Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life.

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 finds 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.

Now, I knew I was in for a great read with Jackson and Kelly at the helm as well as a unique and fresh horror coming from IDW Dark, but outside of that I was not sure what to expect with You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive. What the creative team delivers is a crazier story than I could have even imagined, where the sense of unease if palpable and on one hand feel for these kids, but the other believe they are getting the best attention possible. That is until things go even crazier.

The first issue has this fast-paced, uneasy build-up throughout, setting the foundation for what we can expect in the series before an insane drop of an ending that had me picking my jaw up off the floor. This eerie vibe, uneasy feeling, and sense of dread that is blended with a sense of hopefulness that really shouldn’t work but somehow does.

Lanzing and Kelly have created this story that has this unsettling ending of a first issue that leaves enough questions unanswered to push you into the second issue. This allowed for me to immerse myself into this fresh new world crafted by this creative team, but also leave me eagerly awaiting more. This unsettling feeling does however stay with you after you close this debut issue.

The artwork by Vaughan is just as unsettling and uneasy. You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is gritting, edgy, and at times chaotic, but fits with the horror vibes of the series. The dark color palette adds to the sense of dread throughout and only pops with brighter colors when needed. Vaughan builds out this world written by Lanzing and Kelly to really round-out what the hell is happening in this secluded community. Clayton Cowles perfectly placed word bubbles and sound effects are not to be forgotten as they amp the tension and horror without taking away from the artwork surrounding them, at times adding to the overall visual appeal.

You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is the type of horror story that surprises even those who know exactly what to expect. Writing duo Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and artist Heather Vaughan craft a story that is filled with this growing unease, unsettling dread, and an ending that will stay with you in ways that I can’t explain. You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is eerie and unsettling in all the right ways.

You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive #1 hits local comic shops on October 14, 2026 (FOC: September 7) from the IDW Dark imprint at IDW Publishing.

You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive #1 Preview

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While we are not the official voice of your decision, we want to help guide you in the right direction for comics releasing August 26, 2026.

Black Tower: The Raven Conspiracy #1

Writer: Ram V
Artist: Mike Perkins
Publisher: DC Vertigo

OCCULT WARFARE IS A FANTASY… OR IS THAT WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO THINK?

Twenty-three-year-old Darren Burroughs out of Audubon, PA, is a gifted rookie sent under the guise of a diplomatic aide to train with Division Nine — an obscure, outdated, and easily dismissed arm of British intelligence that specializes in dealing with paranormal incidents. In the right sort of spy circles, they’re known by a different, more feared name… Black Tower.

It’s 2026, and in the age of cyber warfare and drone strikes, someone is plotting to steal the head of a giant-king to break a centuries-old ward that has kept invading forces out of Britain. Magic and espionage collide as the Black Tower’s band of misfits, led by the enigmatic Alistair Romeo, delves into a maelstrom of spells and silencers, working against time and in the shadows to fight the esoteric battles bubbling under the surface of our visible wars.

Eisner Award winner Ram V (Detective Comics, The Swamp Thing) and acclaimed artist Mike Perkins (The Swamp Thing, The Bat-Man: First Knight) team up once again to bring you a contemporary spy thriller with the distinct flavor of Vertigo magic… from His Majesty with love.

Stuff of Nightmares: The Cat in the Coffin #1

Writer: R.L. Stine
Artist: Matthew Dunn
Publisher: BOOM! Studios

From horror legend R.L. Stine (Goosebumps, Fear Street) comes a fresh, one-and-done nightmare framed by the Nightmare Keeper, with chilling visuals by comics artist Matthew Dunn.

A broke dad steals a “valuable” stuffed black cat from his mother’s coffin, dumps her three real black cats at the pound, and gets hunted by the kind of bad luck you can’t outrun.

Harvey Goodwin is unemployed, desperate, and convinced his late mother’s antique stuffed cat, Lucy, is his ticket back to stability. Hazel asked for two promises: care for her three black cats and bury her with Lucy. Harvey breaks both.

Pocketing Lucy during the funeral, caging the cats, and leaving them at the pound, the haunting starts. Cat cries flood his car stereo, his ears bleed, and reality begins to “swap” out from under him.

