Been slowly catching up to the most recent issues of the Spawn Universe books. Going to do a bigger write-up for the most recent issues of Gunslinger and Scorched especially one particular page in the most recent issue of Gunslinger that got me thinking.
King Spawn #11 - after Spawn has sat on the Godthrone, Al is looking to punish the Court of Priests going after Tremor, Zera, Mammon, Ab, and Zab before being confronted and fighting Black Azrael. Meanwhile, Terry is still at the Godthrone and decides to blow it up as Jason Wynn and Morana look on. The issue ends as Spawn takes out an eyeball from Black Azrael and Godsend appears saying "its happening like you said" and Terry blows up the Godthrone potentially endangering everyone on Earth. Pretty good issue here as I liked seeing Al take down his enemies, but I specifically liked the emphasis on Terry in this issue. More and more he is being put on a path that may seemingly put him against Al in time so I wonder if Terry will transform in some way. The eyeball pull-out was brutal and the art continues to shine.
Spawn 331 - Who exactly is Cogliostro? A man of mystery since his first appearance all the way back in issue #9 almost 30 years ago, Cog has appeared seemingly as a mentor to every Spawn that has come after him from Al to Lord Covenant in Spawn Dark Ages and everyone in between. However, he always seems to be planning something and this issue kicks the door down and reveals Cog's history. An absolutely excellent issue that fits in well with the history of the series especially the most recent additions to the series such as Violator revealing that he worked on the Hellspawn costume, the creation of Plague Spawn, why Cog has appeared as a feeble old man, why Cog wanted to be captured by Omega Spawn and meeting Plague Spawn, and why his first time as ruler of Hell during the A Season In Hell arc (#117 - #120 I believe) didn't go the way he thought. This was a much-needed issue for what is to come and touches on something that I have been waiting for this series to touch on that is what the Sinn transformation is supposed to accomplish and the necessity of this transformation and this issue answers that which I am satisfied with. I am not too crazy about the Sinn look, but after so long I am glad we got to know so much more about Cog, especially as a long-time reader. It was nice seeing Malebolgia again in this context, I certainly wonder what would happen if Sinn meets up with the new Clown seen in Gunslinger, and my hope is that the Sinn stuff is a huge arc cause Cog deserves it and I wouldn't mind if it goes on until the end of the year and becomes something that gets bigger and bigger. That said, something that happens in King Spawn #12 makes me wonder if Al has a simple solution to what Cog wants and will do that to keep the dead zones closed. Excited to see where things go next.