The Searchers meets The Grapes of Wrath in the first issue of The XII, written/created by Patrick Trahey with art and colors by Luis Suarez, and letters by Magnus. The Sacred City holds the promise of a better life for Caleb and his family. Unfortunately, they’ll have to travel the “Dead Roads” to get there. As winter falls upon them, they traverse the barren wasteland and quickly realize that their safety comes at a price – perhaps the ultimate one.

As first impressions go, the art makes it count. From the cover and all throughout the interior, Suarez’s art really pops. The color and the clarity are super bright and vivid. If the clarity is a product of the digital form I can’t be sure, but regardless it’s beautiful. I mainly want to point out the facial features of the adults and the children. There’s hardness to the adults that reveals the rough life they live, trying to grow crops and provide for their kin. While the kids possess a soft, almost cartoonish features. Well done Suarez.

Trahey’s writing comes off as natural which is a great compliment in my book. To use a sports reference, when you don’t notice the referee then you know he’s calling a good game. As I think about the writing, I realize that I didn’t even notice it until I had to think about it. You really get a sense who the characters are as individuals, especially Anna Belle and Caleb. I loved Anna Belle; her fiery spirit is what drives all the other characters. They all react to her.

I thought the middle of the story dragged on a little too long. As much as I thought a comic that’s central concern is how to maintain the crops for the winter was an engaging and original plot, a little trimming wouldn’t hurt. For some of it, I was waiting for something to happen. I chalked it up to character development (which a lot of comics tend to pass over) and allowing the story to grow. At one point when Anna Belle is teaching her daughter to read one night on the front porch, a stranger approaches looking for food and shelter. After much deliberation and persuasiveness, they allow the wanderer to stay. He turns out not to be the friendliest guy in the world, but we go from them letting him stay, to him leaving in the morning. I would have loved to see more of what happened during his stay. What did they talk about over dinner? What more did he have to say about the ghosts? Who are The XII?

The XII is a five-part series, so there is plenty of time to see what happens to the family. While reading this it made me think of The Grapes of Wrath, and as I got through it, The Searchers. Enough to make we pop The Searchers in my Blu-ray player. There is a supernatural element to it as the story opens up a week before the events with twelve people dressed in biohazard outfits looking to get revenge on Caleb. What happens between now and then is what the rest of the series will reveal.
An enjoyable story, The XII part one hits shelves on February 21, 2018.

Can you hear what I hear? That’s the sound of Cody Sousa returning to pen another exciting thriller, for Alterna Comics called Sonitus. Co-written by Dan Sheppard, with art by Cecilia Lo Valvo and Dee Cunniffe, and letters by Dezi Sienty. Mysterious voices lure a man back to his hometown to visit an abandoned house that he used to frequent as a child. But as he journeys through his old hangout, he encounters a supernatural presence that forces him to face his past and his darkest fears.

Sonitus, which is Latin for noise or loud sound, starts off with a bang with the cover art. The bright yellow of what appears to be an explosion or a setting sun, contrasts well with the darkness of the abandoned house, giving it an extra creepy vibe. For fans of horror comics and all things eerie, this cover is an eye-catcher. The credits don’t provide any detail as to who was responsible for the colors, but I’m assuming it was Cunniffe with the illustrations by Lo Valvo. A superb job by both on the cover art.

Having said that, the interior art is not my favorite. Although I love the style and first became a fan of a similar art style through the work of Gabriel Hardman (Invisible Republic), this looked a little bit too much like scribbles. It all depended on what the page contained. For example, the exterior of the house on page four was okay, but as the story became more maddening, the art also became more undecipherable. Which would be appropriate, but still, it would be nice to know exactly what I’m looking at on the page. Another example would be when the guy reaches for a doorknob on pages 11-12, he turns it and has a moment of lunacy where he’s surrounded by what? Eyeballs? Pool table balls? Your guess is as good as mine.

Again, as good as the cover art is, the color palette on the inside is a little on the drab side. I’m sure on the newsprint version it is even more. Black, olive green, grey, and mustard yellow dominate the comic. On the positive side as drab as the colors are, it does suit the story, so it is only a minor issue. Much like how a drummer knows when to pull back, it’s beneficial to work with an artist who knows how to work with an appropriate color scheme.

