Home (Spawn #11) ★★☆☆☆

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Title: Home
Series: Spawn #11
Author: Todd McFarlane
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 25
Words: 1K

Synopsis:

From Imagecomics.fandom.com

Spawn wakes up in the alley. His homeless friends Boots and Billy worry about him as he keeps moaning about some aardvark.[1] Spawn tells his homeless friends that he finds a need to protect them and his home, in the same way Boots protects the only thing he has.. his boots.

Soon a woman screams for help, as Spawn hears explosions nearby. He finds the woman but is unable to saver her in time as he takes a hit that blows through his body. Everyone is shocked when Spawn stands back up with a basketball sized hole through his chest.

The attacker, Boomer, runs off into the night and Spawn secretly chases him to find out where he came from. He finds the Nerds Gang headquarters where the Nerds discuss hating their rival gang the Creeps Gang.

Spawn finds he is outclassed and outmatched in guns and retreats. Spawn uses his military and strategic planning to goading each side into a final confrontation.

The plan works perfectly, leaving only the Nerd enforcer Byron still standing - until Spawn arrives. Unable to penetrate Byron's armor, Spawn teleports himself inside and rips his way out, reducing the villain to a bloody head.

My Thoughts:

This comic series is really suffering in comparison to both Asterix AND Bone. While it doesn't seem quite fair to compare this to Asterix, which is twice as long and not released “on schedule”, Bone is just as short. The art is rough and sketchy with very rough outlines in many cases and even Spawn gets the rough treatment if he's not showcasing some sort of Spiderman swinging pose.

Then you have the “story”. Some gang warfare is happening in the alley where Spawn and his group of bums live and Spawn sets up both gangs against each other and then kills the lone survivor. It did nothing to further Spawn's supposed investigation into who he was and didn't advance any plot point that I could see. I am getting a bit impatient at this point with just how much McFarlane is dragging out the storyline.

It is making me wonder if it is this particular franchise or something about monthly released comics that just doesn't work for me. It might be a bit of both too.

★★☆☆☆

• All of My “Spawn” Reviews

The Jade Suit of Death (Adventures of the Royal Occultist #2) ★★★✬☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Jade Suit of Death
Series: Adventures of the Royal Occultist #2
Author: Josh Reynolds
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 190
Words: 70K

Synopsis:

St. Cyprian is hired to recover an occultic artifact for one of his acquaintences. Said artifact has been stolen by a group of thugs who appear to have the power of controlling a demon. Turns out one of the occultic clubs has decided to use whatever power they can grab to change the course of history and to make Britain an Empire in perpetuity.

The jade suit encases an original werewolf and the acquaintence was hoping to study it to see if he could cure himself, as he has been bitten himself.

St. Cyprian and his assistant must track down the jade suit and stop the splinter group from peforming an equinox ceremony binding the werewolf to the leader of the group, thus allowing her nigh unlimited power. Of course they succeed.

My Thoughts:

This was another great entry but also brought to light something that had been niggling at me in the first book. Reynolds kind of rushes his endings. The buildup is fantastic. He sets things up great and does a good job of describing everything leading up to the end but the climactic battle and the aftermath, it's always gone through extremely quickly. I have to admit I suspect it comes from his franchise fiction writing. It really reminded me of how a lot of the Forgotten Realms books/series ended. Other than that, I was perfectly satisfied with how this story went.

The idea that the “plague” contained by the jade suit was out of control lycanthropy was really interesting and definitely turned the expectations of the reader, ie, me, on its head. The inclusion of the “Hairy Hands” and Baphomet as well as the splinter group of rogue occultists definitely made for a full house when it came to villainy. In a lot of ways it didn't seem so much that St. Cyprian overcame the villains as that he performed magical ju-jitsu and used everyone against the others. He came across as the Millennial Ideal of lets work together instead of the Gen X of One Warrior Overcoming All Odds.

A larger overall threat was hinted at but I'm not sure that Reynolds will be able to pull that off with just one more book. I guess I'll just have to read it and find out :-D

★★★✬☆

• The White Chapel Demon (Book 1)

Angela (Spawn #9) ★★☆☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Angela
Series: Spawn #9
Author: Todd McFarlane
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 25
Words: 1K

Synopsis:

From Imagecomics.fandom.com

800 years ago in a journal entry, Angela reads about Hellspawn and Heaven's goal of exterminating them. She reads about the rules specified are only for Hellspawn in Living Realms, and those in Beyond Realms are not to be touched unless an official declaration of war is made with Hell.

