The end has come! Possibly for humanity and most definitely for this series. In the recent past, humans dug too deep into the Earth. They disturbed something and so the Spread began. The Spread doesn’t just consume or kill, it merges with its host and transforms humans into hybrid monsters, all connected to a collective hive mind.
Now in Spread, Vol. 5: Damocles, which collects the final four issues of this series, we catch up with our main character, No. No and baby Hope have travelled as far as they can on their journey. The final stand is upon them. They now face threats from Ravello, who has combined with the Spread, and his army—the final battle begins and No and Hope will either save the world or die trying.
Despite not having read any of the previous volumes, I found this volume pretty easy to follow and enjoy. We start with a really interesting look into the mind of our enemy. The enemy’s point of view is not something we get to see often and I found it to be a refreshing addition to the good vs. evil story that we so often encounter.
The crimson red of the Spread stands in stark contrast to the often muted colouring throughout the rest of the panels making it impossible to ignore the terror and havoc reaped by the infected. There’s a lot of gore, plenty of action, and an ending that will hopefully surprise you.
This title is not overly text heavy—how could it be with a main character who is named for the one word he says, “No”? The text, which is mostly from one of several narrators, is captivating and well-written with a tone that matches the feel of the art.
Other than the violet-toned baby Hope, there’s not much diversity to speak of in this volume. Our cast of characters is mostly male and mostly white.
This series should absolutely live in your adult graphic novel collection due to the language, violence and gore throughout. Adults who like apocalyptic horror will enjoy this series. More specifically, I would suggest this to fans of The Walking Dead, Resident Evil, and Stephen King.
Spread, Vol. 5: Damocles
By Justin Jordan
Art by John Bivens, Felipe Sobreiro, Kyle Strahm
ISBN: 9781534305052
Image, 2018
Publisher Age Rating: M / mature
Series Reading Order
