I admit that here I'm using the word "Classics" in a somewhat different sense than usual. Spawn made quite a splash when it first appeared, cover dated May 1992. It was one of the "first wave" of new titles from the just-born Image Comics, and of all those titles it probably had the most impact.
Its creator was Todd McFarlane, probably the most popular of the handful of artists who split from Marvel Comics and formed their own company. He had enjoyed huge success with Spider-Man, but he left it behind to create his own comic and his own company, and it worked - he became quite wealthy and even famous.
Spawn was a success for a number of reasons - but mostly because McFarlane was the hottest creator in comics. His art was unique, with strong layouts, piles of imagination in evidence, tons of detail and style to spare.
The character had a striking look, a mysterious background and a cape that went on forever. It became the torchbearer of the grim and gritty style (which was all the rage at the time).
What it didn't have was strong writing. The mystery carried it for a while, but the story was too thin to hold up for long. Spawn was actually Al Simmons, a soldier who died and was brought back to life by supernatural means, and given virtually limitless powers - for some reason or another. Basically, he used them to kill lots of bad guys.
The biggest problem with the comic was that Spawn was just too powerful - he could literally do anything and survive any punishment. In a later issue, he's actually chopped into pieces - and he survives.
I lasted about a dozen issues into this series before giving up (although I did read a few issues here and there after that). But there's no denying its success - spawning (sorry) a toy factory, an HBO cartoon, a live-action film (which was pretty bad, but had its moments) and tons of merchandise - oh yeah, and the comic is still being published today.
I know, I'm shocked, too.
McFarlane hoped Spawn would be his Superman, Batman or Spider-Man - and in some ways, he succeeded. There's still a question of how long the character will continue to hang around, but McFarlane has defied expectations before, so it wouldn't surprise me to see Spawn making a return to the public eye at some point.
It's not my cup of tea, but as the old saying goes, your mileage may vary.
Grade: C+
2 comments:
I read it for about the same length of time that you did. It was great when he brought in a few "real writers" toward the end of the single digits (Sim, Gaiman, who else?), but when it went back to Todd, I lost interest again.
Sim and Gaiman are the only two I remember (though reportedly others helped with the writing, often uncredited) - and of course many lawsuits resulted from Gaiman's issue - though hopefully it'll all end with the return of Marvelman / Miracleman. Which I'll believe when I see it.
Post a Comment