Spawn #221 Review


Spawn is heading into a new era, but is it a waste of time?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

The new era that began in the pages of SPAWN’s hallmark 220th issue continues! Featuring a classic TODD McFARLANE cover re-imagined by the legendary artist as Image Comics and Todd McFarlane Productions continue SPAWN’s 20th Anniversary celebration.

Jim Downing is a man possessed by a hellish power he cannot control, by a heavenly secret he doesn’t understand, and by an unstoppable drive to piece together the mystery that is his lost past. Balancing the deadly realities of his secret life as the world’s newest Hellspawn with the worldwide media frenzy as a new messiah for the Digital Age, Jim begins to embrace his abilities like never before. This all leads to a showdown with a classic Spawn adversary…

TREMOR RETURNS!!!

The latest Spawn and savior of the world, Jim Downing is trying his best to piece together the fragments of his past while launching his new foundation.  As more and more layers of his history bubble to the surface, his connections to the Spawn mythos continue to deepen.

Todd McFarlane hits the script out of the park with an issue that’s dialogue heavy but one that never reads like it was overburdened with unnecessary exposition.  The narrative at play here successfully depicts addiction, the quest for self and the ultimate reality of the world.  It’s all over the place but thankfully the tone is established early, and it successfully balances out this anniversary issue.

Not enough good can be said about the moody and detailed art by Szymon Kudranski.  Each panel yields a glimpse of a world that perfectly fits Spawn.  The characters look great, the city looks awesome and the more out there moments look simply stunning.  I can’t wait to see what this artist does with this series in the coming months.

This issue was a bit slow paced, but that’s not a bad thing.  With a very good script and exceptional art this latest issue of Spawn comes recommended.

4/5

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