From www.secretidentitypodcast.com:

What Nick Taplanski and Alex Eckman-Lawn have created with “Awakening” is a unique take on the zombie genre that has a distinct noir flavor. The story is set in the small town of Park Falls, and follows former detective Derrick Peters. As the first issue opens, Peters is doing some private investigation work for a woman whose husband has gone missing. The details of the man’s disappearance are not adding up, and Peters eventually sees similarities between his case and some other disappearances that have occurred recently. A shady pharmaceutical company, corpses with bite marks on them, and shadowy government intervention all point to something much more sinister than just some random disappearances.

Taplanski opens this series with a well-paced first issue that sets the table nicely for the rest of the story. In addition to the main mystery of what’s happening to people in town, each of the core characters has unanswered questions of their own, like why Peters is no longer on the force, or just what made the ‘town crazy’ lose it in the first place. Alex Eckman-Lawn’s artwork is dark and surreal, and it reminded me of some of Ashley Wood’s work, particularly the stuff he did on the “Metal Gear Solid” books. His style fits the story well.

Issue #1 of “Awakening” does an excellent job of sucking you in and raising a lot of questions about what’s to come in the rest of the series. Whether you’re a horror fan or you just love a good mystery, there’s a lot to sink your teeth into with this one.

From www.secretidentitypodcast.com:

Robert Heske’s “Bone Chiller” is a collection of 10 modern tales of horror that offers a little something for everyone. Heske wrote all ten of the short stories himself, and teamed up with a variety of artists on the collection.

The first story is entitled “Her First Day Alone,” and it takes a frightening look into post-partum depression. The mother in the story descends into madness as she thinks about her child having to leave her and go to daycare. Things get pretty ugly from there, and the fact that extreme incidents have occurred in the real world around post-partum depression add another level of creepy to this tale. Monty Borror does a nice job on the art chores, particularly in the haunted look that he creates for the mother, which gets worse and worse as the story wears on.

The rest of the collection features shorter stories, and my two favorites of the bunch are “False Pretenses” and “Dead Dog.” “False Pretenses” features a cautionary tale about internet dating with a twist. “Dead Dog” is the story of a burgeoning serial killer with a god complex that gets him into trouble. Both of the stories are illustrated by a guy named “Zue,” and his stuff jumps of the page. His style is gorgeous and he does a great job with facial expressions and giving characters emotion. I will definitely be looking for more stuff from him.

As a horror fan, I enjoyed all of the stories in Heske’s collection, and fans of “Creepy” or “Tales from the Crypt” should find a lot to like here as well.

From www.secretidentitypodcast.com:

Ian Sharman and Orang Utan comics have put together a rock solid anthology of sci-fi, fantasy and horror stories with “FTL” #1. “Faster Than Light” serves up five unique stories of different sizes that are all satisfying and give the book a consistent feel of quality throughout.

Scapegoat by Dwight Macpherson with pencils by Riccardo Latina is one of the longer stories in the book, and it presents a bleak look at the future after war breaks out between mankind and robots. A human soldier that tries to bring an end to the war only validates the reasons for the robot uprising in the first place. “Prey” by Trey Wickwire and John Cboins is a bite-size tale that examines the role of predator and prey. With “The Long Forgotten,” Ian Sharman and Izzy Davis offer up an interesting take on both the beginning and end of life on earth. Cherie Donovan and Melissa Hudson’s “Obsession” tells the story of a vampire that gives a young woman the gift of revenge after taking her life. Finally, Peter Rogers and Nuno Nobre’s “Bloodstain” follows one of the original vampires of the world who’s tired and ready to accept his fate…until he finds out what that fate actually is.

It’s nice to see an anthology book that doesn’t get stuck on one particular genre. I enjoyed the diversity of stories in “FTL,” and since the book hits to all fields, there should be at least one story in issue #1 that resonates with people. My personal favorites in this issue were “The Long Forgotten” and “Obsession,” but there were no throw-away stories in the bunch. “FTL” #1 is a book I have no trouble recommending to fans of all different genres.