Introduction
I learned recently that they added some new titles to Uncle Todd’s Spawn Universe (Rat City and they brought back Sam and Twitch). I intend to cover those books later in the week or, more likely, over the weekend. For this article, I want to cover the main books as I see them in Spawniverse September 2024.
You may notice that it is the third week of the month and I only posted the DC Comics review. The reason for that is two fold. One, I started back to school (as evidenced by the new theme) and that took up far too much of my time. Two, I actually think I like the idea better of dedicating one week to each of the three publishers. It gives me more time to digest the issues and offer a better reading experience. I hope. Let me know.
Gunslinger 34
Quick Synopsis: This issue deals with the initial aftermath of the shitstorm between Javi and the police that built from the previous few issues since the “reset”. Gunslinger, himself, badly injured in the fracas, falls into a medicated induced sleep. The doctors say that his mind surely fractured due to the physical and mental stress. This manifests in a dream that relives part of his past. I feel like in different hands, this might have been handled with more subtlety. But, honestly, we don’t come to Spawn for that, so I’m okay with the outcome. Barberi’s art, as usual, compliments the story and brings the characters to life in a way that few others can. My verdict: Good
King Spawn 37
Quick Synopsis: Speaking of a lack of subtlety, King Spawn brings together Al Simmons and Cy-Gor for all out war against Tyrone and his thugs. The two make quick and bloody work of all of them, barely breaking a sweat before making a get away with a hostage that they intend to use as a bargaining chip to get closer to his real target. I’m not familiar with this particular artist, but I like his work in this book. My verdict: Great.
Spawn 355
Quick Synopsis: Downing comes to Spawn and others under the guise of taking them back to hell. Instead, he takes them to one of Spawn’s safe houses where they find a badly injured Reaper. After dealing with that, Downing explains that he pulled the old rope a dope because Nyx isn’t responding to communications and he thought that Spawn and the others might know why. The issue closes with Al making a deal with Lyra for a tentative partnership and Wynn checking in with Fixer and giving him a couple of partners in crime. Booth, like Barberi, brings the world of Spawn to life with his art. We truly are spoiled by living in a time when so much talent works on these books. My verdict: Great.
The Scorched 32
Quick Synopsis: The Scorched team up to combat their former teammate, She Spawn. And they bring Overt-Kill with them. Even with that extra fire power, though, Haunt ends up going of the deep end and injuring her quite severely. The issue ends with them speaking over her in a hospital bed. Wynn makes the comment that they have nothing to worry about when it comes to control over her. Wait, what’s that I see? A wry smile from Jessica? Can’t wait to see what they have in store for us. Segovia’s art brings a more cartoonish quality to the series. I like it in spite of that fact, but wish it had more of the realism of Booth or Barberi. My verdict: Great.
The Verdict (Spawniverse September 2024)
The main titles in the Spawniverse September 2024 continue the strong upward trend of the recent issues ever since they rebooted and shook up the creative teams. All four of the books are telling great stories in their own right. They also try to tell a cohesive story together, but as with many of these types of cross book stories, some things get lost in the shuffle. As long as you can deal with those inconsistencies, you’ll have fun reading these books.
Images taken from the mothership.