A darkly funny morality tale about what people do when they feel cornered by money, responsibility, and loss, it taps into the evergreen horror pleasure of “the curse that fits the crime,” with black-cat folklore turned into a relentless, escalating punishment.

Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset #1

Writer: Matt Fraction, G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cliff Rathburn
Publisher: DC Comics

THE BATMAN: BAD SEEDS EVENT STARTS HERE!

Gotham City’s new mayor, Pamela Isley, deserted by her allies both political and arcane, is about to make a last-ditch power play that will leave Gotham decimated by daylight. Having already declared war on the Bat-Family and flooded the streets with his private, paramilitarized police army, Police Commissioner Vandal Savage sees an opportunity to solve two problems at once. Storylines converge in Batman: Bad Seeds, a Gotham City event spanning one long, dark night in Gotham that threatens to turn the entire city into a hostile world of prehistoric plant life unlike anything on Earth for millennia, at a time when its greatest heroes are hunted and in hiding.

As the sun goes down and Gotham loses power, Matt Fraction (Batman), G. Willow Wilson (Poison Ivy), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Absolute Evil), and Cliff Rathburn (The Walking Dead) deliver an unforgettable opening chapter that shows the only thing scarier than the night just might be the morning sun…

Deluge TP

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Marika Cresta
Publisher: Ignition Press

The convict of Sieverville Correctional Prison for Women would do anything to get out. But something evil that feeds their guilt wants in…

Cullen Bunn brings his first horrifying Ignition Press series into a collected edition.

A hard rain is falling on the Sieverville Correctional Prison for women. As the river rises and its banks overflow, the same walls that are keeping the prisoners inside the fortress-like structure are failing to keep the waters out. With that water comes something else. Something deadly. And it wants inside…

What was once outside is now inside, and the prisoners and guards will have to find a way out, because of the water doesn’t get them, the monsters will.

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They say that every small town has a secret. Well, in the case of Riverdale, it’s one heck of a humdinger: An ancient order of cultists has infiltrated its townspeople, bent on using human sacrifice to usher a demon lord into our mortal plane. And they’ve finally identified the final target they need to bring a century’s worth of planning to fruition: hometown football champion and all-around good guy Archie Andrews. But this secret cabal never dreamed that actual witches walk Riverdale’s streets… and when cult and coven clash in the final stages of Archie’s secret ritual sacrifice, the consequences will be cosmic… and young Archie Andrews will find himself damned to something far worse than Hell’s inner circle.

Let’s be honest, out of the first three Archie titles coming to Oni Press I knew I was going to enjoy Archie in Hell the most. My love for not only the genre, but also the creators behind the story. Two of my favorite series in recent years are Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (and its sequel) as well as Harrow County, featuring Horvath (former) and Crook (the latter). So these two teaming up on a horror comic in Riverdale has to be worth my time…and my god it was.

Archie in Hell is proof that Horvath knows how to craft a horror story based with a playful twist. Archie is a comic that tends to be lighthearted and playful, so turning that on its head and adding a gruesome horror element is right up Patrick’s alley. His ability to make the playful, terrifying is really unmatched. Archie in Hell is a fast-paced, a vibe I get from most Archie Comics, and a blend of lightheartedness and dark horror.

Horvath lays the foundation of a good deeds and a sense of overall cheer while adding just enough background to let the horrors sink in a bit heavier when they ultimately hit. The premiere issue builds tension, while setting up the horrors, but leaves us highly anticipating what comes next in the series. The way Horvath is able to lay the groundwork in this issue is perfect and makes the horrors we see hit all the more harder.

This is a horror story, but the horrors hit a bit more graphic than I expected. Which with Crook at the pencil, I guess I shouldn’t have been all that surprised. Crook balances the lighthearted and kind moments at the start with the gruesome and brutal moments towards the end. Tyler knows horror art and this issue is more proof of that.

Archie in Hell is a wildly fun, wickedly gruesome trip to Riverdale that proves once again that Archie and horror are a match made in hell. Writer Patrick Horvath and artist Tyler Crook bring their horror expertise to the pages of an Archie story, delivering new story that is somehow lighthearted and terrifying at the same time. Archie in Hell is the odd one out in the first three new Oni Press Archie titles, but also the most fun.

