I've decided to do the impossible and read through the first 150 issues of Spawn. I may extend it depending on if I enjoy it enough and if they announce more compendiums (I do also get the series month to month and have been doing so since 314, still, I'll probably pick up compendium 7 if that ever gets announced/ released).
Anyway, I'm here to document my opinions and such, see if I get understand the complexity that is "Spawn"
Issues 1-4
The decompression is real with these issues, I feel that while it's a suitable enough opener, it really could have been told in about 2 issues. The first also needed to be a bigger issue as it really just feels like an episodic adventure with hints of a story thrown in. Saying that, the story we get here is actually decent. I'm on the side that Todd is a great artist, but not a very good writer, he understands layout and how to capture a cool image, but the structure can throw you off and his dialogue... leaves a lot to be desired. I will admit, it's a huge improvement over his Spider-Man book, which honestly feels like proto Spawn.
The Characters set up here are at their most basic form, which is understandable as it is the start of a long running story. But information is given way too quickly. In the span of four issues, Al goes from having no memory of his past life to remembering that his Wife wanted a Child and that he was the problem in conceiving. For as decompressed as the comic feels, there seems to be a rush to get from one point to the other. It's a rather weird and contradictory notion to go through as the comic feels at odds with itself.
Once Spawn meets Violator however, seeds of what the comic will become start to spread. Violator is an interesting villain in that he knows more than Al, and in many regards, is more powerful than him. However, he is just a slave to his Master, and that limits him to allow Spawn to win. It's always a good idea to allow your cool 90's Character win their first battle just to showcase how cool they actually are.
The fight here is pretty well paced, not once did it feel rushed and there's a lot of great imagery at play here. Todd does a great job with the artwork here and the lettering adds to both the 90's charm, but also aesthetic the comic is going for.
My complaints aside, I actually enjoyed this first arc a lot, it sets up the World well even through it could have been told in 2 issues, with revelations and motivations that could have been told in 12. While I don't think it's a masterpiece or anywhere in the list of best comics ever made, it serves the purpose it wanted to and is just a cool piece of fiction.
I doubt all my reviews will go this in-depth as I go along, but there's a lot I wanted to address here.
Issue 5
This is the big famous issue, the one which everyone talks about and after reading it I can honestly see why. This is the Spawn I want to see more of, these short one off stories which portray him as a sort of Mythological figure told as a fun buddy cop horror story. What a unique genre that could be. Here, the spotlight is on Sam and Twitch, two officers who showed up in the first arc investigating a series of deaths from the Mafia. This time, they are unhappy with the premature release of one Billy Kincaid who serving time for the death of a seven year old Girl. I will say this now, the Violator was a cool design but ultimately a silly Character, but Billy feels more dangerous. There's order to what Violator is doing, but Billy kills just for fun. It also gives us a cool piece of World Building in that the law in this World is corrupt. Billy is released on a technicality, no one wants to talk about it and Sam and Twitch are both forbidden to investigate while they are on the job. Sam himself states that he hasn't got kids yet he feels more concerned than anyone. It really gives some insight into how the World works and the characters of both Sam and Twitch.
We are also given some backstory on Al, how he was a merc and he was hired to take down Billy, but the Police got to him first. There's a lot of cool context and World Building in this single issue that it felt like Todd figured out how to write a decent plot. Even the dialogue, while not great, is a massive step up from previous issues.
All this leads to possibly the most frightening image so far, and one that has stuck with the Spawn series since, and that is of Billy being hung up with popsicle sticks stabbed into him.
It's a lasting image that makes you feel there's something more to this series than just cool imagery. At times, it can be an effective piece of horror fiction.
Overall, I enjoyed this issue a lot, it may not have had the 90's excessive cheese that the first arc had, and while it has its moments, it feels like a great piece of dark fiction.
If we get more issues like this (and I know there's at least a few, I have read some early Spawn and... I'll get to it when I get to it...) then I'll be a happy Man.
Anyway, that's the first 5 issues out the way. I won'f follow the official arcs as I'd rather try to figure that one out myself (all part of the fun) and some single issue stories may just be bundled in with a bigger arc. Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading this review. I should hopefully put out another tomorrow or Sunday.