🧠 Clean Room #13 (2016) – Comic Breakdown & Deep Dive
📚 Genre
Clean Room belongs to the psychological horror, sci-fi, and mystery thriller genres. It blends unsettling imagery, mind-bending concepts, and emotional trauma into a narrative that both haunts and provokes thought.
👤 Main Characters
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Astrid Mueller – A brilliant but enigmatic self-help guru who may be humanity’s last hope—or its greatest threat.
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Chloe Pierce – A determined journalist investigating her fiancé’s suicide and the sinister secrets behind Astrid’s organization.
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Peter Mueller – Astrid's estranged brother and would-be assassin, whose complex past adds moral ambiguity and depth to the storyline.
✍️ Writer
The series is penned by Gail Simone, a renowned writer known for her impactful work on titles like Birds of Prey, Batgirl, and Red Sonja. Simone’s writing in Clean Room is razor-sharp, layered with emotion, horror, and philosophical depth.
🎨 Artist
Jon Davis-Hunt brings the story to life with striking, clean line work and disturbing, immersive visuals. His art style perfectly matches the eerie and suspenseful tone of the comic, particularly in depicting the grotesque beings and otherworldly horrors within the Clean Room.
✂️ Editor Details
Edited by Shelly Bond, a seasoned editor with a legacy at Vertigo Comics. Her editorial direction ensures that Clean Room remains coherent, thematically rich, and unapologetically bold.
🏢 Publisher and Brand
Published by Vertigo, a former imprint of DC Comics, known for its mature, boundary-pushing titles. Clean Room is not part of any shared superhero universe but thrives as an original, standalone property in Vertigo's vast legacy of horror and psychological storytelling.
📅 Release Year
Issue #13 of Clean Room was released in 2016, during the series’ ongoing monthly run that began in late 2015.
🧩 Brief Plot Summary
In this chilling installment, the narrative rewinds to explore Astrid’s past following her harrowing hospitalization. However, the story is uniquely told from the viewpoint of Peter Mueller, her brother and former would-be assassin. Unlike Astrid, Peter cannot perceive the terrifying entities that lurk behind human facades, forcing readers to navigate between what is real and what lies beyond perception. This emotionally charged issue adds new layers to the already complex world of Clean Room, revealing how trauma and supernatural horror intersect in unsettling ways.
🧠 Notable Arcs or Storylines
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“Hell Above, Heaven Below” – The major arc leading into Issue #13, exploring the shocking revelations about the alien-like beings influencing humanity.
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Astrid's Origin Arc – This issue serves as a pivotal backstory moment, enhancing readers’ understanding of her motivations and fragile psyche.
🤯 Fan Theories or Interpretations
Many fans speculate that the Clean Room is not just a physical space but a metaphysical gateway that alters perception and reveals an alternate layer of reality. Some interpret Astrid’s visions as symptoms of psychic evolution, suggesting she might be a chosen human conduit for cosmic truths—or an unreliable narrator losing touch with reality. Peter’s inability to see what Astrid sees adds to the theory that these horrors may be mental constructs shaped by trauma rather than literal monsters.
📝 Review Summary
Clean Room #13 is a haunting and introspective chapter that masterfully explores the psychological toll of knowledge and power. Gail Simone’s writing is deeply emotional and intricately plotted, while Jon Davis-Hunt’s art enhances the mood with clean yet disturbing visuals. The issue dives into the duality of belief versus reality, making it both a cerebral and unsettling experience. Fans of horror with depth and psychological nuance will find this issue especially rewarding. 🌌🔍
Clean Room #13 stands as a brilliant example of how comics can blend horror, emotion, and philosophy—all within the panels of a single issue.
Comic Resource / Read Online (External Source)
