Comics
[Comic Review] Valiant Entertainment Releases 04/22/15
Reviewed by Brady Steele. The Valiant Entertainment Universe bounces back triumphantly this week by nailing three titles and making them all uniquely great. Ninjak #2, Divinity #3 and Ivar, Timewalker #4 are all fantastic reads worth your time and money. I’m going to cram in all the good stuff into one nice review for your reading pleasure.
Ivar, Timewalker #4 WRITTEN BY: Fred Van Lente ART BY: Clayton Henry
Ninjak#2 WRITTEN BY: Matt Kindt ART BY: Clay Mann & Butch Guice
Divinity #3 WRITTEN BY: Matt Kindt ART BY: Trevor Hairsine
PUBLISHER: Valiant Entertainment
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: 22 April 2015
First up is Ivar, Timewalker #4, written by Fred Van Lente and art by Clayton Henry. Once again, writer Van Lente takes something as tried and tested as time travel and makes a story so utterly unique that it will baffle and amaze you until the end. Henry’s art, as always, impresses with its duality of simplicity in line work but combined with superb detailing. The main character, Ivar, is scarcely in this issue at all. His would becohort, Neela, sets out to prove she can change history and the outcome is one remarkable and troublesome lesson to learn.
Second on our list (in no particular order because all these books are impressive) is Ninjak #2, written by Matt Kindt and art by Clay Mann and Butch Guice. This is a smooth, suave ninja / spy thriller of a series and it’s only the second issue! There are so many minute details spread all over this series, from the introduction / recap page at the start to the sly maneuvering in front and behind of his foes to the back-up new spy tales by the great Butch Guice. The story moves nice and quick and slick enough to pay attention and re-read it again to see how the past and present of Ninjak are all playing into one another.
Thirdly, we have Divinity #3, written (again) by Matt Kindt and art by Trevor Hairsine. The would-be Omni-powerful cosmonaut takes on Unity, all of the mightiest warriors the Valiant Universe can dish out to neutralize the uncertainty he represents. Kindt in one instance takes a typical fight and makes it into a multi-layered and fascinating look at how power can be used to eliminate adversaries without throwing a punch. Riveting work. Catch up if you aren’t up to speed to see how breathtaking the art by Hairsine has been so far.
I normally would expand elaborate how each of these titles is worth your attention. I think if you want to try this shared comic book universe out, any of the Valiant Next books are exceptional gateways into this refreshing world. Each book is so utterly different from the other and yet the greatest thing they all share in common is that they are great reads. Pick them up and catch up to the Valiant Universe.
Ninjak #2 Score: 9/10 Skulls
Divinity #3 Score: 9/10 Skulls
Ivar, Timewalker #4 Score: 9.5/10
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Mr. Steele enjoys all things comics and imagination-based. Using his lifetime of comic-fu-dom for good, he imparts his knowledge for the universe to enjoy and for you, dear readers, to pass it on.
Twitter: @mrbradysteele
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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