The entry explains the best way to kill a Hellspawn is when it is still new and unadjusted to it's carapace. That is when they are cronally confused, and new at using their powers. Because of this, they are also brash and use way too much power as opposed to a more experience Hellspawn. For this reason, while they are most vulnerable as a new Hellspawn, they are also potentially more dangerous or unpredictable. The journal explains that these Hellspawn sent to Earth, usually once every 100 years, and no more than one at a time, are potential officers in Malebolgia's future war. The Living Realm acts as a trial to see if they are fit to lead. The best way to kill them, is a surprise attack, but beware their suit, or carapace, as they are equally wiley in their younger years.

Angela recalls posing as a young woman in distress in the 12th century. When Medieval Spawn, a new hellspawn at the time spots her, She asks him to take her to a remote location to save her sister from an ogre. Angela recalls reading how new Hellspawn are drawn to help people when they are first reborn. In the cave, she surprises him from behind and strikes him with her Dimensional Lance to kill him.

In the present day, Spawn speaks with a Count Cogliostro who not only knows his name, but knows about Hell and how it operates. Cogliostro requests Spawn to summon beer as a training and reward exercise and he does.

Angela appears at work, where she meets Gabrielle who informs her Raphaela has left her in charge of this world. Angela shows little regard for her talking down on her for being a freelancer and reveals she has a hunting permit. Gabrielle admits she can't stop her from hunting but she requests it to be quick and clean.

Later, as Spawn and Cogliostro continue their discussion, Angela appears behind them. As she attacks, Spawn disappears in a pool. Angela, undeterred, follows in but is shot back to heaven when she realizes she is overpowered. Spawn picks up the lance left behind as Cogliostro urgently warns him to stop. As Spawn presses a button, he disappears in a while light and his Necroplasm is reset to 0000. Cogliostro mourns he was a good kid, just not very bright

My Thoughts:

In one of the previous reviews I had asked if there were going to be angels in this series, since there were demons. Well, this issue answered that question.

There are angels and apparently they are all hot chicks parading around in skimpy outfits killing hellspawns with big ass swords and spears. The odd thing is that Angela, the angel we are watching, is so badly drawn that while she's barely clothed, she's more grotesque than erotic and beyond the long hair it's hard to call her a female. I am thankful that McFarlane didn't go down the Boris Vallejo/Frank Frazzetta route in terms of art but still, I was almost as grossed out by her as I was by Spawn's burned body.

This volume was straight up info dumping about hellspawns and some hints about angelic society. We also get a hint that there is supposed to be a “special” hellspawn and that maybe our Spawn was it. Given that the volume ends with Spawn's magic being drained down to zero and then teleported away, we'll see if that hint turns out to be real or not.

★★☆☆☆

• All of My “Spawn” Reviews

In Heaven (Spawn #8) ★★★☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: In Heaven
Series: Spawn #8
Author: Todd McFarlane
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 25
Words: 1K

Synopsis:

From Imagecomics.fandom.com

Billy Kincaid is reborn in Hell. He drops out of a green goo and immediately kills animals to cover his naked body. He is continually and randomly terrorized by flashbacks of Spawn killing him.

He runs into a half-naked woman and small group of individuals. A small girl explains to them about the culture of hell as they are systematically picked off. A Soul-Trapper takes people off to the Sixth Sphere of Hell to sing for them. Others are picked off by the Prime Nomad to serve as hardware in a macro computer on the 10th, and highest sphere of hell.

As Billy sleeps, he's continually haunted by the vision of Spawn and wakes up. As he looks at the small girl, he decides to kill her to satisfy his itch. The girls sheds her skin and congratulates Billy for finally passing the test.

The Vindicator reveals his true form as one of the five Phlebiac Brothers. He escorts Billy to the Eighth Sphere of Hell where he will serve in Malebolgia's army. When Billy sees the costume he has to wear resembles Spawn's, he freaks out and runs away. Vindicator casually explains the suit is a K3-Myrlu suit that is a continually evolving parasite that will combine with his central nervous system for life

My Thoughts:

Things get interesting, finally. Of course, McFarlane also mixes in some serious fan service (the big boobed, taut buttocked blonde chick) so it was a real mixed bag for me.

