FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fans Push Keenspot’s MARK SPEARS MONSTERS: THE MONSTER & THE WOLF #1 to 350,000 Pre-Orders, Making Independent Comics History
LOS ANGELES, CA – September 4, 2025 – Keenspot Entertainment is thrilled to announce that MARK SPEARS MONSTERS: THE MONSTER & THE WOLF #1 Trick Or Treat Blind Bag (in stores October 8th) has shattered expectations with 350,000 copies pre-ordered, placing it among the highest selling independent comics in history—and the largest ever by a single creator. This $5.99 first issue in a 3-part mini-series chronicling the origins of werewolf Clint Abbott is a spin-off prequel to Keenspot’s phenomenally popular ongoing MARK SPEARS MONSTERS series, the 7th issue of which hits stores on September 17th.
What makes this 350,000-copy pre-order milestone even more remarkable is how it happened. Unlike other comic launches, Keenspot’s MARK SPEARS MONSTERS: THE MONSTER & THE WOLF had no media hype machine like the ones that drive sales of comics from larger publishers like Marvel, DC, and Image. Its record-breaking success was driven primarily by a grassroots fan movement—collectors, retailers, and fans spreading the word, championing the book, and turning it into a phenomenon.
“This wasn’t driven by big budgets or the backing of a giant publisher,” Spears said. “This happened because of the fans. They built the excitement, they carried the momentum, and they proved what real passion for comics can achieve. I’m deeply grateful.”
Spears, who only debuted in comics in 2023 with four Spawn covers, has since launched his acclaimed series MARK SPEARS MONSTERS, which quickly rose to become a Top 50 seller in comic shops since the Keenspot title’s debut in September 2024. Now, just two and a half years after Spears’ comics debut and one year after his MONSTERS took stores by storm, he’s set to deliver what may be the #1 comic of October 2025.
Every one of the 90 covers inside the Trick or Treat Blind Bags was created by Spears himself—art, writing, story, design and even taking on some of the lettering duties—making this not only a sales milestone but also one of the most ambitious single-creator projects in modern comics. Fans will also be searching for the “Unholy Grails”—golden ticket redemptions for unique 1-of-1 comics hidden randomly in the comics.
“We couldn’t be prouder about the success of this title, or more honored that genius creator Mark Spears offered to team up with Keenspot to bring the greatness of his MONSTERS saga to comic shops worldwide,” said Chris Crosby, CEO and Editor-In-Chief of Keenspot. “Driven almost entirely by fan support, this classic American success story stands as proof of the power of fans, grassroots excitement, and a creator’s uncompromising vision.”
Up next on pre-order for MARK SPEARS MONSTERS is issue #8, the final chapter in the first story arc “All That Remains,” which comes in another holiday-themed bag -- the DIRTY KRAMPUS BLIND BAG!
Keenspot titles like MARK SPEARS MONSTERS are distributed to comic shops by Lunar Distribution, Universal Distribution, and Diamond UK, and to the book trade by Simon & Schuster.
ABOUT KEENSPOT ENTERTAINMENT
Founded in 2000, Keenspot quickly became the top publisher of webcomics, generating billions of pageviews on keenspot.com. The company later branched out to print comic books, publishing diverse titles such as the romantic comedy MARRY ME (adapted into the hit 2022 romcom starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson that was the third-most viewed movie during its debut week on Netflix last month), fantasy epics like TWOKINDS and THE HUNTERS OF SALAMANSTRA, and all ages humor comics like GRUBBS (now an animated special starring Wil Wheaton and Jerry O’Connell with 4.2 million views on YouTube).
