Comics
[Comic Review] “Imperium” #4 – Unsettling And Smart
Reviewed by Brady Steele. Nothing like going to war for resources to keep your fledgling country powered forever, right? What better soldiers to go into battle with than traitors, brainwashed powerful youth, a killer robot, an alien bred assassin and possessed scientists? Imperium #4 epitomizes the height of sophisticated comic book stories readers can enjoy in 2015.
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One of the best parts about this series is that almost no one wants to work with or trust Toyo Harada, the all-powerful psiot in charge of reshaping the world for the better. All of his recruits want him dead, conspire behind his back to break free of his thrall or just want nothing to do with him. The fact that he is succeeding in his mission is almost inconsequential to all of the other plot lines floating around. Thanks to writer Joshua Dysart’s deft and thought stirring ideas, this series is just starting to get all of the players in order and it’s still an absorbing series to read every month.
The final major player (I think) is revealed to readers this issue as Angela Peace Baingana, the chief science officer of Harada’s enemy, Project Rising Spirit. Thanks to dimensional exploring, Angela becomes possessed by a higher intellect alien and unknown species. There is plenty creepy and horrific for artist Doug Braithwaite to show us this outing. The after-effect of her visit makes her look disturbing as well as her detachment to which she once was when The Angela Vessel speaks. It feels like Hannibal Lecter is now an extra-dimensional passenger driving the once benevolent Dr. Baingana.
This book continues to impress me. Not only are the bad guys winning, you as a reader really want them to because it`s such an engaging story. I know there are tried and true archetype characters being shown to us in this book but they look and sound like nothing I`ve read before in comics. Everyone is complex and compelling and it`s all leading towards something bigger and bolder down the line. Imperium #4 is unsettling enough on its own to read. It’s even better when you catch up to this series. Go ahead and get on the winning side and watch what smart storytelling looks like.
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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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