Following in the tradition of Dante, McFarlane appears to have set up hell with 10 levels and Malebolgia's is the eighth. Billy the child killer is recruited for his army and gets a spawn uniform. I've included a picture because seeing a fat spawn is ludicrous :-D I put it up on dropbox so if you click it it should open to a full size pix, For those who want to take a close up look at McFarlane's style.

Getting some world building and knowledge about this particular comic universe was good. I'm annoyed that Billy the Child Killer is used as the fulcrum but at least I have some idea who or what Malebolgia is and a framework of reference. As a reader it is frustrating to have the information doled out like this to me. The comic book format itself makes anything else impossible but it is easy to see why there are omnibus editions and story arcs combined.

With this volume, my interest has been piqued and Spawn's going to get another month to survive. It makes me feel rather Malebolgian in fact, whaahahahahaaaaha.

★★★☆☆

• All of My “Spawn” Reviews

Payback, Part II (Spawn #7) ★★★☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Payback, Part II
Series: Spawn #7
Author: Todd McFarlane
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 25
Words: 1K

Synopsis:

From Imagecomics.fandom.com

Spawn hurries his scavenger mission as US troops burst into the room. Rather than fight them, he teleports away to save their lives.

Re-appering in the alley, a drunk bum helps him and offers him alcohol. When the bum takes off Spawn's mask he's not too surprised by Al's look. Spawn realizes they accept him and don't care about outside appearances. Spawn cries out and experiences a flashback, he can't recall his killer's face but is given hints. He keeps seeing pictures of the grim reaper in his mind. The grim reaper tells him it was a pleasure killing him and he would have done it even if he wasn't getting paid for it. Snapping back to reality, he runs from the alleyway.

Antonio Twistelli asks who OvertKill will work for if Bartino dies.

In Queens, New York, Wanda Blake wakes up screaming, "Stop! Don't kill him!" Terry Fitzgerald comforts her and tells her he'll check Al's files again when she pleads that he was murdered and didn't die in action.

Spawn decides to take on the Mafia. He takes off the cape as it would only get in the way. Unknown to him, the cape follows him as he walks away.

Wanda is curious about when Al visited her in disguise.[1] When she checks at the local pound, she learns that no man matching her description of the man works there. She begins pondering if Terry is in trouble and the man was spying on them.

Spawn breaks into a highrise mob building where he threatens Twistelli. He tells him to deliver a message to Overtkill to meet him in battle at the nearby park.

Overtkill shows up at the park and is quickly destroyed by the ballistics Spawn brought with him.

My Thoughts:

Oh for feth's sake! The comic starts of with Spawn having, and I quote “an AK 830 Rocket Launcher”. FROM A UNITED STATES ARMY BASE!!!!!!! Just in case you don't know why I'm so annoyed, the designation “AK” stands for “Automatic Kalashnikov” and are products of the Soviet Union. Other countries do make AK's, but they are the guns of thugs, drug dealers and other scum. United States army bases would not have something like this on hand, they'd have real guns. I can't tell if McFarlane is being ignorant (which he is) or if he's thumbing his nose at the American Military (also quite possible. Most comic artists are scumbag commie traitors in one form or another).

Last issue Spawn's chains showed some volition and in this issue it's his cape. So his whole costume has power that apparently he's not aware of. We'll have to see how it all works together. Spawn takes on the cyborg Overtkill even though it really feels like he's more of a robot ala Terminator.

I am realizing my biggest issue is that I am expecting these comics to follow the rules of our world. They ostensibly take place in our world, so they should follow the rules, even if supernatural planes of existance are part of it. Spawn toting around 3 guns, each as big as him, while looking wicked cool, is also wicked stupid. If this was in a fantasy setting or another world or something I could probably let things like the guns go, but I just can't.

Right now, Spawn is dicking around with small potatoes while the main roast is burning in the oven. As a reader I'm still waiting for the big picture to be revealed. I'm sure that is being done on purpose by McFarlane, but I don't have to like it. This is going to be the last issue I give a 3star rating too. After this, the books start at 2 and have to impress me to get any higher. I'm done being Mr Nice Guy.