Having read and enjoyed Croak (Alterna Comics), also written by Sousa and edited by Sheppard, I had high hopes for Sonitus. I wasn’t quite as impressed with his writing here, and I wonder if it’s because the cast of characters is limited to one at least in this first issue. The tension Sousa created with Croak never quite got off the ground here. There was an editing misstep on page six with the same line repeating in two different dialogue boxes. And with little to no dialogue between pages 11-19, combining that with the choppy art, it caused a lot of skimming through much of the middle part of the comic-which writers never want.

I was a little disappointed with Sonitus, but I would not count it out. Considering we’re only on the first issue, there is still time for the story to develop. I’m also willing to cut Sousa some slack because Croak was a home run in my book. Heck, even the art could grow on me. Let’s just hope there isn’t another editing mistake. That’s just unforgivable to me considering how little script there was in this book. Unless it was a mistake during printing, I don’t know. Either way that should not pass anyone’s eyes.

Sonitus #1 will hit shelves this Wednesday, February 21st, 2018.

A ghost story around a campfire is almost as a given as death and taxes, but when those stories come to life, survival is not. Croak revolves around three young adults that venture out on camping trip “where their worst nightmares come to life.” Written by Cody Andrew Sousa, with art by Francesco Iaquinta, and colors by Chris O’halloran, Croak is a tension-filled thriller that moves at a breakneck pace tempting the reader to skip ahead. But whatever you do, don’t turn back.

The story opens with three friends, Tim, Nick and Aubrey who are on their way to a camping trip, despite the fact that only one of them is a camper (Nick). The story does an excellent job of giving us a bit of tension, but then pulling back and letting it build up until all hell breaks loose. Sousa leads us to assume that Croak is going to rely on the typical campfire ghost story trope, which it very nearly does.

When the story isn’t going through one of its tension-filled frenzies, the dialogue does tend to get a little uninspired. And unless I missed something, we don’t learn Tim’s name until halfway through the second issue. The twist at the end of issue three makes up for any previous missteps, minor though they are.

O’halloran’s use of dark colors sets the mood flawlessly; I think this is where the newsprint aides and adds to the story. The texture of the paper and the thicker, more absorbent material adds depth and darkness to the page. Having said that, there are a few panels where it took a few extra glances before it sunk in.

Kudos to Iaquinta’s creature creation, and the cause everyone’s distress, which looks like a pterodactyl on two legs crossed with a giant rodent with two large bulging red eyes. Think of a Skeksis on steroids. The bold lines also add to the intensity of the situation.

Croak is just one of the hundred titles published by Alterna Comics. Overall, it’s an enjoyable thrill-ride that I would recommend for fans of that genre. Croak is a three issue story arc that is over before you know it and will leave you wanting more both from this story and the creators. All three issues are available now where Alterna Comics are sold (a complete list of retailers who carry Alterna titles is available on their website alternacomics.com). It is recommended, for a story like this, that all three be read in succession to get a fulfilling experience.

Eric Onkenhout
@EricOnkenhout

The term “indie” has a stigma to it that says raw and uncut-with little to no money, but with loads of love and passion. Many bands debut albums or record labels use this term to describe their way of creating art that is not geared towards the mainstream audience, but instead towards those they know will love and appreciate the work done. It also reflects the limiting finances the artist has to distribute their work.

With the ever-releasing list of Marvel and DC movies, breaking out into the world of comics can seem like an updated version of Tucker cars competing against the likes of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. A few weeks ago I wrote a review about an indie comic book publisher that printed all of their titles in newsprint, called Alterna Comics. I recently had the great opportunity to interview the head of Alterna Comics, and writer of his comic book, The Chair, Peter Simeti. Enjoy!

BSR: Your website says Alterna Comics has been publishing comics since 2006. Can you go into more detail as to how it all started? How many titles does Alterna Comics publish now?

PS: Alterna started as a self-publishing alias and turned into a company within a year. We started small(er) of course. Mostly print on demand in that first year until we acquired distribution. At this point, we’ve published over 100 titles between print and digital.

BSR: What inspired you to bring back newsprint to comics?

PS: Newsprint and comics just go hand in hand to me. Luckily, there’s a lot of people that also feel the same way. When I started Alterna, I had wanted to print comics on newsprint, so I’m glad that we’re finally able to make that a reality.

