Sacred Ground Credits: Todd McFarlane & Brian Holguin (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Danny Miki w/Scott Kobayashi (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin, Dan Kemp, & Tyson Wengler (colors)
Summary: Spawn finds himself powerless in the Greenworld. He’s restrained by thorny vines and confronted by the Keeper, the Emerald Parliament’s representative. The Keeper explains that the Earth is the third force in the battle between Heaven and Hell, a war that will destroy the planet, unless someone forges peace. Spawn sees a vision of himself with angel wings, flying in-between God and Malebolgia. In Rat City, Boots channels energy through Spawn’s sigil, which brings him back home. An army of angels arrives and arrests Boots for interfering with human affairs and aiding a Hellspawn.
Spawntinuity: As the angels take Boots away, he asks Spawn: “The deal you made with Malebolgia -- how do you know you really made it?” He then says that a child will come, which Spawn must “look to.” Meanwhile, Cyan snaps out of her seizure when Spawn returns to Earth.
Production Note: The book is back to twenty-two pages, and even includes a five-page preview of the Harry Houdini limited series, Great Escapes.
Review: It’s an anniversary issue, and although the book isn’t double-sized (a stunt McFarlane rarely likes to pull), the creators still seem aware that it should be significant in some way. They accomplish this by, of course, vaguely hinting about future events and making cryptic revelations about the “real” story behind Spawn’s origin. Essentially, it’s the past twenty issues of this book, compressed into a one-issue story.
I’m sure McFarlane and/or Holguin thought the revelation that the Earth itself doesn’t want a war between Heaven and Hell was clever, and I suppose it is a justifiable take on the standard End Times theology. But, just as the previous issue intimated that God can’t create souls, I suppose we’re also supposed to believe that God couldn’t create another Earth after the war. Obviously, McFarlane isn’t bound to a strict Judeo-Christian interpretation of the afterlife when creating his comic, but he’s very casually recasting the role of God without dealing with any of the consequences. Is this God the universe’s ultimate moral authority? Does the God of the Spawnverse answer prayer? Is He or She responsible for the creation of existence? If not, who or what is? I’m not saying that all of these questions should’ve been answered by this point, but the subjects should’ve been broached. Mark Gruenwald wouldn’t have pussyfooted around like this.
Now, as for Spawn himself, we’re given the shocking revelation that he’s the one destined to bring peace between Heaven and Hell. Oddly enough, his death is also supposed to trigger their war during Armageddon. He’s so special! Certainly, he won’t be replaced with a different character within the next hundred issues. (How exactly his death is supposed to start the war isn’t clear, by the way. Does this mean that with Spawn dead on Earth, his soul returns to Hell, where he’ll fight alongside Malebolgia’s army? Or does his mere existence prevent the two sides from ever fighting the final battle?) Since Spawn is the lead, it’s understandable that the creators want him to fulfill some grand destiny and be “special” in a way the previous Hellspawns weren’t. Fine, but why does he have two separate prophesies attached to him? It’s overkill.
Finally, as Boots is hauled way in chains (a plot thread that actually did have something of a resolution), it’s revealed that maybe Spawn never made the famous deal from his origin, and that a mystery child is the key to everything. Obviously. We’ve already discovered that Spawn’s memories are fake, and that Wanda was Hell’s target all along, so why not undermine the rest of the character’s well-established origin story? And, gee, could that exceptional child be Cyan? Actually, I have no idea how this played out. Did anyone read Spawn long enough to know if any of these cryptic references were paid off? Looking through Wikipedia, I know that Cogliostro replaced Malebolgia in Hell, Angela died, and Al Simmons has become the villainous Omega Spawn…but what about the revelations from the end of McFarlane’s original stint as writer? Did we learn more about Hell’s interest in Wanda? Was the magic child revealed? Did the Earth make another attempt at stopping Armageddon? I’m genuinely curious…do Spawn fans have a strict stance on continuity, and has the series lived up to it in the years following McFarlane’s departure?
The Void Credits: Todd McFarlane & Brian Holguin (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Danny Miki (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: After discovering Spawn’s secret identity, Sam and Twitch are determined to learn his connection to Jason Wynn. Meanwhile, Spawn fights the Heap, but is soon consumed within his body. Boots discovers a Spawn sigil left behind in the alleys. Within Heap, Spawn speaks to Eddie Beckett, who now serves as a conduit for the “Emerald Parliament.” Spawn floats out of the black void into a tunnel, where he sees another Spawn sigil.
Spawntinuity: Cyan instinctively knows when Spawn has disappeared inside Heap. According to Boots, he can’t allow Spawn to die because this will trigger Armageddon. He claims that Malebolgia has harvested too many souls and that Heaven isn’t ready to fight. Apparently, God’s unable to create souls in the Spawn theology.
The Big Names: The real life Terry Fitzgerald has photos from the 1998 Tibetan Freedom Concert, and the first US date of Pearl Jam’s ’98 tour. He hints at a future collaboration with the band, which will turn out to be their “Do the Evolution” video.
Production Note: What has two staples and only twenty pages of story? Any issue of Spawn from this era.
Review: You know the issue isn’t off to a promising start when it opens with more of Sam and Twitch’s bumbling detective work. They do at least know that Spawn is Al Simmons now, but the four-page sequence is marred with the grim “we’re bringing him in” cliffhanger. This is, what, the fifth time Sam’s rushed into action, pledging to bring Spawn in? Where do any of these investigations go? Also, he’s not a cop anymore, so where is he bringing him? The story does acknowledge that the detectives lost their jobs while investigating Chief Banks, but that bit of info is essentially ignored just a page later to make room for the dramatic closing line. This goes in the Sloppy Spawn Continuity Hall of Fame.
After the shoddy opening, the issue redeems itself a bit. Spawn has his first real fight scene in months against the Heap, and while it doesn’t last long, Capullo brings a lot of energy to the action. The all-black void within the Heap, contrasted against Spawn’s elaborate costume and the assorted garbage he’s dragged along with him, is another strong visual. I’m sure Boots’ vague talk about Armageddon is going to be more cryptic horse manure that doesn’t amount to anything, but the script is fairly successful in selling the idea. I’m even more convinced that the division of labor at this point is McFarlane plotting and Holguin scripting, since this doesn’t read like a terrible comic; the aimlessness and repetitiveness are only obvious if you know the book’s track record.
