Checkmate Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Chance Wolf & Todd McFarlane (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Spawn invades Jason Wynn’s headquarters, as Sam and Twitch encounter Cogliostro in the alleyways. After brutalizing Wynn’s security force, Spawn confronts Wynn and vows to destroy his empire. He removes his mask so that Wynn can learn his identity, unaware that his human face has already rotted away. Spawn exits, and Wynn finally appears to be intimidated.
Spawn Stuff: The back of the issue is filled with ads for Spawn movie merchandise, including Inkworks trading cards, Starlog magazines dedicated to the movie, the soundtrack, and movie t-shirts. The HBO series is also on VHS in both PG-13 and R-rated versions (how exactly it was edited down to a PG-13 rating is beyond me), and the abominable Playstation game is advertised.
Gimmicks: This issue is polybagged with a free McFarlane Toys catalogue.
Production Notes: The cover design has dropped the cover dates, although the indicia still lists them. Brent Ashe has also begun redesigning the letters page and trade paperback collections, giving everything a shaky and scratchy look.
Review: Oh, wouldn’t you just know it? Spawn squandered the temporary remission of his skin condition. It’s like the guy is a perpetual loser or something. Not only is the issue’s plot recycled from previous issues, but it’s regurgitating material from two issues that aren’t even that old. Spawn armed himself and gunned down an army of Jason Wynn’s men in issue #55, which is less than a year old at this point, and his confrontation with Jason Wynn is virtually identical to the one in #62, which was just two months ago! Apparently it’s different now because Wynn is truly scared of Spawn, unlike the previous times Spawn’s invaded his sanctuary and nearly killed him. Sure.
McFarlane can’t even come up with a decent justification for Spawn’s killing spree. In issue #55, he was murdering soldiers who raided an innocent village. Now, simply working for Jason Wynn is enough of a rationale for their deaths. So just taking a security job overlooking a middle-aged man is grounds for murder, apparently. And while the guards are killed, Jason Wynn, the true target, is left alive because Spawn still believes he might hurt Wanda. Is Spawn so stingy with his magic power that he can’t be bothered to just erase Wynn’s memory of Wanda? Wouldn’t that solve a good eighty percent of the problems he consistently runs into? And I don’t care how dark and gothic he’s supposed to be, doesn’t it bother him at all that he’s killed dozens of flunkies but still lets their boss go free?
Does he actually wear that pointless uniform in the comic?
ReplyDeleteHe does steal one of their uniforms, but it doesn't have 666 on the helmet.
ReplyDeleteIt has always bugged me when the hero cuts though swathes of cannon fodder only to have a moral realisation when it comes to the big bad. Surely they deserve it more.
ReplyDeleteV.