Spawn #200

Well, no one's more surprised than me to see that Spawn is still being published - and it's made it to issue 200!

If success were measured by art alone, I could believe it - the comic has a long history of outstanding artists turning in fine work (even if the subject matter is often repulsive), starting with artist and writer Todd McFarlane, who created the comic back in 1992. (I covered the first issue in this "Classic" review.)

This is the first issue I've bought in about 17 years (although I've read a handful of issues since then). My first impression is: not much has changed.

The one big change surprised me - the original Spawn, Al Simmons, is apparently out of the picture (Dead? Disappeared? Who knows?), and a new victim (some guy named Jim) is now wearing the Spawn costume.

Otherwise, it feels like the same comic. The art is quite good (though watching a demon puke an ocean of vomit on another demon doesn't do much for me). The credits are a bit confusing - the layouts and pencils are credited to McFarlane and Michael Golden - though I don't see much of either artist in the finished product. Maybe it's me.

But there are loads of detail, all kinds of gory action... yeah, that's about it.

The story makes no sense at all (though I'll grant that part of the problem may be that I haven't read - or don't remember - any details from the last 185 issues). There's some kind of unbeatable monster version of Spawn - the Omega Spawn - and it attacks Spawn and the Clown (the demon known as the Violator, who is pretending to be Spawn's friend).

The Violator ends up fighting the Freak (who's hiding a big secret) while the Spawns duke it out - sort of.

It all just reads like it could be issue #16. Big fights, clunky dialogue, no heart to any of the characters, no boundaries to the action (hey, it's magic and demons - they can do anything!), no purpose - just lots of noise and smashing.

After 18 years, Spawn is still all style and no substance. My advice: avoid it.

Grade: D+

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The Classics - Spawn #1

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+