The Heap Credits: Todd McFarlane & Brian Holguin (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Danny Miki w/Todd McFarlane & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Unimpressed with Sam and Twitch’s progress so far, Cogliostro leaves them with a file on Al Simmons. Later, he warns Boots that a third force is approaching. Elsewhere, Eddie Beckett is harassed by a mob enforcer who’s heard rumors that Eddie is hoarding “something special.” He leaves Eddie for dead, yet the necroplasm oozes out of Eddie's paper bag and revives him. Eddie is reborn as the Heap. Representing the spirit of the Earth, he soon targets Spawn.
Spawntinuity: The Heap is a long-standing character that goes back to the Golden Age. McFarlane attained the rights after his purchase of Eclipse Comics’ intellectual property. Of course, the character he really wanted to use was Miracleman, but we all know how that turned out.
Production Note: Yes, twenty pages again.
Review: The story opens with the return of that old Todd chestnut…the manila file folder. Yes, Cogliostro, the proper way to deal with two detectives who haven’t gotten around to actually investigating anything in the past five years is to just give them a file with the info you want them to have. Just put the rest of us out of our misery. Maybe one day McFarlane can release a trade paperback of all of the storylines in this book that turn on manila file folders. If you’re facing a genetically engineered mob enforcer, a corrupt bureaucrat, or the KKK, nothing amps up the excitement like a manila file folder.
I will say that this issue doesn’t read as if two separate comics were pasted together into one, so it’s an improvement over the previous two installments. Not surprisingly, the book’s just back to more cryptic references and vague hints about the future. This time, the concept of some “final battle” that Spawn is destined to have a role in is revived. Apparently, the creation of the Heap ties into this, making this one of the few times a mysterious hint about the future actually connects to the main story. And, the Heap’s creation even pays off a subplot from the previous issue, making this the fastest McFarlane has ever gotten around to really doing anything. It is a little odd that McFarlane’s chosen to include a monster he bought from another comics company in this title before introducing the new characters created for his toy line, but maybe he feels as if he needs to get his money’s worth out of the character.
Bloodless Credits: Todd McFarlane & Brian Holguin (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Danny Miki w/Todd McFarlane & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Boots stops the fight and sends the vampire, Wolfram, away. Boots is taken into custody by the police investigating the disturbance, and allowed to give a message to Sam and Twitch. He tells them that Spawn will need them soon, which reignites their interest in his case. Meanwhile, a wino named Eddie Beckett finds the bag of necroplasm in the alleys, as Spawn suddenly goes into action. He rescues a child from strange men, unaware the child has the brand of Heaven on his stomach.
Spawntinuity: The “brand of heaven” is a white-on-black inverse of the Spawn insignia. Apparently, the men turn into vampires when Spawn kills them, but if that’s so, why are they targeting another agent of Heaven? Also, it’s odd that the uniform police officer allows Boots to visit Sam and Twitch’s office. It’s been established repeatedly (and as recently as last issue) that the police force considers Sam and Twitch a joke, so why is this guy going out of his way to allow a bum to personally give them a message? According to the next issue's recap, Sam and Twitch were at their office in the police station. These characters haven't been police officers for around thirty issues!
Todd Talk: McFarlane informs a reader that while his early stories are lacking, he feels that his writing today holds up to his contemporaries and is no longer a “deficit to the book.”
Production Note: Twenty pages, again.
Review: Didn’t this book just run a portrait cover that looks exactly like this one? Cogliostro isn’t even in this issue, and if anyone thinks he’s getting a lot of Spawn gunplay inside, he’s going to be disappointed. I’m convinced that this title is going through some sort of behind-the-scenes chaos, and the inaccurate covers are just one clue. Like the last issue, we have another story that has a slow build for the first half of the issue, before abruptly shifting gears into a totally different story in the second half. I suspected that the second half of the previous issue was plotted some time after the first was finished, and I have some confirmation that this is exactly what happened to this issue.
On the hype page, Terry Fitzgerald gives Greg Capullo credit for penciling eleven pages in under three days, as Todd handed him the plot for the final twelve pages on a Thursday. From this we can infer that a) Capullo is one of the fastest artists in comics, and could’ve taken on a second book during this era if he wanted, b) a twelfth page didn’t need to be drawn, confirming that the newscaster pages are just pulled from previous issues, and c) the first half of the book was finished and ready to go, while the second half was put on hold for an unknown reason. And guess what, it’s painfully obvious when you sit down to read it.
The issue opens with Boots, Wolfram, Sam, and Twitch leisurely recapping the story thus far, following the aftermath of Spawn and Wolfram’s pointless fight. On page ten, we have a subplot scene that places the paper bag of necroplasm in the hands of a new homeless character. Fair enough. Two pages on this scene even seems justifiable. Then, the book abruptly jumps to a two-page spread of Spawn leaping heroically into action, oversized ‘90s guns in tow. For absolutely no reason, he knows that a little boy has been kidnapped, and he’s taking down his captors. He spends a few pages killing them, the boy’s safe, and because nothing can ever have a clean ending in this book, he laughs manically and reveals his “reverse Spawn” symbol after Spawn leaves. Finally, there’s one more page to fill, so there’s a recycled page of the talking heads repeating the details of the previous gang war storyline.
It’s like they’re daring you to keep buying this book at this point. Out of the twenty pages of content, nine of them are dedicated to exposition. The eleven pages of actual story consist of a subplot setup and a vague fight scene that feels like it belongs in the second half of a different issue. If McFarlane was so hard up for time, why didn’t he hire other people to do the book? Couldn’t he have Tom Orzechowski write a backup story and get someone like Rick Leonardi to draw it? Yes, he now has a co-writer, but I suspect that Holguin is only scripting over McFarlane’s plots at this point. The issues he writes solo that I've read are actually coherent, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. While the book does need better scripting, it’s the actual stories that are the problem, and it’s unbelievable that McFarlane hasn’t realized that yet.
Apparitions Credits: Todd McFarlane & Brian Holguin (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Danny Miki & Todd McFarlane (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Cogliostro warns Spawn that his presence in the alleys has consequences, but he refuses to listen. Meanwhile, Wanda is angry with Terry for not taking Cyan’s behavior seriously. Sam takes Twitch to a strip club to relax, only to discover a vampire killer inside. The vampire soon locates Spawn, attacking him in Heaven’s “dead zone.” Boots stops the vampire from killing Spawn, confirming the creature is an agent of Heaven.
