Over the years, on Hypergeek, I’ve done my best to try and help promote small press, indie, and creator-owned titles. This is for a number of reason, but primarily because most of the comics that I read fall into these categories. Don’t get me wrong, I do love my DC and Marvel superhero books, but I just find the stories told in creator-owned and Indie books tend to have far more meaning to me, and stick with me for longer.

The other reason I do this is because many of these great books aren’t backed by a massive marketing department, and so they often go unnoticed by many fans. So I like to try and bring these titles to the attention of readers, by giving equal attention to them as I do to books from the big two. I do this by posing press releases for these books, posting reviews, posting a weekly list of all the creator-owned books hitting the shops, and a few bygone features like the Small Press Spotlight, where I would write profiles on Small Press companies and the books they published.

This new feature that I am adding to the site is somewhat like the Small Press Spotlight that I used to do, but instead of focusing on a certain company, I’ll be widening the criteria to include spotlights on the works of certain creators, or on a particular series that I think deserves to have more readers.

This week, I’m going to kick off with a brand new titles, which you may have overlooked in your recent excursions to the comic store. This is because, not only is it a creator-owned indie title, it’s also a back-up story in the pages of another creator-owned indie book. That’s not to say that it’s undeserving of your attention though, in fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Hoax Hunters is a 3-page back-up story, which will be running throughout 2011, within the pages of the new ongoing Hack/Slash series from Image Comics . The story is co-written by Steve Seeley & Michael Moreci, and features art by JM Ringuet (Transhuman), and letters by Jim Campbell.

The first part of Hoax Hunters, appeared in Hack/Slash #1, which was released on February 9th, and part two is set to come out in Hack/Slash #2 on March 9th.

Hoax Hunters follows the crew of a Mythbusters-esque TV show, who instead of debunking myths about popular science, look into a variety of paranormal phenomena, and try to ascertain whether they are truth, or Hoax.

Or as the press release puts it:

Chupacabra. Yeti. The Montauk Monster. All the creatures of folklore, legend, and Internet fame-what if they were real? They’d be made to appear fake by a reality TV show, of course! HOAX HUNTERS is that show, though to their viewing audience, their goal is the exact opposite: seeking out YouTube sensations, tabloid creatures, and reported monsters and proving them to be false. The HOAX HUNTERS demonstrate that the truth isn’t out there.

In this initial run, readers follow the team of the Hoax Hunters TV show as they respond to a mysterious American astronaut—accompanied by a murder of crows—who appears in Russia. And that team, which consists of a reanimated corpse, a former child star who suffered a demonic possession, and a special ops agent, isn’t your typical television cast. But to their audience, these are just their roles.

Here’s what the creators have to say about the title:

“Steve and I have always been fascinated by this culture of alleged hoaxes—Bigfoot in a freezer, the fake moon landing, things like that,” says Moreci. “With Hoax Hunters, we are able to wonder what the recourse would be if the these occurrences were real; I mean, there has to be at least a grain of truth there.”

“Hoax Hunters combines a lot of fun pop culture elements and turns them on their head,” says Moreci. “JM, Steve, and I have had a ton of fun creating it—hopefully our enjoyment carries over to the readers!”

So far, we’ve only seen the first three pages of the story, but it’s definitely off to a strong start, with a intriguing concept, a strong script, and some great artwork. I would highly recommend checking this one out. Frankly, you should all be buying Hack/Slash anyway, because it is freaking awesome, but if you needed extra incentive to pick it up, this would definitely be it!

So, if you don’t already have a copy of Hack/Slash #1, go out and grab one now, and remember to pick up issue #2 on March 9th. Then, when you’ve finished reading the main story, make sure you keep fliping the pages until you hit Hoax Hunters, because this is a great story, that’s packed full of potential!

Check out a teaser for the series below, along with a couple of character designs by JM Ringuet.

Related posts:

1. Steve Niles’ First Creator-Owned Spotlight Column Goes Live on Robot 6
2. Zenescope Announces Brand New Monster Hunters’ Survival Guide Series
3. Tim Seeley moves fan favorite HACK/SLASH to Image Comics
4. Tim Seeley’s Cult Hit Lovebunny & Mr. Hell Returns to Print in Full Color
5. The Steve Niles Incident - Updated With Direct Quote From Steve Himself