Mark Spears Monsters #2

Nov 2024 · Keenspot Entertainment · 5.99 USD

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“Part 2 - King's Gambit”

About this Issue

Mark Spears Monsters #2 is a significant early chapter in one of the more distinctive creator-owned horror universes to emerge from the indie comics scene of the 2020s — a series that transplanted a pre-existing trading-card mythology directly into sequential storytelling form. The issue serves as the first full comic-page appearance of the villain faction known as The Overmen and introduces the Witch Stone as a central supernatural MacGuffin, giving the overarching narrative its clearest shape yet. By weaving classic public-domain monster archetypes — Dracula, Frankenstein's creation, the Creature from the Black Lagoon — into an original early-1980s thriller framework alongside wholly new characters like Maldor Darkmoon and Dokuhebi, Spears demonstrated that a modern horror universe could be built around iconographic monsters without simply retelling their familiar stories. The fact that pre-orders for this issue rose rather than fell from a sold-out debut was a notable commercial event for Keenspot, signaling that the series had genuine audience momentum at a time when mid-tier publisher growth was hard-won.

"Part 2 - King's Gambit" delivers a layered, pulse-pounding escalation in Mark Spears’ ongoing horror saga, weaving together centuries and worlds with eerie precision. From Vlad’s bloody ascension in 1472 to a modern-day hunt for the Witch Stone at Area 51, every thread pulls deeper into a conspiracy of monsters and secrets. With Mark Spears handling every aspect of the interior art, inks, colors, and lettering—plus his distinctive cover art—this 2024 issue feels like a fully realized, personal vision, where every shadow holds a story.

writer, artist, inker, colorist Mark Spears · letterer Micah Meyers · cover Mark Spears

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $44

CGC 9.8 · 975 in census $75*

CGC 9.6 · 63 in census $42

CGC 9.4 · 14 in census $42

CGC 9.2 · 5 in census $30*

CGC 9.0 · 4 in census $28*

CGC 8.5 · 4 in census $23*

Show all 8 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 3 in census $23*

CGC 7.5 · 2 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

The series grew directly out of Mark Spears' two Mark Spears Monsters trading card sets, which established his visual interpretations of classic monsters before any comic existed. Keenspot Entertainment, a publisher with roots in webcomics dating to 2000, signed Spears to adapt that intellectual property into a bimonthly comic series, with Spears serving as sole writer, artist, and cover illustrator throughout. Issue #1 debuted in September 2024 and sold out its initial print run almost immediately, prompting a second printing; issue #2 followed on November 20, 2024, riding that momentum with an expanded variant program that included EC Comics and Dark Shadows homage covers, a holofoil flip book, and a metal cover edition. Lettering across the series is credited to Micah Myers.

Trivia · 7 facts

Written, illustrated, and cover-drawn entirely by Mark Spears — the sole creator on art and story duties, with lettering by Micah Myers.
Central plot of the issue: the terrorist organization The Overmen infiltrate a military complex to steal an artifact called the Witch Stone, while the Slayer pursues information about his missing friend from an old adversary.
Characters appearing in this issue (per League of Comic Geeks indexing): Dracula (main), Slayer (supporting), Bryan Macintosh (supporting), Creature from the Black Lagoon (supporting), Dokuhebi (supporting), Igor (supporting), Ilsa (supporting), Joe Skorzeny (supporting), Maldor Darkmoon (cameo), Frankenstein, and Werewolf.
The series is adapted from Spears' pre-existing Mark Spears Monsters trading card intellectual property, making these comic appearances the first sequential-narrative incarnations of his original character designs.
Issue #2 was among the rare cases where Diamond pre-orders for a second issue rose compared to the first issue's initial orders — an uncommon occurrence for an independent launch.
The issue shipped with an extensive variant cover program including an EC Comics homage (Cover D), a Dark Shadows homage (Cover E), a holofoil flip book (Cover F), a 1:25 retailer incentive, and a metal cover edition (Cover G).
A second printing of issue #2 followed in January 2025, with its own variant covers, confirming sustained reader demand after the first printing.