★★★☆☆

• All of My “Spawn” Reviews

Payback, Part I (Spawn #6) ★★★☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Payback, Part I
Series: Spawn #6
Author: Todd McFarlane
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 25
Words: 1K

Synopsis:

From Imagecomics.fandom.com

In Sicily, OvertKill takes down a building for the mafia. When the military shows up, he quickly dispatches them after taking several rounds of bullets and explosive damage. He leaves virtually unscathed.

Freddy, a hobo, gives up Spawn's location in exchange for drugs. However, the mobsters kill him before completing their end of the bargain. The mobsters report back to Antonio Twistelli.

Meanwhile, in the alley several homeless people offer comfort to Spawn. They invite him to sit next to them and share his story. They don't want Spawn to be afraid of them as he always sits aloof. Spawn tells them his backstory with Wanda and Cyan.

When two mobster start wasting random bums looking for Spawn, Al shows up and takes them out.

At a meeting with the mobsters, Gavino recommends Overtkill to take out Spawn.

That evening, the two square off. While Overtkill easily overpowers him, Spawn does trick him into messing up his robot hand before being rendered near-death. Spawn refuses to use his powers to spare them as long as possible so that he can continue to live on earth and ask questions about his past.

Overtkill walks away, unaware that Spawn is still alive. Spawn heals himself with his Necroplasm and heads to a warehouse to pick up guns and ballistics.

My Thoughts:

We're introduced to a badguy named OvertKill as he takes on the Italian Army and pretty much crushes them singlehandedly. Meanwhile, back in the USA Spawn has been blamed for the deaths of the mafia members that the Violator first killed. The Dons hire OvertKill and he starts killing the homeless until Spawn confronts him. After a few punches thrown, OvertKill is revealed as cyborg and thinks he has killed Spawn. Spawn realizes his powers are limited and as such raids an army base for supplies. He was Special Forces before he died and came back with magic powers and he's going to fight like the man he used to be.

As a new villain, OvertKill leaves a lot to be desired. His face is wide open to attack and besides being big and brawny and enhanced as a cyborg, I'm not really sure why he's such a problem. One sniper round would deal with him easily. And the fight between him and Spawn really made me wonder just how far Spawn had fallen. I realize it's been 5 years, but he fights like a little girl instead of the special forces guy he is. And the ending, where he gets all armed up, talk about show boating. A special forces guy IS the weapon, the guns are just accessories.

Spawn's chains do something of their own volition but all we get from Spawn is a “Oh, I guess I'll check on that later”. Welp, on to the next issue.

★★★☆☆

• 
  All of My “Spawn” Reviews

Justice (Spawn #5) ★★★☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Justice
Series: Spawn #5
Author: Todd McFarlane
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 25
Words: 1K

Synopsis:

From Imagecomics.fandom.com

At the Windgate Institution, Billy Kincaid is read his rights and claimed to be a cured man. He is being released from jail after good behavior. Billy smiles as he coyly still dreams of killing small children. He was placed in prison for 22 years, out in 10 on good behavior, for being caught with the murder of a Senator's daughter, Amanda Jennings. He had pulled out her teeth and placed maggots into her wounds in a heinous crime. At that moment, he half-fantasizes how he's killed at least 29 children by luring them to his ice cream truck and then abducting them and how he's bid his time to be released so he could return to his activities.

As he leaves, Billy sings about ice cream and Sam Burke, who was standing behind him, screams that he's insane and not actually cured. Sam believes that the murder of Amanda Jennings was not an isolated incident. Sam thinks about how he's always played by the law, but the law sometimes doesn't win.

That evening, the news reports about the release of Billy Kincaid.

In Queens, Wanda puts Cyan to sleep in her crib, while Spawn falls asleep in the alleyway amongst trash and rubble.

Sam and Twitch Williams discuss the release of Billy at the New York City Police Headquarters. They agree to perform a midnight stakeout to see if Billy has reformed.

Billy takes Sherlee Johnson, finger paints

Cyan excited to see Wanda after day care.