Todd Talk: Todd McFarlane is dismayed by the current trend of variant covers, citing them as a poor way to keep new readers. He says his strategy is to produce a quality product for a reasonable price, and boasts that Spawn has maintained the same cover price since the beginning. He neglects to mention that the book has only run twenty pages of story for several months now. The shorter stories are making room for more Spawn-related hype pages, instead of outside ads, so perhaps he feels justified that he’s still giving people their money’s worth. And I actually did read all of the hype material, even long after I stopped buying the merchandise.
Creative Differences: In case you haven’t noticed, Spawn inexplicably has a bat’s head on the cover. He also doesn’t kill a priest in the story, nor does one even appear.
The Big Names: The real-life Terry Fitzgerald spent time with Korn while they recorded their new album, and has photos of himself with several skinny white males with dreadlocks to prove it.
Production Note: As I alluded to above, this is another issue with twenty pages of story.
Review: Todd McFarlane’s co-writer, Brian Holguin from KISS Psycho Circus, begins his run without any fanfare. A few pages don’t seem to have McFarlane’s scripting style, so I’m assuming Holguin scripted a few pages that had already been penciled. I certainly hope he wasn’t involved with the plotting of this issue, because it’s among the worst so far. The story opens with Cogliostro giving Spawn the same lecture he gives in almost every other issue, as Spawn offers his typical “Shuddup and leave me alone, old man” response. We then check in on Terry and Wanda, who are now abruptly having marital problems. If only the two of them hadn’t magically forgotten their war against Jason Wynn, maybe they would have something to do together. Finally, Sam and Twitch recap the past few issues before Sam drags Twitch to a strip club. At this point we’re ten pages into the story, which means a solid half of the issue is dedicated to exposition and recycled scenes.
Now, if the issue was another slow-burner that recapped what we already knew while setting the stage for the next arc, it would still be terrible, but it would be typical Spawn. This issue makes the leap into sheer ineptitude on page eleven, as Sam and Twitch enter a strip club that’s inexplicably gone mad. An unnamed vampire, who resembles a high school shop teacher, has somehow inspired lunacy in the club and escaped with a stripper. Sam and Twitch find her body in the garbage two pages later. Now, there’s something to be said for picking up the pace, but abruptly changing the entire direction of the story with the sudden appearance of a new villain is just shoddy. This is Spawn. New villains don’t just show up on page eleven of a previously unrelated story. They’re teased, sometimes for several pages, sometimes for months, before they go anywhere near Spawn. This nondescript vampire just shows up, with no build-up, no exposition, and no real motivation, finds Spawn and fights him for a few pages.
The delivery is so clumsy, it’s appalling even by the low standards this book has already set. And the “shocking” revelation that Heaven has mean ol’ vampires working for it…seriously? Is this supposed to be scandalous in a book that already has the nihilistic point of view that Heaven and Hell treat the selection of souls like the NBA Draft? This really is a new level of awful. You could certainly argue that McFarlane has been overly sluggish in moving in any direction, but the unexpected swerve into Liefeld-style ADD is just bad in a different way.
Darkness Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane & Danny Miki (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Spawn unleashes bats into the alley, creating a distraction that allows Twitch to escape the Freak’s grasp. The Freak runs away as the gang war intensifies. Spawn’s powers short out when he steps back into the “Dead Zone,” which prevents him from ending the fight. He tracks Freak to a nearby alley and punishes him for causing the chaos, summoning animals and insects to consume Freak’s body. Elsewhere, Cyan nearly causes an accident when she leaps out of Wanda’s car after dropping her shoelace out of the window.
Spawn Stuff: McFarlane Toys is now producing X-Files action figures.
Production Notes: For the third issue in a row, the story runs twenty pages. The back cover is also almost entirely black (it’s an ad for Korn’s new album that just consists of the band’s logo), making this issue a chore for any ‘90s collector to keep mint. While the story runs short, there is a three-page preview of the second season of the Spawn HBO series. New co-executive producer John Leekley reveals that the first six episodes were rewritten at HBO’s request after the animation had been completed. This was possible, he says, because much of the dialogue happened off-screen, which enabled him to change characterizations and story points. Also, the show has received a slight anime makeover, and switched over to a more prestigious animation studio. My memory is that the second season did have much improved animation, but the storyline couldn’t match the first season’s, which did have its moments.
Review: So, some bums fight each other for fifteen pages, Spawn summons more animals and insects, and Cyan is still hung up on that shoelace. I couldn’t have seen any of that coming, could you? The plot might’ve been tolerable as a straightforward resolution to the past two issues, but McFarlane’s excessive narration on every single page makes this one hard to slog through. Do we really need over a hundred words a page of text somberly describing a massive bum fight? We also have McFarlane returning yet again to the worms, although in fairness he does branch out this issue and give Spawn Dr. Doolittle powers over all of the night’s creatures. Still, the worms are receiving an inordinate amount of the attention (Spawn’s tongue is now apparently made out of them), which is just baffling. Did someone involved in the book just get a kick out of seeing worms? Did McFarlane have a traumatic experience while dissecting a worm in the ninth grade? Are they easy to draw? The mind boggles.
Freaky Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Sam and Twitch arrive in the alleys and discover Spawn’s headless body. They’re soon caught in-between two gangs of street people -- Spawn’s followers, and the criminals he pushed out of the alleys. The Freak sneaks behind the detectives and threatens Twitch with a knife. Suddenly, a reanimated Spawn emerges to face the Freak. Meanwhile, Cogliostro reveals to Boots that he knows he’s an agent of Heaven.
Spawntinuity: According to Boots, agents of Heaven must preserve free will and therefore can’t explicitly make their presence known on Earth. His dialogue also implies that Cogliostro is still associated with Hell, which doesn’t seem to match Cog’s hints that he can show Spawn an option outside of Heaven or Hell. As for Spawn’s defective costume, it’s explained that he wandered into an area of the alleys that is the “domain of heaven,” which can apparently neutralize hell-creatures.
