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.