Archie in Hell #1 hits local comic shops on November 4, 2026 (FOC: September 28) from Oni Press.

Archie in Hell #1 Preview

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It’s 1988 and two best friends―one departing for college, one destined for bad boy townie life―decide to have a final video night before their friendship changes forever. Billy and Tom’s plan is perfect. They’ve got pizza and beer, and Tom even managed to convince his girlfriend, Darcy, to bring a friend, Billy’s neighbor and crush, Rachel. But what they don’t know is that there’s an invasion underway.

Across the street, Rachel’s sister, Rhonda, was one of the first to turn. A slithering, chitinous evil has overtaken her body and mind, and she’ll do anything to spread the alien infection. Blood, sex, rock and roll, invaders from outer space, and tender perspectives on teen male friendship: Video Night is one cult classic that has it all!

Originally released in 2013, this Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets The Breakfast Club horror story is gripping from the start and before you know it you’ll be completely engrossed. It’s a nice feeling to know that Clown in a Cornfield wasn’t just a fluke, Cesare has been crafting stellar horror stories for many years now and Video Night is more proof of that.

Cesare not only tells a fantastic horror story, but it’s the setting of said story that really hits home. He captures the essence of 1980s horror movies with a ton of gore and vividly described monsters. It’s the blend of 1980s setting and these horrific monsters that makes this book so special. Cesare’s ability to blend unease along with nostalgia is wonderful and allows for us 1980s kids to immerse ourselves in a period horror that is right up our alley.

The setting aside, Video Night features some relatable characters and a terrifying creatures that become even more horrifying as the story becomes more catastrophic. Billy and Tom’s friendship, which lays at the heart of this story, provided the emotion core that we need in a book full of chaos. Cesare knows how to build characters we can follow along with and cheer for their success, even in moments of terror.

Video Night is getting the re-release it deserves. Featuring a brand new cover, Adam Cesare takes us back to the 1980s for a gore-filled monster mayhem story that has you unable to trust anyone. Video Night will get its nasty claws into you and won’t let go.

The new version of Video Night, now with a new forward by Stephen Graham Jones, hits bookstores everywhere on September 29, 2026 from Union Square & Co. The audiobook, narrated by Matt Godfrey, is available via Libro.fm!

NOTE: We received an advance copy of Video Night from the publisher. Opinions are our own.

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A Halloween mystery unfolds on Deep Space 9!

On the eve of a high-stakes diplomatic summit, Deep Space 9 is thrown into chaos by a sudden communications blackout and a string of deeply unsettling incidents. With senior leadership called away, Worf, Dax, Odo, and Bashir must hold the station together as tensions rise among visiting dignitaries.

Then, a distressed starship arrives with explosive claims — and one member of the DS9 crew stands accused of murder. As suspicion spreads and paranoia takes hold, a creeping sense of dread settles over the Promenade. And somewhere inside the station’s holosuites, something has gone terrifyingly wrong…

What’s funny is that I never really think of Star Trek when I think of the Halloween season, outside of one dressing up as a character. But something about a horror or thriller focus based in the Star Trek universe peaks my interest. Not to mention a four-part miniseries that drops weekly during the month of October, allowing you to get your spooky Star Trek fix just in time for trick-or-treating.

Star Trek: Holo-ween II has a real sense of dread and unease throughout with multiple mysterious threads to follow. Lost communication, missing crew members, and even the basic fact on having to host a diplomatic summit (which sounds horrifying on its own) make this locked-station story perfect for the season. It turns my stomach, even in this fiction world, when a story features a locked-room style tale in space. Nowhere to go and stuff starts to go wrong is simply terrifying to me.

Segura, who now joins the ranks of having written Star Wars and Star Trek, crafts a story that is ultimately a Star Trek tale, but has the vibes of a horrifying thriller in space. It can be consumed as a stand-alone series for those fans of Star Trek, but also for those fringe readers of the universe who just want a spooky story to read around Halloween. Having some knowledge of the Star Trek universe helps, but ultimately it’s a mystery that needs to be solved.

