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The Spread #1

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  •  
    Todd Jordan
    Smut is good.

  • (The) Spread #1



    Published by: Image Comics
    Released on: July 9, 2014
    Writer: Justin Jordan
    Artist: Kyle Strahm
    Cover artist: Kyle Strahm
    Purchase at Amazon

    The Spread is an Earth-annihilating entity that's put the way of the world into utter turmoil and left a dwindling population hopeless. One man who is immune to catching the disease of The Spread seems to be a wanderer of sorts (but obviously part of some kind of group), and goes by the name No. No might be immune from being infected, but he's flesh and blood and just as vulnerable to what The Spread produces as any other human.

    The Spread is a gooey, tentacle-ridden, gigantic mass of red gore that morphs itself into monstrous forms that can detach from the main body and each has a specific purpose. So far there are Flyers and Runners and there will probably be others revealed as things progress. These festering tumor-things are loaded with teeth, as is the main mass, so as one can imagine they are nasty.

    No finds a woman left to die after being assaulted by some rotten individuals, and they grabbed something from her that is very important. Being who he is, he promises to get it, whatever it was. He didn't know, didn't care, all he knows is she said it was hope. Once he gets it back, he realizes why the dying woman said it was hope they took.

    Hot off the heels of his ultra-violent mini-series Dead Body Road comes Justin Jordan's latest tale of death and violence, The Spread. Based on this first issue, The Spread appears to be a meshing of movies and movie characters used to form this story and these characters. The Thing, The Blob, Shogun Assassin, Road Warrior…we're talking movie nerd wet dream material. It's pretty obvious that Justin Jordan is one of those nerds (says the black colored pot). Issue #1 does a fine job of setting things up without any need of back story or a big origin issue, or a how-it-all-happened explanation. One of the characters narrates the story which no doubt helps with keeping it from needing that sort of material, and a technique that helps the reader bond quickly with one of the main characters.

    The artwork by Kyle Strahm shows off his easily identifiable style and his flair for illustrating nightmarish images. The Spread and all its flailing parts are covered in jagged-toothed mouths and dripping with gore, kind of like the monster in Deadly Spawn only way worse and a LOT bigger. It seems to be a constantly morphing creature which surely gives him the opportunity to do pretty much anything with it. That's got to be fun to draw. And the colorist plays a big part in the success of the look of the pages, so a slap on the back to Filipe Sobreiro for his part. He gives the book a dreary and muted look, while keeping the blood nice and red.

    It's first issues like this one leave you wanting more and immediately. This looks to be an excellent series.




    • Andrew Monroe
      #1
      Andrew Monroe
      Pallid Hands
      Andrew Monroe commented
      Editing a comment
      I liked this issue as well. Sets itself apart enough from the typical post-apocalypse/horror stuff to be original. The weird names thing (No, for example) kinda annoys me but it's a minor thing. I wasn't blown away but I dug it enough that I'll be back for the next issue and hope it gets even better.
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