Reptile Review- Nightmare Fuel For Your Soul
From Antitheist Comics
Written by Zachary Root
Art by Nicolas Nieto
Reptile is an indie comic series from creator Zachary Root with the first issue released back in 2023 and subsequent releases every year since. Currently, Antitheist Comics is running a Kickstarter Fundraiser for a collected edition of the Reptile series thus far, and I feel it is my duty as an indie comic creator and reviewer to tell you exactly why supporting this book will be the best decision you’ve made this week.
Over the past few years, I have reviewed a number of small publisher indie comics with the aim of turning people’s attention to the exciting, imaginative, and unique landscape that exists outside of mainstream publishing- a mission that I feel overwhelmingly passionate about. So you can believe me when I say that Reptile may just be the shining example of a stellar, thoughtful, professionally packaged indie series that should be a topic of conversation for every self professed comic book fan.
“You mean the conspiracy theory fever dream series about a stoner fighting a cabal of carnivorous reptile people who live under the Denver Airport is good?”
You bet your ass it is!
And how could it not be? With such a forthright, over the top, graphically rendered concept that dives deep into its own absurdity without an ounce of self consciousness. The traits that make Reptile so seemingly incomprehensible to the average reader that make it so devilishly alluring. Especially after discovering the surprising amount of nuance that Root employs in the scripting of his heinously inventive vision.
What exactly is the story of Reptile? Well, I don’t want to spoil too much because I want to encourage you to check out the Kickstarter page for yourself. However, for necessary context, I will relay the basic setup. In the near future, we follow a stoner, loser, burnout protagonist named Billy Carlin as he attends the funeral of his estranged father. In flashbacks, we see Billy’s sordid, tragic past, before returning to the present as Billy begins to see strange visions of Reptilian creatures walking around in broad daylight. Soon, Billy receives a mysterious gift, a crystalline object known as “The Obelisk” that only seems to kick his hallucinations into overdrive, before he is intercepted by a mysterious shadow organization that informs him that his deranged dreams are very real.
What if the world you knew was an illusion and all of the nightmares you feared lay in wait just beyond the fragile boundary of perception?
Arguably the best aspect of this ongoing indie series is its patience of premise. While many small creators feel the understandable pressure of brevity and clarity in the themes and plot of their limited releases, which oftentimes are few and far between due to limited funding, Reptile operates as the exception to the rule. Rather than bluntly revealing context, or frontloading a prologue of lore explanation, Root drops you into the world of Reptile without any safety net. We, much like our central protagonist, are assaulted by forces far beyond our control and limited understanding. In the short time it takes for Reptile to reveal its true spine-tingling stylistic edge, with shocking body horror, eldritch otherworlds, and hellish creature designs from the singular hands of artist Nicolas Nieto, the reader is helpless to look away.
Additionally, on the subject of visuals, Reptile is truly one of the most original concepts that I have read in recent memory and is executed to disturbing perfection by all talents involved. It is the kind of comic that in reading you take a step back and envision just what the hell the script could have even said for the artist to have created this. Balancing elements of the best, beloved B-Horror films with tonal and aesthetic details of a conspiratorial spy thriller, creating a complex reading experience for fans of heightened genre fiction.
Aside from pure action spectacle, which this title certainly has an abundance of, Root and Nieto also manage to balance numerous story elements and plot lines that make the world of Reptile feel fully developed even if not fully explained. From merely the few issues released, one can envision a world in which this series exists at a major publisher like Image or Dark Horse and has multiple tie-in titles expanding the characters and factions introduced.
If you are looking for a series to shock your senses, inspire you as a creator, or rip your mind clean away from day to day reality, then you should absolutely grab Volume 1 of Reptile and see what all the madness is about. Help support the creative vision of these indie creators, where your time and money is valued the most, and help Reptile reach its 12 issue culmination!
