Mad Science Division #1 — Dan Watters and Brian Level Start a Corporate Thriller

Archimedes Anderson is sent to dismantle the Mad Science Division from the inside, but his budget cuts unleash chaos. Dan Watters and Brian Level launch this LCSD exclusive with a premise that feels dangerously plausible.

Corporate satire is a genre that rarely gets the horror treatment it deserves, which makes Mad Science Division such a sharp, unexpected entry from Ignition Press. You’re meeting Archimedes Anderson, a man whose primary qualification for leading a high-stakes research division is that he’s connected. He’s here to slash the budget, trim the fat, and secure a cushy executive role back at headquarters. It’s a familiar setup, the kind of narrative that usually ends with the protagonist realizing they made a terrible mistake halfway through the second act. But in this debut, that mistake is the engine of the entire story.

Archimedes walks in with a move-fast-and-break-stuff attitude and absolutely no idea what he’s looking at. He sees numbers on a spreadsheet; the scientists in the Mad Science Division see survival. By removing the guard rails that protect the workers and the public, he doesn’t just cut costs—he upsets a delicate equilibrium that has kept dangerous genetic experiments contained. The result is an immediate exposure to terrible, evil science, and it’s a world where the real villain isn’t a mad scientist in a lab coat, but a bureaucrat with a clipboard and zero empathy.

Dan Watters knows how to build tension from the inside out, having honed his craft on titles like Nightwing and TMNT: Shredder. He pairs that narrative precision here with Brian Level’s artwork, a creator who brings a gritty, tactile realism to Venom and other horror-leaning projects. The synergy between them is palpable in this introductory issue. You’re not just reading an orientation; you’re experiencing the dread of realizing too late that the person in charge doesn’t speak your language. It’s a masterclass in pacing and atmospheric dread.

I’ve been following Level’s work on Venom: Black, White & Blood for a while, and his ability to convey claustrophobia and corporate sterility is unmatched. Seeing him apply that same visual language to a bioweapons research facility creates a vibe that is both sterile and suffocating. It’s the kind of comic that feels like it could exist in our world if we just tweaked the moral compass in one specific direction. It’s unsettling, smart, and visually striking.

Since this is a Local Comic Shop Day exclusive, it’s moving through the distribution channels in a way that suggests it won’t be around for long-term back-issue hunting. The cover by Brian Level is distinctive and fits the tone perfectly, so if you’re interested in grabbing this one, the shop shelf is your best bet. It’s a compact, high-impact debut that sets up a thriller I suspect will get increasingly intense from here.