Todd McFarlane

Remember the days when comics did not take themselves too seriously? Well, this Spawn collection is from that period. Spawn, resurrected black-ops mercenary Al Simmons is a creature that wanders throughout the NY seeking a woman from his dreams - woman he cannot remember but the one he know he sold his soul to Hell for. As it goes with these dealings with demons there is always small print and one thing is that he cannot remember anything and is sabotaged by the Hell through various means - show more enormous power he wields that seems to be sucking his own life force and inability to recover his own looks among other things.

And while our (anti)hero wanders around the NY and tries to find out what exactly is happening he will come across the criminal gangs preying on innocents, mafia kingpins deciding to kill him and enemies to match his powers - Violator (midget KISS fan who transforms into the hideous monster) and Overt-Kill, cyborg with no finesse, juggernaut that is so subtle that he walks through walls in order to kill his victims.

Art is beautiful and over the top (in AD2000 sense which is just pure joy) - especially shots with Violator - story is full of dark humor (exchanges between two NYPD detectives, again Violator and his remarks) and some parts are ..... very scary to say the least (psychopath Kincaid arc was .... true horror).

This is horror story about a man chosen to lead legions from Hell - man who does not stand a chance of getting out because he is condemned no matter what he does - if he kills criminals Hell will only bolster their ranks, if he puts them in jail they will just get out and if he does not do anything he needs to be able to live with himself and why he left innocents die (which is very hard for our hero).

Author truly reveres Frank Miller and Miller's Dark Knight and that is visible in order of panels and use of panoramic shots of Spawn on the high buildings in NY. But art is much much better, very dynamic and in some instances so good that one would like to get the shot enlarged and poster made of it.

Unlike Batman though Spawn is no stranger to violence and he does not spare his enemies. And in it lies another trap - by not controlling his temper Spawn gets more and more drawn to Hell and unwillingly builds the army for it. In all honesty what to expect from former government assassin - while he constantly seeks the way out of violence he doesn't hesitate to use it when required. Spawn is man caught in chess game for a long run, man trying to make world safer for family he left behind in only way he knows.

One more thing I like in this book is that it does not take itself seriously and does not try any preachy approach. It is a violent and twisted run and it does not try to be anything but that (fans of Judge Dredd, ABC Warriors and Metal Hurlant will recognize the style immediately). Are there illogical things in the story? Hmmmm, yes but it is hardly surprising considering the subject of the story. If I ever start over-thinking the comic medium that will be the time I will have to admit I am too old to read it.

Seeking anything but fun ride from a comic book is silly and futile undertaking. If one wants to learn about the world and grow in knowledge only medium to achieve that is a good book on a given subject. Comics are for enjoyment, for some maybe even guilty pleasures (those that want to be taken seriously at all times), adventures that might interest you for some area (like mythology in this case) but nothing more than that - true knowledge must be gained elsewhere.

Excellent collection, gotta say I am truly interested in Spawn as a character and will be looking for other books on the character.

Highly recommended to fans of fantasy and supernatural horror and thrillers. show less

Can definitely see why folks say it doesn't really get going until issues ~70 - 100. McFarlane definitely took his time with Spawn's hellacious version of "Eat, Pray, Love" to find himself/his way. Did everything need a spinoff as well? I don't know how popular they were at the time but Compendium 1 mentioned an Angela spin off, this one mentions a cop duo spin off. Look Twitch is absolutely my guy but I really don't need/want to read a buddy cop spinoff. I've no real interest in the Angela show more series either.

All that said, the action is now ramped, the big goal obtained but at what cost, the players and their pawns continue their machinations, and the ball now feels like it is well and truly rolling (FINALLY). show less

I think it's safe to say now that I don't like Robert Kirkman's storytelling. The Walking Dead left me cold (no pun intended), Outcast could have potential but not enough to keep me coming back for more, and this... Well, this is just bad. The pacing is wildly fast and sporadic, to the point that I felt I had missed huge chunks of story; none of the characters are all that fleshed out; Haunt feels like the love child of 90s Spawn and Venom. Basically, what this really feels like to me is all show more the terrible aspects of McFarlane's writing and character development with Kirkman valiantly trying to shine it up a bit, and it does not work. Needless to say, I will not be pursuing this series further, nor much else by Kirkman. show less

There's way more to Spawn then just a hellspawn who murders the wicked. He's troubled, and torn. Al Simmons is literally a man possessed. I'm thinking most of the people who say those kinds of things haven't read any Spawn since they were older because, let me tell you, this read through actually rocked. I haven't touched any of these comics since I was a teen, and the nostalgia was real.

First off, let me explain the 3-star rating. I think at the time when these comics were brand new, I was show more enraptured by them because it was something that wasn't the normal "capes and tights" set. Spawn was an anti-hero. Violent, angry, and sad. I loved him for that. That being said, I may or may not have overlooked a lot of the dialogue in these first few issues. Let's be honest, Todd McFarlane's art is amazing. His writing in these first 6 issues? Not so much. The story is solid, but the dialogue sometimes is just giggle-worthy. I admit, I cracked up laughing when Spawn told the Devil to "go to hell". We'll leave it at that.

Truly though, there's so much about this first volume to love. The art, which I've already praised, and will happily praise again. The introduction of a character who is beautifully flawed. I can't get over the concept of a finite amount of time on this Earth, that slowly drains away as you try to do good deeds. That counter at the bottom of the pages still gets to me. Poor Al. You poor, poor man.

Anyway, I've rambled enough. Suffice it to say that I'm definitely continuing with this series! I need more Al, more Malebolgia, and more Violator. Is it weird that he's kind of my favorite? show less