Well, Todd's last issue as writer is #250, and at the end of that issue, Al makes his reappearance. When I start with [the] "Spawn Resurrection" [one-shot] and then onwards with #251, we get into how Al's changed, what he's seen while he's been away, where he's actually been, and, to quote the solicitation text, who did he piss off so bad? The mysterious answer to that is: Something that makes that eternal Heaven vs. Hell thing, the conflict that's always driven this series, look like a petty squabble. Al's back, smarter, stronger, wiser and with a perspective that no one else has. In a way, he's 'King Spawn,' the experienced soldier who, while he has his stronghold and his minions and his land, is not afraid to get down off his throne, pick up his sword and join the battle.
I'll let you decide how much of that last sentence was metaphor and how much I'm actually writing into the book!