Keenspot Entertainment

Free Comic Book Day presents comic readers with the opportunity to find new titles that they haven’t read yet or ones with which they are unfamiliar. That was the case for me with Mark Spears Monsters #0, and I am very happy I grabbed it.

First of all, the cover features classic monsters like Dracula and a zombie looking down at the reader with menace in their glowing eyes. Further embracing vintage horror, the cover looks like a VHS box with a “horror” and “Be Kind Please Rewind” stickers and what looks like a torn corner at the bottom.

Mark Spears wrote and illustrated the story about Mr. Fun E. Bones, a sad clown who is just looking for a new friend. He finds it in precious little Lily and leads her into the woods where she expects to enter Clown Town, but the reader knows something much worse is in store. But these two aren’t the only ones in the woods and soon the fate of Mr. Fun E. Bones is no laughing matter.

About half of the story is reminiscent of Stephen King’s It with the vaguely creepy looking clown pulling a child into his murderous web. It plays out beautifully with so many great artistic choices – primarily the clown’s expression and angle in which he is drawn – that establish the sinister tone of the story. Then things start to change, and a larger story begins to unfold.

The artwork in this book is outstanding. Spears’ draws with incredible detail; he uses bold neon and what appears like blacklight colors that gives it a unique feel. It’s a great book for horror fans, and a series I’m definitely going to start reading.

–Amanda Sheriff