Comics
Taking The High Road Out Of Hell: Tim Seeley Paying Debt Owed To ‘Hack/Slash’ Artists Out Of His Own Pocket
Like any good break-up worth its salt there has to be loss involved for both parties involved. This past weekend we ran the news that publisher Image Comics had acquired the rights to Tim Seeley’s ubber popular brainchild “HACK/SLASH” from original publisher Devil’s Due. In that article I touched on the mountain of debt that the publisher owes to its artists and writers, something that now that it has lost its top selling commodity, will probably prove to be its downfall. Well now it is being reported over at Bleeding Cool News that the scribe himself will be taking on the debt owed to those that have contributed to his title on his own shoulders, and out of his own pocket book. Read on for the skinny.
Here’s An Excerpt From Bleeding Cool’s Article,
“Tim Seeley has told me he’s taken out a loan to pay off the unpaid artists, owed money by Devil’s Due. It’s not his debt, but it’s one he feels responsible for. The money owed by Devil’s Due to Tim has been cleared in exchange to Tim taking the comic away from Devil’s Due before the contract period is up. And taking on Wildstorm work should see him able to pay that loan off sooner, while he waits for Image money to come through, or the possible trickle from Devil’s Due.”
You can read the full write up over at Bleeding Cool News.
Let this be a lesson to everyone out there that has a great idea and is thinking about shopping it around to publishers. This industry is full of dishonest thieves who are perfectly content with ripping you off through the means of some sort of 2 point font type at the bottom of a 100 page contract, or, in Devil’s Due’s case, even without a loophole.
I’m sure Tim will be ok now that Image has the rights to publish his title. The writer has done nothing but go the extra mile in his career to get his little brain-child out there and into the minds of readers, and month-to-month delivered a standout piece of work. being a creator owned publisher (And an honest one at that) I’m sure that Image will be more than capable of adequately promoting his title and hopefully getting the film adaptation off the ground. I will say that June cannot come quick enough for me so I can see just what Tim and the guys over at Image can cook up.
As for Devil’s Due, karma is going to be a bitch. The company owes a lot more people than Seeley’s crew money, and even without the debt they are owed the company is more than likely going to file for bankruptcy within the next 60 days. I’d imagine that lawsuits will also be pending before the month is out, but hey, maybe the rest of the hard working artists and writers out there will just work off a buddy system like Seeley and give DDP a get out of jail free card? Let’s hope not.
The ‘Kiss It’ with the Image logo etched onto Cassie’s bat sure does ring true here. Talk about the Devil getting his due, right? What say you?
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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