Todd Talk: Three letters in a row criticize the series’ aimless direction and repetitive plots. McFarlane defends using Jason Wynn repeatedly by saying that Batman’s faced the Joker several times over the past few decades, too. He has, but Batman’s conflicts with the Joker actually end; then a new storyline begins which forces Batman to face the Joker in a different circumstance. Based on the era of the comic, the Joker could be extorting innocents, playing massive pranks, or spreading sheer panic throughout the city…each story with a different execution based on the prerogative of the creators. McFarlane doesn’t seem to realize that Jason Wynn’s been doing the same thing since the series started, and he hasn’t been brought to justice or moved on to any bigger goals. To keep the Joker analogy going, it’s as if Batman just let the Joker announce people’s deaths over the radio for several years and did nothing about it. McFarlane does concede a dip in quality in recent issues, though, and says that he’s looking for a co-writer to inject a fresh take on things.
Not Approved By The Comics Code Authority: Sam refers to the homeless gangs as “pieces of shit.” McFarlane has occasionally let other writers use more extreme language, but this is the first time he’s really gone beyond standard “prime time” profanity. Perhaps he felt the HBO series, which often sounded like a leaked Christian Bale audio tape, had opened the door for more adult language.
Production Note: Like the previous issue, this issue is only twenty pages long.
Review: To McFarlane’s credit, he seems to be grasping the idea that something needs to happen in each issue. The pacing is still borderline-glacial (it takes Sam and Twitch around ten pages to find Spawn and drag his body out of the alley), but there is an increased sense of momentum in the title. Some of the vague hints about the nature of the alleys are starting to pay off, and we even have a “shocking” revelation about one of the minor supporting cast members. I’m sure Frank Miller didn’t intend for Boots to be an undercover angel when he created him in that fill-in issue, but the good thing about having a cast of virtually blank supporting characters is that you can take them in any direction you want to. The Freak was a disappointment in his debut, but McFarlane gets some mileage just by portraying him as an agitator within the alleys. Matching him against Sam and Twitch also brings some semblance of cohesive continuity to the series. McFarlane still can’t let go of the worms, though. They return this issue and magically restore Spawn’s head, it seems. If they were always around to perform the kind of last-second miracle this plot requires, that’s almost defensible, but there is no justification for dwelling on this inane idea for almost thirty issues.
Intersection Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Mr. Byrd, the husband of Sam and Twitch’s eccentric client, is murdered. Mrs. Byrd blames aliens. Cogliostro gives the detectives info on their case and informs them that Spawn needs help. Meanwhile, the bums learn that Spawn has been shot by Johnny’s crew. They prepare for a fight, but Boots refuses to join in. Johnny contacts his leader, the Freak, and gives him a paper bag filled with Spawn’s necroplasm. The deranged Freak stabs his follower in the eye.
Spawntinuity: According to Cogliostro, Spawn has “ventured into a section of alleyway that is controlled by a power far greater than his. There he is weak. Vulnerable.”
The Big Names: As reported by this issue’s hype page, Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo is a big Spawn fan.
Spawn Stuff: You can now own Spawn: the Movie action figure playsets, and something called Spawn: the Movieplay. I have no idea what this thing is (at first I thought it was a CD-Rom, but the specs say it measures 9.5 x 8.5 inches), but Todd McFarlane assures us it’s “an essential addition to any Spawn collection.”
Production Note: This issue runs twenty pages instead of the standard twenty-two.
Review: I’m hoping at least that Spawn’s fainting spell from last issue and this issue’s (I can’t believe I’m writing this) wardrobe malfunction are related. With this book, you never know.
And, what do you know? They weren’t. Spawn’s costume is dormant, apparently because he’s wandered into an enchanted area of the alleys, which has nothing to do with Spawn passing out in #66. That incident was, judging by the intimations of that issue’s narrative captions, just a hangover from all of the “feeding on evil” binges with his precious worms. And, boy, did I just type quite a sentence. If McFarlane’s finally setting up an end to that worm stupidity, fine, but this means that two issues in a row had Spawn unexpectedly knocked out by mysterious forces. So, McFarlane’s creating a new arc around Spawn’s costume shorting out before he bothered to explain fully why Spawn’s body essentially did the same thing an issue earlier, which brings us the McFarlane Double-Scoop of poor issue-to-issue continuity and recycled scenes.
We also have another entry in the Unrelated Portrait Cover Hall of Fame. Not only is it not snowing in this issue, but Spawn doesn’t have a head when we see his body on the final splash page. I can’t blame McFarlane for normally favoring a dramatic pose over a story-related cover, but Spawn’s appearance in this issue really is striking! You can run Spawn standing over a generically “spooky” background any time you want…why miss out on the opportunity for a headless Spawn cover?
Homeland Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: While Sam and Twitch deal with an eccentric client, Rat City’s homeless discuss religion. Johnny, a disbeliever, mocks the others. As he leaves, he clumsily destroys Bobby’s crystal deer figurine, a gift from his estranged daughter. Spawn follows Johnny and learns that he’s involved with a gang that’s pinning crimes on the homeless. Spawn confronts him and is shot repeatedly. To his surprise, his uniform does not come to his defense.
Production Note: The digital separators are hiding photographs of Vanilla Ice in the backgrounds. McFarlane assures readers in a future issue that he’s told them to stop.
Review: McFarlane did say several issues ago that he would like to spend some time exploring the homeless cast of characters, so perhaps that’s the current direction of the book. Last issue had Spawn inexplicably getting woozy and accidentally crushing a homeless person’s leg, so maybe McFarlane even had plans for that one-legged wino. He doesn’t show up here, but Spawn still seems out of sorts. I’m hoping at least that Spawn’s fainting spell from last issue and this issue’s (I can’t believe I’m writing this) wardrobe malfunction are related. With this book, you never know.
If McFarlane really does want to flesh out the supporting cast, I’m all for it, but I can’t help but to feel he’s waited way too late in the game. The last time any of the homeless supporting cast received more than an ounce of characterization was all the way back in issue #21, when Bobby detailed his wife’s death and his decline into alcoholism. Now, we learn that his daughter turned to drugs after her mother’s death, but she cleaned up years ago and gave Bobby the crystal deer to symbolize her hope that he’ll get sober, also. That’s actually…nice. This book has been bogged down in so much exaggerated grit and grime for so long, seeing a real human moment almost leaves you speechless. Where was this material during the past forty-plus issues? Why has only one member of Spawn’s immediate supporting cast been treated like an actual human being over the past five years? I’m not going to delude myself into believing Spawn’s turned itself around and is headed in a great direction (even this issue has obnoxious scatological humor -- yeah, I really wanted to see Sam on the toilet again -- and some brazen padding), but I do think it shows a side of McFarlane’s writing that he unfortunately ignored for too long.
