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.

Pilot Season: Anonymous #1
Created by Matt Hawkins, Alan McElroy
Written by Alan McElroy
Art by Michael Montenant
Colors by Phil Smith
Letters by Troy Peteri
Cover by Eric Jones
Top Cow Productions
Release Date: November 9th, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

Pilot Season: Anonymous #1 is a very interesting read that could have been a great one, if not for a few things. The thing that I don’t care for in the current Top Cow studios is that there’s really no Top Cow “style” anymore. It used to be, when you picked up a Top Cow book, you knew EXACTLY what you were getting. A certain art style, a familiar method of story telling, it felt like a cohesive universe. Unfortunately, that luxury is gone now.