Bums get hit by cops, cry about Billy. Spawn over hears, recalls how he was hired by Jennings for a hit on Kincaid. Cops go to him first. Problem was they found all the mutilated bodies but evidence went missing, and then the shack blew up. Jason Wynn then told everyone to drop the case.

With Sam and Twitch on stakeout outside Billy's house, Spawn sneaks in through the back. When he spots Sherlee Johnson's bloody dress, he moves into the house. Twitch spots a caped figure in the back and they both move in. Inside the house they find the evidence but no Billy.

At New York City Police Headquarters, Sam and Twitch begin plotting their search for Billy. When they walk into a back room, they find Billy Kincaid's body, bloodied and strung up with chains and a note. It reads, "Boy's screamed and girls screamed, so I made him scream... and scream... and scream...."

My Thoughts:

This is where the violence ramps up and set off one of my own personal issues, triggers I guess they call them nowadays. Violence against children. The badguy in this volume is not a super or a demon or anything, he's just the worst kind of human you can imagine, one who preys on children. He's a serial killer of children and gets out of jail on a technicality of some sort or another.

My issue is that he immediately kills another child. There was nothing sexual, thank God, but it really left me shaken and wondering if I wanted to continue this series. I realize McFarlane did it for shock value, but that just makes him a scumbag in my books, not a good comic artist.

Plotwise, it gives Spawn a purpose and drives him towards the anti-hero narrative. He kills the pervert and I for one was all for that bit of vigilante justice. However, ending picture encapsulates the heart of violence of this comic and I have to wonder if I want to continue reading.

★★★☆☆

• All of My “Spawn” Reviews

Anarch (WH40K: Gaunt's Ghosts #15) ★★★☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot , Librarything & Bookype by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Anarch
Series: WH40K: Gaunt's Ghosts #15
Author: Dan Abnett
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 372
Words: 137.5K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia & Me

On the forge world of Urdesh, the massed forces of the Imperial Crusade engage in a final bloody battle with the Archenemy commander known as the Anarch, and his elite warriors - the barbaric Sons of Sek. A victory for either side will decide more than just the fate of Urdesh... it will determine the outcome of the entire Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Ibram Gaunt – now serving at the right hand of Warmaster Macaroth – finds himself at the very heart of the struggle. His regiment, the Tanith First "Ghosts", holds the vital key to ultimate success. But as the forces of the Imperium and Chaos square up for the final, large-scale confrontation, Gaunt discovers that the greatest threat of all may come from inside rather than out.

Mkoll, the Ghost's top scout, is captured by the enemy and frees himself and 3 others. They make their way to where Sek himself is giving the final orders for the fight and ambush him. He escapes using the warp, but Mkoll follows and kills him. He makes sure to take his head as proof.

While this is going on, The Tanith are trapped in their barracks by one of the children who turns out to be a Woe Machine and a creature of chaos able to control physical reality. It's a blood bath but Gaunt and an Inquisitor manage to defeat her. Only to find out that her older brother is also a plant. Neither of the kids realized what they were and so the older boy, now a Ghost himself, goes insane and gives in to his nature. He goes after War Master Macaroth himself and is barely stopped from destroying the whole leadership of the Crusade.

With Sek's death and Macaroth's survival, the Army of Humanity wins the Sabbath Crusade. Gaunt is now a big time officer and the Ghosts are his special regiment. No more little fights for them.

My Thoughts:

This was a good ending to the series. Gaunt is now a Big Cheese and as such won't be leading from the front anymore. The Ghosts are a real mix of actual Ghosts, Vergastites and Belladons so them becoming Gaunt's fist is good so they don't get ground up and spit out like most of the Army of Humanity.

I did NOT like the little girl and the young Ghost being Woe Machines. They were never human, were simply in disguise but thought they were human the entire time. Having that ripped away from them was unpleasant to read about and even worse to contemplate. It definitely put the “grimdark” into this book. It was one of the main reasons I was glad this series ended here. I didn't want to read more of this type of thing.

Overall, I have enjoyed this Gaunt's Ghosts series. It has been great ground pounder action with almost no space ship battles. It was a fantastic entry for me into the Warhmmer40k universe since the Horus Heresy series left me dead cold. Gaunt himself was a good character to root for even while not hogging the spotlight. Plenty of other Ghosts survive each book for us to get attached to, but at the same time Abnett has no problem killing them off. That's war for you after all.

