Mark Spears' Monsters: Horror Reanimated
“Monsters aren’t born. They’re made.” That’s not just a tagline—it’s a mission statement. And for Mark Spears, it’s personal. Spears had long been a behind-the-scenes powerhouse with a decades-spanning career in illustration and cover work for titles like Spawn, Action Comics, and Power Rangers. But with Monsters, he stepped out of the shadows—and straight into the gore-soaked spotlight.
🦹🏼♂️ A Career forged in horror and heroics
Before Monsters made its mark, Mark Spears had already carved out a niche as a go-to cover artist for some of comics’ darkest and most dynamic titles. Known for his gritty textures and cinematic layouts, Spears’ work spans major publishers including DC, Marvel, Image, and Dynamite. From horror icons to superhero staples, his art blends the macabre with the mythic, earning him the Rondo Hatton Horror Artist of the Year award in 2020.
🔑 Key Mark Spears covers and issues
Action Comics – Superman under Spears' shadow-soaked lens.
Green Lantern: War Journal – A horror-tinged take on the cosmic protector.
Shazam! – Spears’ art brings eerie energy to a fresh reboot.
Spawn (Various Issues) – Regular contributor of haunting covers for:
Spawn
King Spawn
Gunslinger Spawn
The Scorched
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Boom! Studios) – Zombie-themed variants with cult appeal.
🧟♂️ A monster made by hand
Launched on Kickstarter in late 2023, Mark Spears’ Monsters didn’t creep onto the scene—it crashed through the door. What started as a modest indie campaign quickly gained serious momentum, turning into one of the standout comic projects of the year. That surge of support wasn’t just hype—it was a signal. Horror fans were ready for something bold, and Spears delivered a full-course feast.
Spears simultaneously released all eight issues of the series in a bold move rarely seen in indie comics—no wait between chapters. No delays. For backers, this meant immediate immersion—and for collectors, it meant a fully-formed set of premium books from day one.
Backing tiers included everything from digital editions to signed variants, metal covers, and ultra-limited blacklight prints. Several variant covers were capped at fewer than 100 copies, fueling early collector demand and second-market heat.
🔍 Storytelling that crawls beneath your skin
Set against the VHS-drenched backdrop of 1982, the story centres on a retired monster slayer drawn back into the game when a friend goes missing and brutal murders start cropping up across town. There’s a touch of Stephen King here—shady small towns, ancient evils, and damaged protagonists who are forced to revisit sins they thought were buried.
Meanwhile, a secondary plot follows a group of kids who witness their supposedly dead neighbour roaming the streets. It’s The Goonies by way of Pet Sematary, with just enough playfulness to make the horror hit harder.
What makes it click? Spears’ writing doesn’t rush. The horror builds gradually, rooted in character, mystery, and that creeping sense that something is wrong outside the frame.
🎨 Visual Terror: Spears' artistic signature
The art is where Monsters truly distinguishes itself.
Each page is rendered in Spears’ signature style—hyper-textured, high-contrast, and drenched in shadow. Influences from classic Famous Monsters of Filmland, EC Comics, and 1980s horror VHS covers are evident. But this isn’t just retro for retro’s sake. Spears reanimates these visual tropes with precision. Every panel feels like a poster. Every monster feels handcrafted.
Most pages look more like a painted canvas than traditional comic line work. There’s no digital sterility here—just rich, tactile horror.
😱 Fear as a feature, not a bug
Why horror? Why now?
Because horror is timeless, it adapts, mutates, and survives like the monsters it breeds. Spears leans into this truth, using horror not just to entertain but to engage with deeper fears: isolation, regret, mortality, and the unknown.
Monsters invites readers into a world of literal and metaphorical hauntings. And in doing so, it taps into something universal. In a culture increasingly comfortable with cynicism and detachment, fear remains one of the few emotions that can still cut to the bone.
This series doesn’t just want to scare you. It wants you to feel something.
🔥 Collectibility with bite
Let’s talk collector value—because Spears didn’t just make a comic, he built a collectible.
Between the full-series release, variant strategy, and professional-grade production, Monsters hit the sweet spot for speculators and long-term holders alike. Variant print runs were carefully managed, with Kickstarter-exclusive editions (like the foil, glow-in-the-dark, and metal covers) already commanding premiums on the aftermarket.
And Spears didn’t stop there. The series spun off into a prequel mini-series, The Monster and the Wolf, further expanding the universe and bolstering value for those who got in early.
In short: if you're a collector looking for modern horror with legs, Monsters is worth tracking.
Final thought
With Mark Spears’ Monsters, we’re not just witnessing a horror comic—we’re watching a creator define a lane all his own. The series is bold, bloody, and bursting with reverence for the genre. But it’s also intelligent, self-aware, and unflinchingly personal. This isn’t just another monster book. It’s a love letter to fear itself—and to the fans who still believe that comics can scare us in the best possible way.
