REVIEW: Spawn #283

Let me get this out of the way immediately, I haven’t followed the Spawn series in many years. I was there at the beginning of the comic series and taped the excellent HBO show. I watched the motion picture with my friends and I remember enjoying it despite the lackluster visual effects and the general Hollywood spin on the subject matter. I can’t really tell you why I stopped following the series, I remember the books being high quality and getting enjoyment from them. I just lost track of them and then as the issue number count grew higher and higher, getting back into Spawn felt like a mountain to climb. I feel this is what generally puts off new readers to comic books. With that being said, this book interested in me, and I wanted to tackle it like a new reader would. Every issue is someone’s first and I chose to take this perspective.

Seeing this book in my review queue sparked my interest for a few reasons. A curiosity to see where the Spawn character is and how much his story has evolved. I had also heard some discussion that this would be a good jumping-on point. However, the main thing that peaked my interest in this book was seeing Szymon Kudranski’s name. I have always been impressed with his work and his work seemed like a great fit for Spawn. His work on this issue didn’t disappoint, but more on that later.

The good news is that Spawn is a different book than I remember. Characters have grown and the book appears to have evolved nicely from its 90s roots. This issue begins a new storyline involving Cyan, a demonic rap artist and Spawn using this artist to send a message to some nasty folks. However, while Todd’s writing here is generally good, the dialogue felt slightly robotic and didn’t flow as well as I would have expected. It does get the job done and isn’t enough to deter enjoyment of the issue, but I felt that the same topics handled in this issue could have been presented better and more naturally. Todd does manage to work in some social commentary without coming across as heavy-handed. It fits the story being told without being glaring.

My main gripe and going back to my curiosity about the book was seeing how well could I jump back into the world of Spawn? Being accustomed to the work that Valiant (and Marvel to some degree) do in page summaries and bringing aboard new readers, jumping into this issue is a bit jarring. We do get a recap of the last few issues and a note to ‘see the last 6 issues’. I know we grow up in a world of Wikipedia and I suppose I could pose a ‘fill me in’ question on ‘r/comicbooks’, but I felt more could be done. Why not take advantage of the world we live in and link to a YouTube video or an official summary on a web page. I know longtime readers generally groan about recaps, but it does help new readers and I do feel the industry does need help in this regard. Regarding this title, you could argue the lack of a summary adds to the mystery, but I disagree. I know the general mythology of Spawn, but I feel a new reader would have a tough time jumping in here and that is unfortunate.

The highlight for me in this issue is the art. It is very impressive. What impresses me most is how Kudranski renders characters in shadow. Spawn is drawn in a scratchy, inky style and it works perfectly for this title. It also just looks damn cool. The flow of panels (and unique panel choices) is top notch. Without knowing Todd’s process, this may be equally due to him, but Kudranski is able to make simple talking head scenes work and look interesting. The cover is incredible. Put that on a poster and I’m sold. Special credit also goes to the coloring work by FCO Plascencia. Spawn’s magical abilities are rendered with pleasing digital effects and work well to enhance Kudranski’s style.

I give this issue 3.5 out of 5 stars. Overall, I was generally intrigued by the issue. Despite the lack of support for new readers (in my opinion), this is a high-quality issue. Spawn fans who pull this book regularly and are current can take this review with a grain of salt and this review isn’t generally for them. For new readers, it’s apparent that there is a good series here, you just have to do some work to get caught up.

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Written by Todd McFarlane
Art by Szymon Kudranski
Published by Image Comics