SPREAD VOL 1: NO HOPE

Justin Jordan (Author), Kyle Strahm (Illustrator)

Image Comics (Publisher)

> Review by Joe Tell

Spread rhymes with “red” and “dead” and those words are a big part of what makes Spread so grossly enthralling. There’s plenty of bloody, red gore and violent, horrific killing. It’s not all slice and dice, as all of the bleeding is supported by a great, post-apocalyptic narrative. The titular Spread is a huge creature that comes in many shapes and sizes. It stalks humanity, seeking new victims to infect in its quest to take over the planet. Once infected, a human being becomes a shape-shifting servant of the vile organism. The title of the series’ Volume One is interesting because it uses the names of the two characters on the cover, No and Hope. No, who looks like Marvel Comics’ Wolverine, is a loner who is immune to the Spread virus. No becomes Hope’s caretaker after he rescues the baby from a band of wayward thugs. There is a big problem, though: No has no way of feeding Hope, which is where Crazy Molly comes in. After No rescues the enslaved Crazy Molly, she feeds Hope with her breast milk. There is a great scene in the book in which the reader finds out just how important Hope and Crazy Molly are to the storyline. Five minions of the Spread are eradicated with Hope’s super vomit. Hope’s bodily fluids destroy the Spread, making the baby a savior to the living, and a target for the Spread. The art of Kyle Strahm draws the reader in with its mind-blowing, gruesome horror. Every page displays murder in a new way and at least one droplet of blood. You want to look away, but you can’t. Fans of 80s slasher flicks will love Spread.