Not only does it sit well in the Star Trek universe, it looks that way as well. Rosenlund’s illustrations give off horror vibes on a space station, perfect for this spooky Star Trek story. JP Jordan’s colors elevate the moody imagery with Jeff Eckleberry completing the package.

Star Trek: Holo-ween II is a wonderfully creepy trip to Deep Space 9 that delivers just the right about of Star Trek thrills this Halloween season. Writer Alex Segura and illustrator Bailie Rosenlund craft a story that weaves a terrifying locked-station mystery into the Star Trek universe in a way that seems fitting. Star Trek: Holo-ween II is the perfect miniseries to read this Halloween, with each issue dropping weekly October 7-28, 2026.

The first issue of Star Trek: Holo-ween II hits local comic shops on October 7, 2026 with each subsequent issue releasing weekly until October 28 (FOC for all issues: August 31) from IDW Publishing.

Star Trek: Holo-Ween II #1 and #2 Covers

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“Hosting Kevin Smith for Episode 300 is a true honor,” said Capes and Tights Podcast co-founder Justin Soderberg. “When we crossed over 200 episodes we had one name on the list I wanted for the 300th and with help from our friends at Dark Horse Comics, we were able to accomplish this goal. Kevin Smith is one of the main reasons we started this podcast in 2021 with words of advice spoken by Kevin Smith on a random episode of one of his podcasts. So, it only seems fitting that as we celebrate 300 that we do so with a podcasting legend.”

Kevin Smith came to prominence with the low-budget comedy Clerks (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted in as the character Silent Bob of stoner duo “Jay & Silent Bob.” Jay and Silent Bob have appeared in Smith’s follow-up films Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Clerks II, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Kevin has also directed and produced films such as Cop Out (2010), the horror film Red State (2011), and the horror comedies Tusk (2014) and Yoga Hosers (2016), the first two films in the True North trilogy. More recently he has written and directed Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019), Killroy Was Here (2022), Clerks III (2022), and The 4:30 Movie (2024).

In the world of comics, Kevin Smith is known for his runs on DC’s Green Arrow and the recently released Bizarro; Marvel’s Daredevil, Jay & Silent Bob: Jays of Future Past, and recently released Spider-Man / Hulk: Fire and Brimstone; Dynamite Entertainment’s Green Hornet and The Bionic Man; and Dark Horse’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation, as well as writing comics under his imprint at Dark Horse with Quick Stops and Maskerade. It was recently announced Smith will be penning the first-ever Marvel / Star Wars crossover event, Star Wars / Marvel: Hope Assembles, which debuts in January 2027.

Kevin Smith has been podcasting on a regular basis over a number of different shows as part of his Smodcast platform since the early 2000’s. Some of his more notable shows have been Fatman Beyond with co-host Marc Bernardin; Hollywood Babble-On with co-host Ralph Garman; Jay & Silent Bob Get Old with Jason Mewes; and more!

“I applaud you for making something that doesn’t make people unhappy or fuel the rage or feed into their already f#&king deeply honed biases and whatnot to just speak freely about the things we love.” said Smith. “I’ll take that show 1,000 times every time man it’s just better for the soul of the world. So it’s gotta feel f#&king cool to hit 300, congratulations!”

September 23, 2026 marks the 300th numbered episode of the Capes and Tights Podcast. Launched on August 8, 2021 in Bangor, Maine by co-founders Soderberg and Adam Morrisette, the Capes and Tights Podcast has faithfully released at least one-episode per week. Over five years, the Capes and Tights Podcast has gone on to host 196 different guests, reviewed 63 movies and 13 television programs all from their studio in Maine.

Over the nearly 200 guests hosted on the program, the podcast has welcomed Goosebumps artist Tim Jacobus; voice actor Dana Snyder; actors and writers David Dastmalchian, Patton Oswalt, Tim Blake Nelson, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Hannah Rose May, and Alex Hyde-White; bestselling and award-winning authors Daniel Kraus, Christopher Golden, Paul Tremblay, Jay Bonansinga, Charles Soule, Adam Cesare, Clay McLeod Chapman, and Stephen Graham Jones; filmmakers Marc Guggenheim, Joshua Hull, David Ian & Rebekah McKendry, Aaron B. Koontz, Jordan Blum, Eliza Clark, and Marc Bernardin.

