The Creep #1
Written by John Arcudi
Art by Jonathan Case
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 12, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

There are a few things to be said about comics that are relentlessly dark. On one hand, the soul-crushing bleakness of these comics makes them almost completely inaccessible to new readers. On the other hand, however, these are the types of comics that push the boundaries of what we have come to expect as comic book readers. The creators who pen these miserable tales seem to understand that moving readers is a matter of throwing them in the deepest darkest pit they can conjure. The Creep #1 has the makings of a deep and very dark pit — one full of crime, suicides, and slugs of whiskey taken in smoke-filled rooms.

Like any great pulp detective story, The Creep #1 starts in a cheap hotel room with an even cheaper woman. To say that this comic is brutally dark is in many ways a contradiction. When we think of modern gritty comics, books like The Walking Dead spring to mind. However, The Creep #1 in no way achieves grittiness through violence or shocking viciousness. Make no mistake this book is dark and gritty, but only by virtue of its uncompromising sadness.

Good Samaritan #1
Story and Letters by Mike Luoma
Illustrations by Federico Guillen
Color by Ken Lateer
Earthbound Comics
Release Date: August 15, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

I have watched first issues of comics sit on comic shop shelves for weeks on end without so much as a glance from potential patrons. It would be easy to label those comics as simply being bad comics. The logic behind that thinking is sound enough — for decades we have been conditioned to believe that if a comic isn’t selling then it must be lousy. Marvel and DC move the most units every Wednesday so they must produce the best books, right? As we all know by now, this is rarely the case. The first issue of a comic is typically purchased because of curiosity, promotion, and hype. What really makes a comic impressive is its capacity to make people want to purchase issues 2 and 3 afterwards. Good Samaritan #1 is not a poorly written or illustrated comic by any means. However, when it comes to reeling you in for that next issue, Good Samaritan #1 failed to perform for me.

Skullkickers #17
Story by Jim Zubkavich
Art By Edwin Huang & Misty Coats
Cover By Saejin Oh
Image Comics
Release Date: August 29, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

By the fifth issue of a Skullkickers story arch, typically, you should be knee deep in blood and guts. This most recent Skullkickers story arch however, has been relatively tame, or at least as tame as this comic can be. It’s not that there hasn’t been a fair share of violence and mayhem. It’s just that no one has been stabbed in the eye, disemboweled, or blown up in some sort of sorcery/dynamite related explosion. Violence plays a big role in Skullkickers and not seeing it run rampant through every page and panel is strange. That’s not to say that this hasn’t been a fantastic run of Skullkickers. These last four issues leading up to Skullkickers #17 have introduced readers to deeper three-dimensional characters and a more realized fantasy world.

Skullkickers #17 can be reviewed easily in a sentence or two. This issue is a satisfying end to a fantastic storyline full of all the action and crude behavior expected from this comic. However, to judge this comic 100% accurately you really have to take a step back and view this story arch as a whole. It’s not easy to take a comic that has been traditionally known for being bat shit crazy-violent and slow that action down to a crawl. It was needed though, Skullkickers main protagonists have been kicking and bashing for 17 issues now and while that is fine and well, at some point we need to get under a character’s skin. Luckily, this story arch and issue #17 have really done a terrific job of fleshing out everyone’s favorite skullkickers.

Prophet Vol. 1: Remission
Story By Brandon Graham
Art By Simon Roy, Farel Dalrymple, Giannis Milonogiannis, Brandon Graham
Cover By Simon Roy
Image Comics
Release Date: August 22, 2012
Cover Price: $9.99

Science fiction films, television, books, and comics are in some way inspired by our desire to explore the unknown. At the core of every Sci-Fi story is the discovery of a place or people that are strange and wholly unknown to us. The metallic monster crushing cities or the alien devouring a ship’s crew one by one kicks our imaginations into full gear. Every day we wake up, go to work, come home, and go to bed, then repeat the whole process again. We gravitate towards the bizarre and unknown because it is simply something different. Prophet is that something different we are all searching for at the end of the day. This is a comic that not only explores the unknown, but also embraces it with reckless intensity.

Fictionauts/The Spark
Fictionauts Written by Mauro Mantella
Art by Leandro Rizzo
The Spark Written By Martin Renard
Art By Nahuel Sagarnaga Cozman
Studio 407
Release Date: June 2012
Cover Price: $12.99

Independently published comics are always very difficult to review. Generally speaking, publishing a small press comic in single issues is an uphill battle. Independent publishers can rarely compete with the promotional reach that publishers like Marvel, Image, and DC have. With mammoth publishing costs and distribution being limited to a digital format, these artists and writers are essentially going to make pennies on the dollar. To publish with a small independent press, in most cases is purely a labor of love. These are creators with day jobs who understand that chances are independent publishing will result in meager sales and minimal distribution. As a reviewer of these comics it is hard to stay subjective, even though it is clear what these publishers and creators are facing when it comes to small press publishing. That being said, Fictionauts and The Spark from Studio 407 are exactly the labors of love mentioned above. Both comics take the spirit of independent comics and channel it into something compelling, but inevitably flawed in their own ways.