book would be anything to write home about but in fact it’s the opposite. You could almost recommend this book to anyone and they’d have a good time, increasingly more so for those already familiar with the world. If only it had a brief intro to bring new comers up to speed on the bare essentials, then there’d be no reason not to recommend it.
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.