While the podcast discusses comics, books, movies, and tv, comics has been the main focus, hosting such guests as Kevin Eastman, Steve Lavigne, and Ben Bishop of the TMNT; Tony Fleecs of Stray Dogs; Jonathan Hedrick of The Recount; Jeremy Haun of The Beauty; Cavan Scott, Alyssa Wong, Liana Kangas, Ethan Sacks, and Daniel Jose Older of Star Wars; Brian Michael Bendis of Marvel; Ram V of Venom; Kyle Starks of Peacemaker; Joey Esposito and Kenny Porter of Power Rangers; Matthew Rosenberg of Marvel & DC; Patrick Horvath of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees; Benjamin Percy of Marvel; Alex Segura of Dick Tracy; Ande Parks of Green Arrow; and many, many more.

“We have hit two different major milestones over the years including Episode 100, where we luckily hosted Kyle Starks for the first time, and Episode 200, where we wanted to discuss the milestone with a podcast regular, friend, and comic creator Liana Kangas, but for Episode 300 it was time for something big,” said Soderberg. “Kevin Smith is a larger-than-life creator who has worked on some of our favorite movies and comics over the years and is a true podcasting icon, having the chance to sit-down (over video chat) and discuss his career, plus the world of podcasting was an episode we will never forget. We hope people enjoy the episode as much as we did!”

The Capes and Tights Podcast is gearing up for Episode 300 with three more episodes before number 300. Comic creator Christian Ward discusses his comics The Forever Home and The Patron on Episode 297, IDW Publishing Senior Group Editor Heather Antos celebrates Star Trek Day on Episode 298, and comic writing duo Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelley closes the first 299 episodes with a discussion around Star Trek: The Last Starship, before Kevin Smith joins for Episode 300!

While 300 Episodes is an amazing milestone, it’s not the end. Soderberg and the Capes and Tights Podcast already have a few episodes scheduled to follow the milestone, including actors The Lawrence Brothers breaking down their new comic The Lawrence Brothers Detectives; bestselling author Richard Chizmar discussing Killing the Boogeyman; author Kiersten White talks Something is Killing the Children: Hope is a Knife which she co-wrote with James Tynion IV; Kevin Johnson chats his debut novel ‘Twas the Night; Galactic Comics and Collectibles owner Paul Eaton reviews 1995’s Casper; Chris Ryall breaks down Marvel’s Mightiest Monsters; and author Alice Openshaw dives into her debut novel On The Killer’s Trail.

Be sure to subscribe to the Capes and Tights Podcast on your favorite podcasting platform or YouTube in order not to miss the milestone episode. The 300th episode drops at 3:00am ET on all major podcasting platforms including Apple and Spotify.

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Struggling actress Marin Keane is shocked when she lands a role in a major motion picture about the unsolved mystery of New Avalon, an island on sprawling Lake Faraday in Vermont. She’s even more surprised when she learns that the role requires a weeklong research trip to that very spot.

Because New Avalon isn’t your ordinary island. A century ago, it was a commune for spiritual mediums—until they all vanished in 1926. The only trace of them was five dresses hanging from the branches of an old oak tree in the middle of the island, one for each missing woman. Some locals say they simply left. Others think they were murdered. But the prevailing opinion, thanks to a diary left behind by one of the vanished, a young woman named Daisy Rue, is that a séance gone wrong conjured something supernatural that took them all one by one.

Not long after arriving, Marin and her castmates, including legendary actress Violet Wright and white-hot director Ronan Peters, begin to realize all is not right with New Avalon. They hear strange noises in the night and notice mysterious symbols left behind by the island’s previous occupants. And after a sudden health emergency leaves Marin, Ronan, and the other actors stranded on the island, the disappearances begin again.

Is it the work of someone trying to derail the movie? Or is the island’s alleged supernatural past catching up with the present? As fear and suspicion mount, Marin turns to Daisy’s diary, hoping it holds the key to figuring out what really happened to the women of New Avalon—and how to keep the island’s terrible history from repeating itself.