Demons Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Before Sam and Twitch can continue questioning Cogliostro, he disappears. Spawn returns to New York, only to learn his face has rotted. He ignores Cogliostro’s counsel and proceeds to stab himself repeatedly in anger. Later, he tells Terry that their joint investigation will continue, but Terry refuses to forget their earlier confrontation. That night, Spawn grows dizzy after feeding on his worms. He collapses on top of a nearby derelict and crushes his leg. Meanwhile, Cyan remains obsessed with Spawn’s shoelace.
Spawntinuity: According to Cogliostro, God placed Spawn in these alleys for a specific purpose. He goes on to say, “Hell may have chosen you but Heaven had the call to locate you wherever on Earth they wanted.” McFarlane would occasionally drop vague references to the relationship between Heaven and Hell, but I don't know if the association was ever explicitly spelled out.
Creative Differences: I have no idea what the cover is supposed to represent. This series isn't shy about using portrait covers, but this isn't some generic shot of Spawn you can put on the cover of a video game. Maybe the tentacle attacking him is supposed to represent the worms, but that's a stretch.
Spawn Stuff: An alternate Christmas cover of the Spawn soundtrack is on sale for a limited time. It also includes a new song by Apollo Four Forty & Morphine. The Manga Spawn line of action figures is also being released.
Review: More dreariness, more recycled scenes, more running in place. Yet, this issue does have something the previous sixty-five issues usually ignored -- humor. Okay, it’s one joke that runs for less than a page, but it still counts. While Spawn walks the streets of New York, unaware that his rotted face has returned, he struts to the beat of “Stayin’ Alive” and sings the words to himself. For at least one page, you’re supposed to laugh at Spawn. McFarlane might’ve narrowly avoided a lawsuit by using the song, but it’s worth it to get any break from the monotony. The rest of the issue is the same nonsense McFarlane can’t let go of, only now Spawn’s reached new levels of melodrama by repeatedly stabbing himself in the stomach with a giant blade that’s appeared out of nowhere. Hopefully, McFarlane got a “Self-Mutilation Spawn” action figure out of the issue.
The Past Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Cogliostro gives Sam and Twitch a tour of the alleys, explaining the past of Al Simmons and detailing his life as Spawn. The detectives learn that a subconscious suggestion led Spawn to choose their office to unload Billy Kincaid’s body. Cogliostro informs them that they have been chosen as Spawn’s knights in the quest for his lost soul.
I Love the’ 90s: On the real-life Terry Fitzgerald’s hype page, he announces that HBO will release the Spawn series on DVD, for “all of you techies (like myself).”
Review: So, two months after the movie is in theatres, we get the big recap issue. I’m sure McFarlane wanted this to be on the stands in time to coincide with the film’s release, but the book always seemed to be two months or so off-schedule. Given the nature of the story, this could’ve been an inventory issue that could be placed anywhere, but perhaps McFarlane thought it would be unfair to the regular readers to interrupt the story arc from #62-#64. The story’s told through a combination of prose and static splash page images, as Cogliostro tries to justify Spawn’s petulant behavior, and pretend that there’s been more than five issues worth of plot over the past three years. Finally, Sam and Twitch learn that they’ve been selected to be Spawn’s “knights,” which I’m sure just thrills them. Despite the abundance of filler this issue, this revelation actually does advance one of the series’ longest running subplots. It’s such an oldie, in fact, that the original solicitation for issue #24 had Spawn and the detectives teaming up as the alleys’ newest heroes. You’d almost think McFarlane’s been wasting everyone’s time for the past forty issues…
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?
Identity Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Spawn feeds on his worms before going out in public with his new face. He visits Terry, warning him that he’s preparing for his final confrontation with Wynn and that he’ll return for Wanda. Terry snaps back, leading Spawn to declare him an enemy. Later, Cogliostro warns Spawn that his vendetta against Wynn is a part of Hell’s plan, but he refuses to listen. Meanwhile, Jason Wynn augments his security while Sam and Twitch continue to investigate Spawn.
Spawntinuity: According to the narrative captions, Spawn returned to Earth “almost a year” ago.
The Big Names: The lineup for the Spawn movie soundtrack is announced. The album was released during the music industry’s push to sell electronica in America, so every song is a collaboration between a hard rock artist and an “alternative dance” act. The album contains songs by Filter & Crystal Method, Marilyn Manson & Sneaker Pimps, Orbital & Kirk Hammet, Korn & the Dust Brothers, Butthole Surfers & Moby, Metallica & DJ Spooky, Stabbing Westward & Wink, Mansun & 808 State, Prodigy & Tom Morello, silverchair & Vitro, Henry Rollins & Goldie, Incubus & Greyboy, Slayer & Atari Teenage Riot, and Soul Coughing & Ronni Size. Shortly after the release of the album, Filter co-founder Brian Liesegang left the band to explore the new direction showcased on the soundtrack, while Marilyn Manson and the Sneaker Pimps engaged in a public feud.
Review: Okay, you might’ve thought something might actually happen in the book after Spawn’s original face returned, but we’re still dealing with the master of procrastination here. Spawn reflects on his new condition for a few pages, feeds on those stupid worms again for another page or two, steals a pair of sunglasses to cover his green eyes, visits Terry, talks to Cogliostro for a few pages, and then strikes a dramatic pose for a splash page. Meanwhile, Jason Wynn talks to security guards for several pages, while Sam and Twitch remind everyone that they’re still investigating the lead character. Oh, have we reached twenty-two pages yet? Darn. Well, see you next month.
