Submitted for your approval: A tale of a world where the truth can be hard to face. The time is now, the place is here, and your Major Spoilers review of The Twilight Zone #1 from IDW Publishing awaits!

THE TWILIGHT ZONE #1

Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Morgan Beem
Designer: Sandy Tanaka
Letterer: Sandy Tanaka
Editor: Nicolas Nino and Ellen Boener
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 24, 2025

Previously in The Twilight Zone: From the ancient hunt for the Fountain of Youth to modern investments in cryogenic research, the hope that mankind might find his way beyond the inevitable, to see into eternity, has changed little. For billionaire Edward Kane, it is a quest that has become personal. And so, he has come to a luxury resort in a remote, undisclosed location, but little does Edward Kane know his crusade into the unknown has brought him right to the outer fringes of… The Twilight Zone.

IN THE ORIGINAL BLACK-AND-WHITE

As The Twilight Zone #1 opens, the illustrious Edward Kane checks into his private room, meeting with the doctor who believes that he has unlocked the key to curing the billionaire’s stomach cancer. The answer, or so Doctor Culloch believes, is in the form of a virus, one that rewrites the immune system’s understanding of disease. When applied to the cells of the body, he expects it will serve as a “factory reset” of the body, returning Kane’s cells to their pristine, youthful state. Of course, it will require years of testing, trials, and study before it will help anyone… years that Edward Kane doesn’t have. And when it comes to the billionaires and oligarchs of the world, patience isn’t exactly a high priority. Thus, Kane uses his financial leverage to strongarm the doctor, informing him that “This is happening.”

It is, as you may expect, not a wise decision.

IT’S A PHENOMENON CALLED IMMUNE AMNESIA

Two things about this issue gave me a little bit of joy: first, the fact that the story is presented in black-and-white, like the original 156-episode run of The Twilight Zone. Second, as the opening narration ends, we see a man in a suit, smoking a cigarette, his face unseen behind a beach umbrella. It’s clearly Rod Serling, or at least a visual reference to him, and it serves as a nice nod to the turf on which the issue plays. The tone of the story is quite modern (which isn’t in itself a bad thing), especially the ending and its astute assessment of the billionaire mindset. As with the 2002 and 2019 Zone revamps, whether or not this is classic Twilight Zone material is in the (you should excuse the expression) eye of the beholder, but it’s an interesting script with a workable twist. Had the cover and title not telegraphed that twist, it might have had more bite, but that’s not entirely the fault of the tale or its writer. The art is also strong, reminding me a bit of Image Comics’ Chew, with real brilliance in the depiction of the main characters’ facial expressions (and the lack thereof).

BOTTOM LINE: NOT A BAD FIRST OUTING

It’s only been a few years since the last Twilight Zone in comics, but The Twilight Zone #1 pulls off its horror reasonably well, with a couple of abrupt bits late in the issue and an admitted weakness in that it’s hard to pull off body horror with highly stylized comic book bodies, earning a better-than-average 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. If you are one who likes to argue about the difference between a Twilight Zone ending and an Outer Limits ending, be aware that I put this one strongly in Outer Limits territory, but even that doesn’t completely mute the enjoyment of this issue.

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