I have read my fair share of books based around making movies, it’s not a brand new concept, but what Sager does with The Unknown is something special. It’s fresh and unique in a sub-genre that has been played over and over. The author not only tackles the production of a horror film, but also deals with some of the horrors the surround the world of making movies and what disgusting things can go on behind the scenes. The author takes a known concept and crafts a story with more meaning than just cheap thrills. A story that feels timely and poignant.

In The Unknown, Sager weaves together two timelines, which sometimes can be hard to follow but not in this case, to slowly build the story until it hits the accelerator about halfway thought the book. The sense of unease is as thick as the fog on the water surrounding this mysterious island. Horror stories taking place on a remote island always have their own sense of frights, but when this island itself has a mysterious past it just adds to the fear factor.

I think I have whiplash from the incredible twists and turns that take place in The Unknown. I wasn’t able to figure the first mystery, which lead into another, and just when you thought it was straight to the end, another. Typically, that might be a bit much for me, but I was left with my jaw on the floor with this one. The story was not what I expected, in such a good way. There are twists, horrors, and even some heartfelt and timely moments that made this story so much more than just a thriller for thrilling sake.

The Unknown is a twist-filled atmospheric novel that surprised me. Riley Sager takes a well-trodden horror concept of making a film and crafts a story that is something truly unique. I didn’t fully know what to expect when opening The Unknown, but what I got was something I will not forget anytime soon.

The Unknown is available at bookstores everywhere from Dutton Books. The audiobook, narrated by Maggie Grace, Patricia Santomasso & Erin Lin, is available via Libro.fm!

NOTE: We received an advance copy of The Unknown from the publisher. Opinions are our own.

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It’s 1989, and Robby Asaro is making FunCave Arcade’s pizzas when his sleeve is caught on the pizza oven conveyor belt, and he dies a brutal death. But that wasn’t the end for Robby, who is now a friendly ghost watching over the gamers of the arcade.

Fast forward to 2014, and this retro video arcade is still going strong as teens flock to both the new games on the main floor and the old classics on the second. What they don’t know is that FunCave is now haunted by the man who died there in the 1980s. Robby cares about the regulars, especially Tiffany Park. When Robby tries to protect Tiffany from a bully, his first kill has unintended consequences as he absorbs his victim’s hate and rage. He can’t help what he does next as more bodies pile up and the patrons of the arcade are trapped inside.

It’s exciting to see Cesare re-release a few of my favorite of his older stories including Video Night and now Zero Lives Remaining, not to mention the long-awaited physical release of Mercy House. Some of these stories are absolutely fantastic and deserve a wider audience, especially one such as Zero Lives Remaining.

This book is as much nostalgia as it is straight mayhem. A survival horror novella set in a haunted arcade with strong B-movie vibes, Zero Lives Remaining is fast-aced and gruesome. While the blood and gore is present, the book also has a glimpse of heart with someone trying to help but ultimately going too far. Even with the short length, there was something special about this story. It’s a ghost story with a 1980s slasher vibe which is all nostalgia.

The neon-soaked setting of the arcade is one that most of us 1980s kids can vividly remember. The easy-going days of tossing a few quarters in the machine and playing until you were out of money and even at that moment you waited until those around you were out of cash before heading home on your bike. The simple days. Cesare takes these fun childhood memories and slashes the hell out of them with brutal kills and haunted nightmares.

The opening chapter with Robby making a pizza was so relatable, that is until he gets sucked into the pizza oven and ultimately becomes a ghost that haunts the arcade. But it’s really all the characters that you can either relate to, know someone who could relate to them, or have been have seen similar situations play out. Again, that is until people start dying and the place becomes mayhem.

While Clown in a Cornfield continues to top the list of Adam Cesare books, Zero Lives Remaining is a testament to Cesare’s knack for crafting terrifying tales out of nostalgia. Filled with video game references and gruesome kills, Zero Lives Remaining will make you think twice when putting more quarters in the machine.

The new edition of Zero Lives Remaining hits bookstores everywhere on September 1, 2026 from Union Square & Co. The audiobook, narrated by Chelsea Rebecca, is available via Libro.fm!

NOTE: We received an advance copy of Zero Lives Remaining from the publisher. Opinions are our own.

The post Zero Lives Remaining: Game Over Never Felt So Good appeared first on Capes and Tights.

