You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is a story about five friends living what appear to be perfect lives, but anyone who learns the truth about their community won’t escape with their lives. The book is written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface) with art by Heather Vaughan (John Carpeneter’s Tales for a Halloween Night). Published by IDW’s horror imprint, IDW Dark, the book debuts in October 2026.

Phoebe Joplin and her friends were born into a secluded community built by their parents where they are expected to be stronger, smarter, and better than everyone else. There are no dangers, distractions, and seemingly no secrets… but that all changes on the night that they graduate.

After one of Phoebe’s friends dies, she starts to question her perfect existence and learns something truly unsettling. Their perfect community is not a haven away from the outside world; it is a cage and whoever learns that terrible secret is doomed to die.

“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,” Kelly said. “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.”

“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,” Lanzing said. “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.”

“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” Senior Group Editor Heather Antos said. “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.”

You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive #1 features covers by Vaughan, Alex Eckman-Lawn, Morgan Beem, and Joshua Hixson. The first issue will be in comic shops on October 14.