Aside from moving impossibly slow, the plotlines don’t show a lot of promise anyway. Spawn confronted Jason Wynn just last issue, and decided that killing him wouldn’t be worth risking Wanda and Terry’s life. Now, he’s decided to make one more go of it, naively believing that with Wynn out the way, he can restart his life with Wanda now that his face has returned (whether or not the rest of his body still looks like a zombie isn’t addressed). Not only is he acting like a moron again, but he’s forcing the reader to revisit a plotline that had a fairly definitive ending last issue. And while I’m glad McFarlane remembered Sam and Twitch, he seems to have forgotten where their storyline left off. They were investigating Chief Banks’ connection to Washington officials, which lead to Wynn and Violator setting up a dummy informant to meet with them. Two separate issues, months apart, teased this meeting. A meeting we still haven’t seen, a full year later. Now, the duo are back to investigating Spawn, still angry that he left Billy Kincaid’s corpse in their office all the way back in issue #5. Are these two drinking bleach in-between issues?
I’d be curious to know if this was anyone’s first issue of the series. It’s the issue that was on sale the week the movie hit theatres, so it’s possible that someone unfamiliar with the comic would’ve picked this one up out of curiosity during the publicity buildup. (I’m assuming that it was still sold on newsstands at this time.) It’s also possible that some poor soul looked past the film’s many faults and actually wanted to learn more about Spawn after seeing the movie. What did they get for their $1.95? The hero inexplicably has a new face, he’s threatening to take his friend’s wife away from him, he bathes in worms, and he’s being investigated by two detectives (who are still mad about something that happened in a comic published almost five years earlier). McFarlane does get around to doing a full-issue recap of the series for new readers a few months later, but I can’t imagine why anyone would want to stick around if this was their first exposure to the character.
Return Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Spawn confronts Jason Wynn in his home, only to learn that Wynn has ordered Terry and Wanda killed if anything ever happens to him. Spawn spares his life, but demands that Wynn leave Terry and Wanda alone. Meanwhile, Terry discovers his neighbors are petitioning him to move. In Rat City, Angela suddenly materializes. She asks for Spawn’s help before being abruptly taken away by a bright light. After Spawn stops a mugging, he realizes that his contact with the light has revived his original face.
Spawntinuity: This story allegedly takes place at the same time as Curse of the Spawn #10, although it’s impossible for the details to be worked out. The Curse story ends with Spawn joining Angela on her mission, which is ignored by the next issue. Angela describes the events of the Curse storyline: “A breach has formed within the Eternal Triumverate (sic). A cybernetic soul-eater called the Argus is the catalyst, in conjunction with Limbo.” I hope that helped everyone out.
Spawn Stuff: The McFarlane Toys line of KISS action figures is announced. The Spawn: The Movie toy line is also previewed. You can now own the plastic likeness of Martin Sheen, complete with an oxygen mask, a chest monitor that opens to reveal his heart (an actual plot point in the movie), and a rocket launcher.
Production Note: As of this issue, Brent Ashe is handling the design of the inside front cover and some of the ads. The simple graphics of the earlier issues are replaced with an image from the Spawn movie, along with a few ‘90s Vertigo-esque design elements.
Review: So, around thirty issues after Spawn realized that Jason Wynn ordered his murder, the subplot reaches some form of conclusion. The story’s had to twist in about a dozen different directions in order to justify why Spawn doesn’t just show up and snap the guy’s neck, and finally McFarlane’s decided to go with an obvious copout. If McFarlane has a real reason for keeping Wynn around, I can’t really fault him for this, but McFarlane rarely takes advantage of any of his characters, and the readers shouldn’t have waited two years to get this anti-climax. I suppose this scene also ends the “Terry and Wanda investigate Jason Wynn” subplot, since Wynn and Spawn seem to be at a stalemate, and while I’m glad it’s finally over, it’s another letdown. So, that leaves Sam and Twitch’s investigation into Wynn’s conspiracies, and Violator’s partnership with Wynn to be explored. I’m totally confident that these ideas will reach a logical conclusion within the next couple of issues, aren’t you?
The confrontation with Wynn only takes up less than a third of the issue, so McFarlane has some pages to kill. Angela’s appearance was supposed to tie in with the Curse of the Spawn series, but it instead serves as another example of the lax continuity that’s always existed between the Spawn spinoffs. Curse of the Spawn #10 presents a slightly different conversation between Angela and Spawn, although the general thrust is the same. However, Curse #10 ends with Spawn and Angela teaming up to fight the horribly vague threat from that impenetrable storyline, while this issue has Angela disappearing in a flash of light before Spawn can do anything but squint menacingly at her. He then stops a mugging, (The homeless are always getting mugged in these alleys. It’s a real problem. Someone should write the mayor.) before sitting on his throne and humoring one of his followers’ baseball talk. Finally, it’s time for the cliffhanger. The final page reveals that Spawn has Al Simmons’ face once again, which leads into the storyline McFarlane decided to run as the Spawn movie hit theatres. The circumstances don’t make any real sense, but I have to admit this is one of the few decent cliffhangers the series has presented so far.
Sanctuary Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Cogliostro visits Spawn, confirming that Chapel was not his killer, and warning him not to abandon his friends. After visiting Granny Blake, Spawn returns to Rat City and discovers his homeless followers have built him a new throne. He chastises them for following him, but accepts their gift. Spawn goes into a trance, where he receives a vision from Violator. He sees the image of the woman who actually murdered him, and learns that Wanda has been Hell’s prize all along.
Spawntinuity: According to Violator, the majority of Spawn’s memories are false ones implanted by Hell.
The Big Names: Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, and Martin Sheen, the stars of the Spawn movie, are profiled.
Review: Now the title’s turned into a dismal amalgam of Alan Moore’s “everything you know is wrong” approach to superheroes and the “implanted memories” arc from Wolverine. You almost expect a corporate-owned superhero’s origins to be periodically revised, but Image was supposed to be bringing us the creator's pure, unadulterated vision. It’s very obvious that Chapel was supposed to be Spawn’s killer, and Spawn’s flashbacks have never been circumspect in the past. Wolverine’s fake memories were only introduced in order to explain away any inconsistencies that arose from various creators making vague references to his past. Spawn has only had one regular writer at this point, his own creator.
Telling the reader that everything they’ve learned about the character is potentially a lie just comes across as a cheat, unless a skilled writer like Alan Moore is involved (and even his track record isn’t perfect when it comes to these things). Revealing that Wanda has been Hell’s prize all along also feels like a botched attempt to mimic Moore. If you wrote a list of bad plot twists for the series, this would have to be towards the top. (Reading the early issues of this book as a teen, I wondered if we would someday learn that Wanda and/or Cyan are actually Hell’s targets, or if Spawn would be eventually revealed as Heaven’s agent all along). Are we supposed to ignore all of the talk about Al Simmons’ proficiency for killing that drew Hell’s attention in the first place? Is it just a coincidence that this skilled killing machine happened to be married to a woman (who’s never been shown with any connection to the supernatural) that’s been targeted by Hell?