This week on the Capes and Tights Podcast, Justin Soderberg welcomes author Adam Cesare to the program to discuss Clown in a Cornfield 4: Lights! Camera! Frendo! and more!

Adam Cesare is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning Clown in a Cornfield series and several other novels and novellas including the cult hit Video Night which gets a new edition this September 29, Influencer, and The Toxic Avenger. The fourth installment in the Clown in a Cornfield series hit shelves on August 18, 2026 at bookstores everywhere. Cesare also announced re-releases of Zero Lives Remaining, Video Night as well as a physical version of Mercy House coming September 1, September 30, and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Over the past few years, Cesare has been a part of a number of various comics including Power Rangers Unlimited: The Coinless and Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, not to mention his comic series Dead Mall at Dark Horse.

The Clown in a Cornfield feature film adaptation directed by Eli Craig and written by Craig and Carter Blanchard hit theaters on May 9, 2025. Based on Cesare’s novel, the film stars Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Kevin Durand, and Will Sasso.

Cesare’s latest novel, Bloodsick, hits shelves in early 2027 from Union Square & Co.

#295: Adam Cesare – Author of Clown in a Cornfield

The post #295: Adam Cesare – Clown in a Cornfield, Video Night, Mercy House appeared first on Capes and Tights.

Adam Cesare is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning Clown in a Cornfield series and several other novels and novellas including the cult hit Video Night which gets a new edition this September 29, Influencer, and The Toxic Avenger. The fourth installment in the Clown in a Cornfield series hit shelves on August 18, 2026 at bookstores everywhere. Cesare also announced re-releases of Zero Lives Remaining, Video Night as well as a physical version of Mercy House coming September 1, September 30, and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Over the past few years, Cesare has been a part of a number of various comics including Power Rangers Unlimited: The Coinless and Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, not to mention his comic series Dead Mall at Dark Horse.

The Clown in a Cornfield feature film adaptation directed by Eli Craig and written by Craig and Carter Blanchard hit theaters on May 9, 2025. Based on Cesare’s novel, the film stars Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Kevin Durand, and Will Sasso.

Cesare’s latest novel, Bloodsick, hits shelves in early 2027 from Union Square & Co.

Clown in a Cornfield Series

In the first book…Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start. But what they don’t know is that ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half.

On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.

Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.

Available to read: Clown in a Cornfield, Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives, Clown in a Cornfield 3: Church of Frendo, and Clown in a Cornfield 4: Lights! Camera! Frendo!

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

Tribesmen

Don’t mess with the natives!

Thirty years ago, cynical sleaze ball director Tito Bronze took a tiny cast and crew to a desolate island. His goal: to exploit the local tribes, spray some guts around, cash in on the gore-spattered 80s Italian cannibal craze.

But the pissed-off spirits of the island had other ideas. And before long, guts were squirting behind the scenes, as well. While the camera kept rolling…

Tribesmen is Adam Cesare‘s blistering tribute to Cannibal Holocaust and Lucio Fulci: a no-bull glimpse into grindhouse filmmaking, stuffed inside a rocket of tropical non-stop mayhem.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

Influencer

Follow him or die…

Influencer, by Bram Stoker Award–winning author Adam Cesare, is a tense and timely psychological thriller told from alternating points of view about a teenage girl who begins to suspect the charismatic new kid may in fact be a murderous psychopath. As more and more of her friends fall under his influence, her suspicions begin to come across like jealousy. But is she right? And if so, how much more dangerous would he be toward someone who has discovered his secret?

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

The Summer Job

Insane innkeepers, cannibalistic cooks: the staff of the Brant Hotel would like to meet you!

Massive nights, picturesque days: there is nothing Claire doesn’t love about her summer job in Mission, Massachusetts. Claire is just trying to keep her head down and start a new life after burning out in the city, but those kids out in the woods seem like they throw awesome ragers…

It’s only once she’s in too deep that Claire discovers the real tourist trade that keeps the town afloat, it’s then that her soul-searching in Mission becomes a fight for her life.

Crazed parties, dark rituals, and unexpected betrayals abound in this modern folk horror novel from the author of The Con Season and Video Night.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

The Toxic Avenger – The Official Movie Novelization

MUTANT MAYHEM IS COMING TO TROMAVILLE!