BSR: What’s the process of getting a comic published by Alterna Comics?

PS: I recommend that aspiring creators read through the submission guidelines on alternacomics.com and then submit there.

BSR: Besides the newsprint, what’s the biggest difference between Alterna Comics and DC or Marvel?

PS: The biggest difference is that our comics are creator-owned, self-contained, and cost a fraction of the price. In some cases, you can get an entire story arc of 3 or 4 issues for the cost of one comic at another publisher.

BSR: What comics are you reading right now?

PS: Submissions. Lots and lots of submissions. (laughs)

When reading indie comics like those released by Alterna Comics, you get an incredible sense that every word, panel, and page is not complete until it is exactly as the creators imagined it. Not that those who write for the more well-known publishers don’t, but when these comics sell at $1.50 an issue, you know they aren’t doing it for the money. I highly recommend searching for a comic store in your area that distributes these treasures and support your indie comics. And don’ t forget, the film adaptation of Simeti’s The Chair is now available on DVD!

If you’re a certain age, then you’ll remember the days when the pages of comic books consisted of newspaper print. Those days are long gone. However, since 2006, Alterna Comics has been publishing creator-owned comics while simultaneously bringing back newspaper print. If you’re looking for something new, look no further.

Alterna comics read like fanzines. It is evident that within these pages, the artists enjoy what they are doing and it’s apparent that each title is written and illustrated by those who merely love comic books and want to share their stories. When a local comic shop manager introduced me to Alterna Comics, he told me “Marvel and DC will always sell, but there are so many great indie comic publishers out there.” The most significant difference between Alterna and the more prominent comic book publishers is that they don’t try to be something they’re not because there is less production. The images are less refined, but in some way that lends itself to a more honest portrayal.

The list of titles is divided up between print (11), digital (19), and graphic novels (20). So far I’ve only read the print titles: The Chair, Amazing Age (written by Matthew D. Smith, art by Jeremy Massie, colors by Christine Brunson. Adam Wreck, Mother Russia (written and illustrated by Jeff McComsey). Scrimshaw (written by Eric Borden, art and colors by Dave Mims, and letters by Spike O’laochdha). And Trespasser (written by Justin M. Ryan, art by Kristian Rossi, and letters by D.C. Hopkins).

The print titles are then further broken down into the intended audience, with Adam Wreck and Amazing Age for General Audiences, Trespasser for Teen or Young Adult, The Chair, Scrimshaw, and Mother Russia for Mature Readers.

As given on the Alterna Comics homepage, the log-lines sum up each title:

Amazing Age: Three teenagers spend their days creating comics until one day, the stories come to life!

Adam Wreck: An interstellar road trip comes to a screeching halt when Adam’s parents are kidnapped by Space Pirates!

Trespasser: After a devastating war ruins the air supply for most of the world, Hector and his daughter Maria struggle to survive.

The Chair: Richard Sullivan has spent ten years on death row for a crime he claims he never committed.

Scrimshaw: With a planet ravaged by war, ruthless corporations have the governments in the pockets.

Mother Russia: One baby. One rifle. Two million zombies! A zombie apocalypse breaks out in WWII.

I’ve read my fair share of lousy indie comics, and I can honestly say all of the stories contained these published by Alterna comics have all been very good, and always leave you wanting more.

The only title I enjoyed a little less than the others was Scrimshaw. I enjoyed the cinema-like flow and scope, although the vision may be too vast for a comic series. I found the font tiny; the art is exciting but a little undistinguished and challenging to decipher at times. Also, I am not the biggest fan of post-apocalyptic stories. It seems by the end of each scene there should be another panel that got cut out before the next scene starts, leaving the reader hanging. This tactic is useful in getting the reader to want more but it can be a little overdone and frustrating. Give me what I want!

Most of the series are minis with monthly or bi-monthly publications. Adam Wreck recently published their last issue in a three issue series. Amazing Age has three issues published out of five; Trespasser just published issue two of four. Mother Russia just released issue two of three, The Chair just released issue three of four, and Scrimshaw is an ongoing series.

Overall, reading Alterna Comics brings back memories of reading indie books from the 70’s like Star Reach. You get such a variety of story and art there’s something for everyone, and at $1.50 an issue, there isn’t more enjoyable and affordable fun found anywhere else in comic form.