My next WH40K series will be the Ciaphas Cain series. Cain is another Commisar, so I'm hoping it will be all ground pounder action as well. But with how this Gaunt's Ghosts series ended, I need a breather from the bleakness of Warhammer40k and so am going to start a different Mil-SF series altogether. Probably get back to the Warhammer40k universe some time in late '22 or early '23. Preventing burn out is every book blogger's duty after all.

★★★☆☆

• All My "Gaunt's Ghosts" Reviews

Questions, Part 4 (Spawn #4) ★★★☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Questions, Part 4
Series: Spawn #4
Author: Todd McFarlane
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 32
Words: 1K

Synopsis:

From Imagecomics.fandom.com

Violator and Spawn engage in a brutal showdown with both losing appendages. Violator is surprised Spawn is more powerful and claims he was supposed to be the stronger one. Malebolgia intervenes, explaining to them that they are both his minions in his battle against Heaven. Their goal is to cause man to do wrong, and Spawn will stop and kill them while doing so locking them on Malebolgia's side. He claims that heaven is strong but they won't be able to create the numbers he can.

Malebolgia restores Spawn's lost arm and shows pity on him. He then punishes Violator for his unscheduled killing spree because it has influenced crime lords to slow down their evil ways. he locks him in his clown form for a temporary time period.

At the Fitzgerald household, Wanda Blake wakes up with a nightmare that Al was reaching out to her for help but had changed somehow. Terry Fitzgerald lovingly supports her and feels she doesn't have to hide that she can't forget about Al.

My Thoughts:

So it turns out THIS was the final part of the Questions arc. Spawn and Violator begin fighting each other and Malebolgia intervenes and gives them the old “So boys, I bet you're wondering just what's going on” speech. Apparently if you claim enough souls you can defeat god himself. Spawn is a pawn to help Malebolgia get more souls. Not sure exactly how it's supposed to work, but hey Comic Logic. The little countdown thingy is a death counter. If Spawn reaches zero he dies again and goes into Malebolgia's big bag o' souls.

Obviously the theology here is made up as a two bit lady of the night but I tried to not roll my eyes too much. I just hope McFarlane can stay consistent in his story telling and not change/make up rules whenever it suits him.

I've been giving this the Ultra Violent tag for the Violator ripping peoples' hearts out but in this volume he and Spawn start tearing holes in each other and ripping arms off and McFarlane doesn't shy away from showing it. Gotta admit, there's no way I'd be letting any 14 year old I know read this.

Which leads into the artwork. I feel that the following is a good representation of McFarlane's work so far. It might be hard to tell, but you have the Violator's hand/arm holding Spawn's heart while Spawn regenerates the hole in his chest. It is brightly colored but not garish like what I experienced in Silver Sable and it's bloody as all get out. Most of the time McFarlane doesn't draw Spawn in such detail, preferring to keep him shadowed and much simpler so as to not have to draw so much. Overall I'm enjoying the art for the most part, with the caveat that yes, it is very violent.

★★★☆☆

• All of My “Spawn” Reviews

The Whitechapel Demon (Adventures of the Royal Occultist #1) ★★★✬☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Whitechapel Demon
Series: Adventures of the Royal Occultist #1
Author: Josh Reynolds
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 172
Words: 59K

Synopsis:

Publisher's Blurb & Me

Formed during the reign of Elizabeth I, the post of the Royal Occultist was created to safeguard the British Empire against threats occult, otherworldly, infernal and divine.

It is now 1920, and the title and offices have fallen to Charles St. Cyprian. Accompanied by his apprentice Ebe Gallowglass, they defend the battered empire from the forces of darkness.

In the wake of a séance gone wrong, a monstrous killer is summoned from the depths of nightmare by a deadly murder-cult. The entity hunts its prey with inhuman tenacity even as its worshippers stop at nothing to bring the entity into its full power... It's up to St. Cyprian and Gallowglass to stop the bloodthirsty horror before another notch is added to its gory tally, but will they become the next victims of the horror guised as London's most famous killer?

Using the powers of darkness themselves, Charlie and Ebe use the medium who originally brought forth the demon as bait. Charlie uses some magic embued in his house to chase the eldritch horror back into the dark from whence it came.

