Spread #1
Written by Justin Jordan
Art by Kyle Strahm
Colors by Felipe Sobreiro
Letters by Crank!
Covers by Kyle Strahm and Felipe Sobreiro
Image Comics
Release Date: July 9, 2014
Cover Price: $3.50 (Digital $2.99)

A new plague has spread across the world, except this plague is less Avian Flu and more Lovecraftian horror. This plague is up a big, red monster with many tentacles and even more mouths. When it kills you, you don’t stay dead. You aren’t a standard Romero-style zombie, either. Your eyes grow mouths, and your mouth grows tentacles. Nary a panel is left blood-free in Spread #1, a new post-apocalyptic tale by writer Justin Jordan and illustrator Kyle Strahm.

The first issue tells the story of No, a man who is immune to the Spread. Immune from infection, that is. Those who are already infected are still able to kill him, however, with their eye-mouths, tentacles, etc. Of course, the red monster isn’t the only thing dangerous in the world. There are also Raiders who like to steal things and kill people.

No finds himself crossing paths with a woman who has been shot and left for dead by Raiders who stole an infant from her. The infant is Hope, both in name and destiny, because of a special ability she has against the Spread. The story is narrated, past-tense, from the infant’s perspective so we know she eventually grows up. But how? What is the Spread? Who is No?

Spread #1 sets up some interesting questions for future stories, but this issue felt lacking. The premise is interesting, it’s a unique spin on the apocalypse and zombie tale, but by the end, I wasn’t fully invested in the character’s story. The Spread is an interesting concept for a plague, and I’m more curious about where it came from right now than I am No, or Hope, or the Raiders. Maybe seeing how far the Spread has, well, spread, might give Hope’s ability more weight. As it sits, I really have no idea how many people she’s going to help.

Spread has a lot of room to work and the premise is interesting. I think many unique stories will come out of this title. However, this first issue left me too far out of the loop to connect with the characters introduced so far.