The lame retcons only make up the final few pages of the book. The rest of the issue is more of a regurgitation of scenes McFarlane’s already covered. Wanda worries about Spawn. Jason Wynn declares that Spawn must be killed. Cogliostro gives Spawn advice that he mostly ignores. Spawn visits Granny Blake, who reminds him that he still has good inside of him. The bums try to connect with Spawn, and he rejects them. Spawn spies on Wanda from that tree outside of her bedroom. All that’s missing is Spawn crouching on top of a church or beating up more of the thugs who bully the homeless.
It's even more frustrating is to see McFarlane going for a specific character arc, only to veer back in the opposite direction just a few pages later. Spawn’s almost sympathetic during his conversation with Granny, who senses that he’s grown more distant and advises him not to give into the darkness. It looks like he’s taken her words to heart and is reflecting on his current state of mind, until he runs into his homeless “friends” a few pages later. He cusses them out for following him to his new lair, reminds them that he doesn’t need companionship, and only reluctantly accepts their gift of a new throne. (And yet none of the homeless are offended; in fact, they rejoice when their “king” gives his unenthusiastic approval of the chair. By the way, this new chair is still made out of bones and dead humans, which makes the standard homeless supporting cast members pretty ghoulish.) Also, it’s sixty-one issues into this series and Spawn is still spying on his former wife from outside of her bedroom. This exceeded “creepy” a long time ago. Plus, McFarlane said that this “phase” of Spawn’s life would be over after issue #50, when he finally accepted Terry as her new husband.
Dwarfed Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane w/Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin w/Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Spawn takes aim at the invading police, until Cogliostro convinces him not to kill them. Following his advice, Spawn learns why they’ve occupied the alley and heads to Terry’s home. He convinces Terry he didn’t kidnap Cyan, and discreetly takes one of her toys. Spawn finds Cyan in the alleys by focusing on the connection between a part of his past (the shoelace) and the piece of her past (the toy). He confronts Violator, and uses his powers to seemingly kill him. Cyan returns home, but without a piece of her innocence.
Spawntinuity: When Spawn declares that he’s going after Wynn and Chapel next, Violator laughs maniacally. He mocks Spawn for still believing Chapel killed him, but refuses to reveal the true killer.
Spawn vs. Lawyers: As of 1997, Rob Liefeld is out of Image, and Todd McFarlane is adamant that he’ll never return. Since Liefeld’s character Chapel is supposed to be Spawn’s killer, that creates a problem. Just as the Spawn movie removes Chapel from continuity, the comic is now retconning him from Spawn’s past.
Spawn Stuff: Promotional material for the movie has begun. Despite the movie’s many faults, the producers have created a great costume for Spawn, one that trumps the many suits Batman’s worn in his movies.
Production Note: This story runs twenty pages instead of the standard twenty-two.
Review: And now the outside continuity has begun to override the comic’s continuity, instead of just influencing it. Allowing Spawn’s killer to be a character McFarlane didn’t even own always had the potential for trouble, but when Chapel’s creator has a falling out with McFarlane and the movie creates a new character for the role, it’s time for a retcon. (Although the HBO series kept Chapel as the killer, and even used him in several episodes, so some portion of the “mainstream” audience always knew him as the killer.) McFarlane’s just dropping hints this issue, though, as the rest of the story is devoted to Spawn rescuing Cyan. Which is what he does, without any real amount of drama or conflict. Spawn’s method of finding her is a little schmaltzy, and requires him to suddenly develop some form of psychic powers, but I kind of like the scene. Spawn’s actually acting like a hero, and using some of those vaguely defined powers Hell’s given him to do more than eviscerate someone, although he does that too at the end. Giving Cyan the shoelace a few issues ago also creates the impression that there was a purpose after all, which is somewhat rare for this book.
As much of a relief it might be to actually see the villain do something in this arc, there’s still a sloppiness that surrounds the story. Violator’s been working with Jason Wynn since issue #34. They’ve smoked cigars, plotted and schemed, and laughed menacingly for almost thirty issues now. So when Violator actually makes his next move against Spawn, is Wynn anywhere to be found? Nope. Is there even a scene detailing Violator’s frustration with Wynn, setting up his decision to torment Spawn on his own? Of course not. The closest the two came to ever doing anything is when they contacted Sam and Twitch, creating a phony “informant” that would give them information on the Billy Kincaid case. Not only did this go nowhere, but two separate subplot scenes, issues apart, had Sam and Twitch preparing to meet their snitch. The most recent was in #54, which was the last time the characters appeared in this title. It’s not as if there’s a cast of thousands to keep straight in the book. There are two main villains, two detectives who could be allies to Spawn, a few bums who never do anything, a really wise bum who never does anything, Spawn’s widow, his old friend, and their kid. Is it really so hard to remember your Laurel and Hardy detective duo were left on a cliffhanger...one that also involves your main villains? I could tolerate McFarlane’s short attention span if it meant each storyline had a lot of ideas and each twist lead to a new direction, but it’s a nightmare when the majority of his story threads are these slow-burners that just disappear into the ether.
Vanished Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane w/Chance Wolf & Danny Miki (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Spawn visits Terry’s home late at night, complaining that he hasn’t moved against Jason Wynn fast enough. He returns to the alleys, where the worms are feeding on Cy-Gor. The next morning, Violator disguises himself as Spawn and kidnaps Cyan. After she contacts the police, Terry reveals he’s been secretly meeting with Spawn. As the police invade Rat City, Spawn arms himself. Meanwhile, Violator holds Cyan’s pacifier and shoestring hostage, as Jason Wynn learns Terry has been stealing classified information.
Spawn Stuff: McFarlane Toys announces its Legendary Monsters series, featuring new versions of Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the Wolfman.
