A long time ago in an article far, far away I presented you with a Kickstarter Spotlight of The Threat from Stratum Comics. And thanks to 63 of you, the campaign was a success! Looking back, I reviewed the first issue three years ago and another contributor here assessed the second one a few months later.

I love independent comics like this one because they really bring our passions back to basics. But sometimes, creators realize that their vision wasn’t quite fully attained, hence the need for The Threat Issue 1 Reboot!

It’s that time again, boys and girls. That’s right! It’s Kickstarter Spotlight time! Today I bring you a comic from a series from which we have already reviewed a couple of issues — The Threat. I reviewed the premiere issue here and The Red Bandit reviewed the second issue here. This Kickstarter is for The Threat Issue 4. The Threat is the brainchild of Vince Chuter and Mark Schmidt. It has a very manageable goal and they are almost at the halfway point in both funds and time.

That’s where we come in as comic enthusiasts. Most of us are readers of the larger press comic companies, but how many of us support the smaller, independent publishers? I have a lot of love for Stratum Comics since they are based right here where I reside in good old Texas. I would say right down the road from me but if you’ve ever been to this huge state then you know nothing is right down the road here. Regardless, this is your chance to help bring a dream to life. But before you decide, let me tell you a bit about the comic series. That’s fair, right?

The Threat #2
Story by Mark Schmidt and Vince Chuter
Written by Mark Schmidt
Art by Daniel Wichinson
Letters by Mark Schmidt
Cover by William Allan Reyes
Stratum Comics
Release Date: October 2012
Price $3.99

Stratum Comics’ The Threat is currently the only title being released by the company. It’s a small publisher of passionate comic fans in Texas looking to make a dent in the independent cape and cowl comics scene. Waerloga69 reviewed the first issue recently (you can read that here.) Like that review mentioned, The Threat is about a future Earth where governments have fallen apart and been replaced by other entities. In Houston, where this story takes place, the people are governed by a corporation called AniTec.

Due to some experiments gone wrong (oh, comic books) we now have a portion of the population that has been mutated. These mutants are referred to as Virals. Now, there seems to be the implication that some of these Virals will eventually team up and battle the evil corporation. We aren’t quite sure when that will occur, but we are given some insight into each of the eventual team member’s lives. This second issue focuses on some character background and a pretty solid escape scene. We are still left a little in the dark as to the story though.

The Threat #1
Written by Mark Schmidt
Art by Jordi Perez Estevez
Letters by Mark Schmidt
Cover by Tucker Doud, Phil Smith and Vince Chuter
Stratum Comics
Release Date: June, 2012
Cover Price: $2.99

Independent comics are all about passion and drive. And nowhere is this more evident than with Stratum Comics and their first comic The Threat #1. The fact that it is produced here in The Lone Star State only makes it that much cooler. These folks tried to help fund it through Kickstarter, though it unfortunately missed its goal. But the fact that they still managed to make this happen is a testament to their need to breathe life into their dream.

This premier issue takes place in Houston, one of the few places that retained some sense of civilization in this future Earth. We start to get a sense of the division between the common people and the few people that control this city-state. Though not much of a story is laid out, we get to meet a lot of characters and learn a few tidbits about them. The main theme seems to revolve around those known as Virals. These Virals are enhanced humans, though we aren’t sure exactly how this happened… at least not yet.