My Thoughts:

I have some theological quibbles, which I'll deal with as I suspect most anyone reading this review won't have them. First, the Royal Occultist is supposed to protect England/Britian/Whatever from forces Occult, Otherworldy and Divine. Why would it need to be protected from the Divine? The answer of course is that despite saying on several occasions “For God and Country”, there is no God, no Jehovah, just a shell for the story's sake. So Divine in this case will mean any and all gods, who are all valid. Balderdash. Secondly, Charlie is as involved in the Occult and Occultic Forces as any demon loving secret society, he just happens to use those powers “for good”. Once again, Balderdash. It is quite evident that Reynolds is using the shell of Protestant England without thinking about its depths or anything real. It annoys me to see Christianity used as a prop and in this case, a very poorly made prop.

Other than that, I quite enjoyed this read. It was short, filled that cosmic horror itch I sometimes get (and how much more cosmic horror'ish can it get than an Old One masquerading as Jack the Ripper?) and was fast paced almost to the point of being frenetic. It also has the honor of only being a completed trilogy (even though, from what I can gather, there might be 2 more books after the trilogy, but I'm not sure how they tie in, don't really care at this point). Short books and short series are like short skirts, they look really good if you're wearing ♪a looooong jacket♪.

I feel like this type of story is at the other end of the spectrum from the Wheel of Time books. WoT could be compared to a 14 course meal that lasts 8hrs and has little umbrella drinks between courses. This Royal Occultist? It's driving through the front of a McDonalds, grabbing the burger from the hands of a senior citizen and then backing out and taking out a load bearing wall, collapsing the whole building. But man, that hot greasy burger does taste good. And knowing that you kept somebody's Grandma from having a triple heart attack, well, it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside (never mind that you killed her when you took out the load bearing wall and collapsed the whole building on her head. So you should probably actually feel ashamed of yourself. But this is a judgement free zone, so kill all the Grandma's you want. It's open season!)

I am looking forward to the next 2 books and hope the pace stays as crazy as this was.

★★★✬☆

Questions, Part 3 (Spawn #3) ★★★☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Questions, Part 3
Series: Spawn #3
Author: Todd McFarlane
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 32
Words: 1K

Synopsis:

From Imagecomics.fandom.com

Spawn suddenly recalls his ex-wife's name is Wanda Blake. He decides to head to Central Intelligence Agency Headquarters to dig up Wanda's file to find her. He thinks about how he used to think it's an invasion of privacy but now he just wants his old life back. His memories are slowly returning to him and he knows the devil is playing with him. He knows there are many unanswered questions he needs to solve like who the clown was he met in the alley.

Elsewhere, Malebolgia laughs as he watches from his throne. He continues his plot to expand his army and use Spawn to aid in gathering the requisite soldiers. He's glad he has sent several other followers to check in on him as no one from Hell truly trusts each other.

Sam Burke and Twitch Williams pour over the casework they have pilling up with the mob heart surgeon killings. Outside, Violator prowls the alleys singing songs to himself about murder.

At the Central Intelligence Agency Headquarters, Spawn breaks in to find Billy Miller sexually harassing his secretary Linda who is already married. Spawn picks him up by the throat and warns him to keep it in his pants. He then takes the file on Wanda Blake and retreats into the night.

Malebolgia laughs as Spawn uses violence which he loves and yearns for.

On the rooftops, Spawn reads she had started a fund in his name and maps the information to her current location.

Outside of Wanda's house, Spawn uses his Necroplasm energy to transform into a Caucasian once more. He rings the doorbell and is beside himself with how beautiful she is. When a small child named Cyan comes to the door, he faints.

Upon waking up, he finds Wanda has married Terry Fitzgerald, and together they had Cyan. He is belittled as he could not have children with Wanda and now understands the devil is playing with him showing him that his wife has moved on, remarried, and had children. Spawn leaves wishing her happiness.

In a nearby alley, Spawn's spell wears off and he returns to his vigilante costume. The clown walks up and threatens him again. This time he transforms in his true form of the Violator in front of him. Slightly surprised, Violator takes advantage of Spawn's distraction and quickly plunges his hand into his chest ripping out his heart. Spawn collapses on the ground dead.