When a struggling janitor is pushed into a vat of toxic waste, he is transformed into a mutant freak who must go from shunned outcast to underdog hero as he races to save his son, his friends, and his community from the forces of corruption and greed.

Experience this action-packed, irreverent, gory and outlandish saga of vengeance and twisted justice, adapted from the 2025 reboot of the classic cult comedy-horror extravaganza The Toxic Avenger.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

Exponential

Five strangers drawn together at a roadside bar on the outskirts of Las Vegas. One rampaging monster, escaped from a secret facility, absorbing victims and accumulating biomass as it moves north from Arizona. The miles between them rapidly dwindling.

No, this is not the world’s best math problem, it’s Exponential. The rollicking, brutal, gory, and strangely poignant horror novel from Adam Cesare. Criminals and screw-ups need to face down science run amok in this literary tribute to films like Tremors and The Blob.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

Video Night

It’s 1988 and two best friends—one departing for college, one destined for bad boy townie life—decide to have a final video night before their friendship changes forever. Billy and Tom’s plan is perfect. They’ve got pizza and beer, and Tom even managed to convince his girlfriend, Darcy, to bring a friend, Billy’s neighbor and crush, Rachel. But what they don’t know is that there’s an invasion underway.

Across the street, Rachel’s sister, Rhonda, was one of the first to turn. A slithering, chitinous evil has overtaken her body and mind, and she’ll do anything to spread the alien infection. Blood, sex, rock and roll, invaders from outer space, and tender perspectives on teen male friendship: Video Night is one cult classic that has it all!

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

The Con Season

Horror movie starlet Clarissa Lee is beautiful, internationally known, and…completely broke.

To cap off years of questionable financial and personal decisions, Clarissa accepts an invitation to participate in a “fully immersive” fan convention. She arrives at an off-season summer camp and finds what was supposed to be a quick buck has become a real-life slasher movie.

Deep in the woods of Kentucky with a supporting cast of B-level celebrities, Clarissa must fight to survive the deadly game that the con’s organizers have rigged against her.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

Mercy House

Harriet Laurel notices the odor the moment she steps inside Mercy House, brought to the retirement home against her will by her son and his wife. In the early stages of dementia, Harriet has grown to resent her daughter-in-law for not providing grandchildren. Yet as she crosses the threshold, she notices her mind begins to sharpen. Then her hate begins to grow…

Arnold Piper, an eighty-five-year-old ex-Marine, has always prided himself on self-reliance. But betrayed by his own body, he’s learning that surviving war-torn Korea was easier than facing the daily indignities of old age. And his worst trials are still to come.

Sarah Campbell, an idealistic nurse, is already stretched thin at the chronically understaffed Mercy House. Now her duties are about to take a terrifying turn. Can she survive the night…and her patients?

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

Zero Lives Remaining

It’s 1989, and Robby Asaro is making FunCave Arcade’s pizzas when his sleeve is caught on the pizza oven conveyor belt, and he dies a brutal death. But that wasn’t the end for Robby, who is now a friendly ghost watching over the gamers of the arcade.

Fast forward to 2014, and this retro video arcade is still going strong as teens flock to both the new games on the main floor and the old classics on the second. What they don’t know is that FunCave is now haunted by the man who died there in the 1980s. Robby cares about the regulars, especially Tiffany Park. When Robby tries to protect Tiffany from a bully, his first kill has unintended consequences as he absorbs his victim’s hate and rage. He can’t help what he does next as more bodies pile up and the patrons of the arcade are trapped inside.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

Dead Mall (Graphic Novel)

The Penn Mills Galleria is about to be demolished. Five teens sneak into the mall to take a last look around before it’s gone.

However, while Penn Mills has been closed for years, the mall is far from abandoned.

A night of exploration becomes a shopping spree from hell. The teens must contend with the sprawling, transformative cosmic horror of Penn Mills or be trapped forever within the Dead Mall.

A coming-of-age horror story that both engages and criticizes nostalgia culture while showing deep empathy for the fears and vulnerabilities of Gen-Z teenagers.

A young adult graphic novel by Adam Cesare, author of Clown in a Cornfield, winner of the 2020 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

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