Innards #1
Writer: Rob Guillory
Artist: Sam Lofti
Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letterer: Andrew Thomas
Editor: Maggie Howell
Assistant Editor: Nora Ornstein
Publisher: Ignition Press
Release date: May, 2026
Innards #1 Review
Innards #1 by Rob Guillory (W) and Sam Lofti (A), is a science fiction horror comic book guaranteed to win over fans of James Cameron’s The Abyss as much as Neil Marshall’s The Descent. It plunges the reader into depths of atmospheric terror and unforgiving claustrophobia as the protagonist, Roy Wilder explores the depths of a near-future earth on the brink of losing its only power source.
During his first week on the job, Roy joins a ragtag group of miners who gamble with their bodies and minds to mine for an oil-replacement power source on an oil depleted earth. Together, they work under the tough leadership of rig boss Jax Ridley who is under enormous pressure, from ONIS corporation, to mine as much Lucifium as possible. What’s unique about this series is the means by which each miner gets transported to below the earth’s surface – by stepping into an ominous pod – which disassembles and reassembles them at their required destination. It’s not so much “Beam me up, Scotty” as it is completely Cronenbergian.
The moment they’re below the surface, Roy is teamed up with Boo, an older and very gaunt-looking miner who seems to know more about the depths of the earth than he’s letting on. It’s at this point in the issue that Rob Guillory amps up the dark atmosphere. Guillory wants the reader to tremble at the unseen terrors lurking around every corner and feel this foreboding sense of claustrophia.
The combination of Sam Lofti’s artwork and Jean-Francois Beaulieu‘s coloring adds a surreal tone to Innards. Lofti’s artwork bucks the usual American-looking comic book trend – especially when you take in the composition of the characters. There are times where Etta and Jax look like they’re ripped straight from the screen during an Aeon Flux rewatch. Then there’s the green energy disassembling the miners as they are transported below the surface – that’s horrific for any sci-fi fan who understands the process of how “beaming” actually works.
Despite the claustrophobic horror that Guillory and Lofti evoke, Innards has highly emotional ties that bind Roy to the how and the why he’s taken this new job as a miner. A job that’s sure to put him through absolute hell as he seeks to earn enough money to support his partner and child on-the-way. This is textbook horror storytelling – inject emotion into the characters so that when they’re about to die – the reader feels a visceral response. But what’s not textbook is the scenario that Guillory and Lofti are placing the characters in.
If the circumstances of this first issue are anything to go by, Innards #2 is sure to put Roy and the miners through some new kind-of-hell.
Read Innards #1 by Rob Guillory (W) and Sam Lofti (A)
Order Innards #1 from the Ignition Press website>>
Order Innards #1 from Penguin Random House>>
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