Review: It’s surprising that this series is almost sixty issues old and no one’s kidnapped Cyan yet. In the HBO series’ first season, Jason Wynn arranges for Billy Kincaid to kidnap Cyan when Wanda comes too close to one of his cover-ups, which might’ve been an inspiration for this story arc. The Spawn movie also had Violator interacting with Cyan in a few scenes, so it’s almost as if this is an amalgam of the various media adaptations of 1997. The movie and the first season of the cartoon weren’t nearly as open-ended as the comic, requiring writer Alan McElroy to actually do something with the characters before his time was up. That’s a concept that’s usually eluded McFarlane, so I don’t mind if he turns to the adaptations for story ideas. (Exactly how long have Violator and Jason Wynn been plotting against Spawn, and what exactly has come of it?) The villain is actually doing something villainous, rather than just planning on future villainy, and Spawn’s forced to defend himself. It’s not a brilliant idea, but it sets events into motion, and actually advances the “secret partnership” plot between Terry and Spawn that’s already started to drag.
Orphans Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane w/Danny Miki & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Spawn removes Cy-Gor’s tracking chip, further aggravating Jason Wynn. Meanwhile, Eddie and Andy leave Alabama, hoping to find Spawn in New York. Eddie is recruited by the drug dealing Snake, but he remains adamant that Andy not get involved. Eventually, the brothers locate Spawn. When Snake finds out, he tricks Eddie into leading him to his lair. Snake views Spawn as a threat to his business, but his assault on Rat City only leads to Andy getting shot. After Eddie impales Snake on Spawn’s pile of bones, Andy is taken to the hospital. Once Andy recovers, the despondent brothers return home.
Spawntinuity: Yes, Spawn keeps a pile of human bones lying around. Eddie and Andy are the abused kids from Spawn #29. Much like a distant relative, McFarlane gets their names mixed up throughout the issue. Older brother Eddie is mistakenly referred to as Andy until the final few pages.
Spawn vs. Lawyers: The news recap page no longer has the CNN and E! logos. CNN is still one of the channels, but a new font is used to replace the trademarked logo (later, the name is totally changed to CNR). E! is now I!, the Infotainment Network.
Not Approved By The Comics Code Authority: Snake smokes a crack pipe on-panel. We also hear the phrases “suck me!” and “faggot vampire.”
Review: Cy-Gor just won’t go away. Now, we’re supposed to believe that destroying his tracking chip further undermines Jason Wynn’s credibility and creates global consequences. Really? The cybernetic gorilla they stashed in an old castle and forgot about years ago is that important? The one they haven’t bothered to track down, even though he went rogue in an issue published back in 1995? Okay, then. Aside from that ridiculous subplot, this actually is a tightly plotted issue. It has a specific point, the characters get in their proper places in a reasonable amount of time, and the conflict is resolved by page twenty-two.
McFarlane’s trying to emphasize the idea that evil follows Spawn, even when he tries to do the right thing. He thought he was defending Eddie and Andy by scarring their father, but he inadvertently set into motion the events that led to Eddie killing his abuser. Since then, Eddie has grown into a juvenile delinquent, and he only gets worse after traveling to New York in pursuit of Spawn. It is nice to see Spawn come face to face with one of his mistakes, and there is some emotional resonance to Eddie’s corruption. It’s rare that the sweet, innocent blonde kids in abuse stories ever return in comics, so showing one of them as a teenage crack dealer actually does require some amount of guts. Honestly, McFarlane has such a haphazard approach to continuity and long-term storytelling, I’m surprised he even remembered the kids. Seeing them return in the post-superhero era of the comic is a reminder of the days when Spawn was often cliché and predictable, but not an outright chore to read.
The Beast Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane w/Danny Miki, Jason Gorder, & Chance Wolf (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Brian Haberlin & Dan Kemp (colors)
Summary: Cy-Gor ambushes Spawn in Rat City, and is only subdued when Spawn unleashes a dark army of worms and bats. When Cy-Gor speaks his name, Major Forsberg recognizes it as the codename of one of Jason Wynn’s secret projects. He reveals that an operative who threatened to reveal Wynn’s connection to Al Simmons’ murder was abducted and used in Project: Simian. Spawn realizes that Cy-Gor is what remains of his friend, Mike Konieczny. Confused, Cy-Gor sought the person indirectly responsible for his condition, Al Simmons. Meanwhile, Wanda questions Terry about his new partner.
Spawn Stuff: The promotion for the HBO series has begun. This issue reprints some of Greg Capullo’s character designs (which are cleaner, slightly simplified versions of the comic book models), and details the writing process. Alan McElroy was hired to write the series based on his Spawn movie script, which McFarlane says was written when only twelve issues of the series were completed.
Review: A brief history of Cy-Gor: Spawn #38 - Cy-Gor debuts. He’s apparently been living in a castle for years after killing his creator. Spawn #40 - Cy-Gor prowls the countryside and is mistaken for Bigfoot. Spawn #41 - Hunters chase Cy-Gor again. Spawn #42 - Cy-Gor heads for New York. Spawn #49 - After disappearing for six issues, Cy-Gor arrives in New York, searching for Al Simmons. Spawn #56 - He’s still looking for Spawn. Last issue, he does manage to locate Spawn’s home in Rat City, but he happened to arrive during one of the rare occasions Spawn actually left his alleys. And now, almost twenty issues after the subplot was introduced, Cy-Gor finally faces Spawn. Can you imagine if these various subplot scenes were pieced together into one comic? Page after page of either Cy-Gor being chased by hunters, or aimlessly searching New York for Spawn?
Cy-Gor’s a silly concept to begin with, but knowing that even his creator couldn’t be bothered to check on the subplot for two separate six-issue breaks just emphasizes what a waste of trees this entire affair has been. And when his origin is finally revealed, after months and months of pointless filler, it’s in a rushed one-page exposition dump. That’s what you waited twenty issues for, kids. Cy-Gor is a gorilla with the brain of one of Spawn’s old friends, and he wants to kill Spawn because his thinking’s a little hazy after that wacky “swapped his brain with a primate” business. And God forbid you kids draw any entertainment from such a ludicrous concept. As all of these gothic narrative captions have informed us, Cy-Gor is a deadly serious cyborg gorilla with a human brain. Spawn’s battle with Cy-Gor is a dark, solemn affair. Don’t expect a wink to the audience. Don’t look for any acknowledgment of the inherent absurdity. Don’t you dare laugh at Cy-Gor…he’s hardcore, man. And if you think anyone involved with this storyline is embarrassed by its shoddy delivery and dimwitted premise, think again. You haven’t seen the last of Cy-Gor…
