If you search for a specific type of character in your comic, Hidden Springs may have been something you missed. A group of elderly folks from a retirement community stumble upon a “baby” kaiju on a field trip. But if that description doesn’t make you want to dive head-first into Rob Williams and Nil Vendrell‘s new comic, I don’t know what will?
While on a retirement community field trip, a group of aging ex-Hollywood stars encounter a baby kaiju on the run from military agents. Bonding quickly with the creature, the cantankerous cadre of former celebrities have to somehow get the kaiju to safety—before it causes the end of the world!
I love picking up comics with a fun new premise that has you hooked from the outset and Hidden Springs is just that comic. The unique cast of characters and their encounter with a baby kaiju is the perfect setting for a new adventure that I can’t see what is coming ahead. You don’t read many, yes there are some, comics that feature a group of senior citizens as your main group of characters. Sometimes is just the group you need to make the story fit just right.
Hidden Springs features just the right amount of humor blended into the right amount of adventure into the unknown. This mysterious new creature crashed down in front of them takes a normal field trip outing and turns it into a science fiction mystery they never expected. The group of former Hollywood stars riding out their last few years together in a retirement community gets a jolt of excitement on the front lines.
While the whole premise and first issue stood out to me, its the way Williams was able to weave in the introductions of each of our characters that made this premiere something even more special. It isn’t at the beginning, nor at the end, but right in the middle and doing so in a way I didn’t see coming. Truly a fantastic and smooth way brand of storytelling.
The artwork by Vendrell works extremely well in this retirement home kaiju story. Vendrell creates such expressive characters where we almost know exactly how they feel or their motivations before even speaking a word. The baby kaiju is uniquely designed as to make it somehow cute and dangerous at the same time. Its a visual feast for the eyes.
Writer Rob Williams and artist Nil Vendrell blend just the right amount of humor and a giant monster to create unique story led by a wonderfully unconventional cast in Hidden Springs. A retirement home roadtrip collides with a baby kaiju in a charming and unexpected comic with expressive artwork that has me eagerly awaiting more.
Hidden Springs #1 hits local comic shops on May 13, 2026 from Dark Horse.
Hidden Springs #1 Preview
