Every day this month I'll be reviewing a different independent comic book, based on submissions from the creators of the comic books themselves.

The month continues with the intriguing debut of 22 Reasons to Fear the Future, by Egan McConvey and Ryan Sergeant.

Probably the number one thing that I found a bit confusing about 22 Reasons to Fear the Future was whether it was an anthology or a continuing series. On the website for the book, which you can find here, it says it is an anthology, which is fair enough, but I couldn't tell that from the book itself, so I was a bit confused. I only mention it because the book felt like a complete story, so I would have been quite amazed if they managed to somehow continue the story from this first issue.

So, if this is an anthology of "done in one" stories, the first story, the Secret Death of Julian Birch, was very well-handled.

The tale is about a young man who is being hunted by someone who tells him he is destined, nay, he NEEDS to die, but he is given a couple of days to prepare. So throughout the issue we are left to wonder exactly what the deal is - is it a true premonition? Is it all a test? A ruse? If he has to die, does it have to be in a specific fashion?

All interesting questions raised by McConvey.

Meanwhile, Sergeant does a good job on the artwork in the issue, particularly the storytelling, providing the comic with a nice sense of foreboding dread (yes, yes, I know, as opposed to optimistic dread).

Here are some sample pages from the story...

Compelling work. I especially like the role reserved for the supporting cast.

That said, if this is, indeed, a done in one, I wonder if it wasn't a BIT on the "too mysterious" side, what with us never knowing the motives for the stranger choosing the methods he does, as opposed to just walking up and shooting Julian in the face before giving him any time to prepare. And I think that's a fairly important piece of information.

Still, this is a well-designed and effectively told comic, in both script and art. I look forward to the next reason!

If you would like me to review you independent comic book this month, there likely is not enough time, but there might be enough time to send me a copy for review! Click here to read where to send the review copies.