Violator walks away, shocked that Malebolgia's favorite human was already dead.

Violator hears, "who said anything about being human" from behind him and turns around to see Spawn rejuvenated with green Necroplasm healing his heart wound.

My Thoughts:

If I was 15, I bet this volume would have blown me away. Spawn finding his wife, only to find she has remarried and has a little girl, that is quiiiiiiiiite dramatic! Him vowing vengeance on the demon (it's name is Malebolgia I guess?) reminded me of what happened to Ghost Rider in one of the storylines, ie, he is given powers of darkness but chooses to fight the darkness instead of joining it.

Pile on the revelation that Spawn is supposed to be the focal point for a new army of somethings for the demon and you have a real passle of problems!

This little “Questions” arc has been a good intro to Spawn. I've enjoyed it and I like the art enough that I think I'm going to keep on reading this series. I'll try to talk about the artwork in the next volume, as it's really hard to write about a storyline for a 25page comic. I don't know how dedicated comic bloggers do it for volume after volume. My hats off to you.

★★★☆☆

• All of My “Spawn” Reviews

Questions, Part 2 (Spawn #2) ★★★☆☆

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Questions, Part 2
Series: Spawn #2
Author: Todd McFarlane
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comic
Pages: 32
Words: 1K

Synopsis:

From Imagecomics.fandom.com

A clown stands in an alley discussing all the gruesome ways he can kill someone to a regular alley cat. The clown claims to be the Violator to the cat and that he would be going after Spawn later that night.

Spawn is drawn to the top of a church cross for the second time. He begins wondering how he'll find his wife and how she'll accept him now that he's been disfigured. He curses at the devil for betraying him in his deal to come back and knows that he's messing with him. He knows he's controlling when he gets these visions and thinks it's a sick twisted game to him. His thoughts are interrupted when he spots a strange clown waving at him from the shadows of a nearby rooftop. The clown disappears into the shadows.

Later that night at the Dawncorp Building, mobsters are attacked and have their hearts ripped from their chest. The Violator stands over a bloody mess.

The news channels report on more "heart surgeon" killings. Another channel reports on Wanda Blake opening a new care clinic for disabled children.

On top of the church, Spawn attempts to use his magic to transform his skin back to the way it was before he died. He's shocked to find out that he turns himself into a white man when he knows he should be African American.

Sam Burke and Twitch Williams discuss the paperwork piling up on their desk. They now have six cases from the heart surgeon and no leads.

The violator takes out a mob boss named Gino. He shudders when Gino mutters the name, "Jesus" over and over again and rips out his heart.

Spawn receives a flashback of Jason Wynn, who had taught him to fight. He recalls getting into more fights and disagreeing with Wynn's ideals. He found that Wynn was slowly becoming evil. Spawn becomes faint from the shock and exhaustion. He falls into a nearby alley.

Upon waking up, he finds the clown and recognizes him from the rooftop. The clown tells him the he is the Spawn and a hellspawn sent back to earth. Shaking it off, Spawn dismisses the clown and walks away. Upon turning his back, the clown reveals his true form of being the Violator and asks him to not turn away and to, "have a heart!"

My Thoughts:

So, first revelation is that it is NOT Spawn who has been killing off the mobsters, but some sort of demon who calls itself the Violator, a gruesome looking killing machine of a monster. He also seems to be, at the same time, a short fat crass crude clown. A very peculiar juxtoposition.

Spawn is having his memories trickle back and realizes part of his deal with the demon involved magic. He tries to heal himself from the burnt husk that his body is and turns into a blond haired, blue eyed white man. We learn he's supposed to be a black man. At the same time we see a little counter go down from 9.9.9.9 to some lower number, so it is apparent that when Spawn uses magic, it's not a limitless resource.

The Violator is yanking Spawn's chain in some verbal abuse when the comic ends. I was looking at the digital file I have and it's only 25 pages long. Not because the comic is missing 7 pages of story but because it's missing 7 pages of ads. When I tried to review my Silver Sable comics almost 3 years ago I really noticed the ads in the paper copies I had. Thankfully, those ads were not included in these digital Spawn comics but just realizing they took up almost 25% of the book is eye opening.

★★★☆☆

• All of My “Spawn” Reviews