Customer Reviews

Spawn :Angela (Spawn)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

_I was a never a big follower of Spawn- until I stumbled upon the character of Angela, warrior angel. This book collects the three issues of the Angela limited series. I am glad, for this story deserved the respect of retelling in a high grade format.

_This is the mythic tale of Angela, heaven's foremost warrior for a hundred thousand years. No angel was was more decorated in the eternal battle against evil. Yet, this did not stop her arrest on the charge of treason- for pettyness and corruption had seeped into Elysium itself. To defend her, Angela's friends sought help from Al Simmons- the most recent, and most reluctant of Hellspawn. Simmons was the only Hellspawn to ever defeat- or escape- Angela and only he could testify to her innocence in conspiring with Hell...

_This is a truly mythological tale. But then why shouldn't it be? The entire theme is a retelling of the never-ending battle between the Devas and the Asuras on the intermediate planes as told in the Vedas. Indeed, the Vedas even tell us that the Devas are primarliy of female form and of great beauty (which answers Simmon's confusion as to why all the angels were "babes.")

_The art work is a match for the story. Every page is so well drawn and composed- and vibrantly colored- that it reminds you of the finest art deco. Oh yes, the cover of the book was also issued as a magnificent poster. I know because I had mine framed.

After writing mostly Fantasy-influenced stories with throlls, faeries and wizards which worked out good for him, Neil Gaiman takes a risk here with the further creation of a character who later turns out to be one of the most popular members of the cast of a superhero title according to many. I myself take quite some characters over her (Billy Kincaid, Violator, Jason Wynn) but as a character that's supposed to be the perfect opposite of the Hellspawn she's indeed a very satisfying new (at the time) character. Luckily most of the story stages in Heaven and Hell, places Gaiman is familiair with since he explored them many times over already and THAT shows. His writing is being aided by the art of Greg Capullo who I think started here in showing himself to be worthy to take up drawing Spawn after McFarlane. It's obviously NOT the perfected art Capullo shows of later when he gets to draw 'Spawn' yet though, to be honest. I don't have a specific word for it but it's showing that typical "Image-look' that most Image books had in their early days.

About the story: The Angelic warrior Angela is celebrating her 100.000th birthday in her own unique fashion when all of a sudden the Hordes of Heaven come to place her under arrest. She's being put on trial for treason and conspiring with a Hellspawn (See the events in Spawn #9 to see what happened), among other things. It soon becomes clear to most that she's being set up and her friends attempt to help her. In doing so they need to get Spawn from earth and take him to heaven un-noticed to testify for Angela, the woman who once tried to kill him.

This story takes place right after #10 and is really a very good enhancement to the early days of the ongoing Spawn series. In saying that I'm also saying that it's definately NOT for people who haven't been reading the first 10 issues of Spawn, or at least #9 and 10 where the first Spawn/Angela meeting takes place. It explains a lot about some changes Angela went through between #9 and the later issues, which aren't addressed in the Spawn series itself. So when you've been a Spawn reader you must surely get this because it will only make your experience and understanding of Angela better, because it ties up some loose ends. If you haven't you should think about getting Spawn #9 and 10 first (#9,10 + the Angela minies makes a perfectly good stand-alone story without you having to go further into Spawn afterwards), or not get Angela at all. The story won't make sense otherwise.

I thought this comic was great. It has a great story to it and the drawings are exelent. I thought the person who did the color on it did a great job, too.
I usally don't read the Spawn comics, but I thought this one looked interesting so I bought it. I am very happy with it and can read it over and over again.
The cover interested me by its great artwork and detail. I recomend this to fans of Spawn's Angela.

This trade paperback is awesome.It has a great mix of kooky humor,tons of action,and it's written by Neil Gaiman,one of the best writers around.This book ties very closely with what's going on in Spawn,so it's kinda hard for people who never had read Spawn to get.Angela is an angel who's job it is to hunt various beings of evil,mostly hellspawns(people who have made deals with the devil to come back to life),and she is the best.Before this mini-series,Angela has only made one appearance in Spawn,(#9)where she fought Spawn and lost(first time she was ever beaten by a hellspawn),and,in an attept to flee after getting beaten by Spawn,leaves her main weapon,a huge Lance.The mini-series continues shortly after that,where Angela is being framed by an evil angel named Gabrelle who wants to prove to all of heaven that Angela gave the lance to Spawn and is a traitor to heaven.Spawn himsefl guest stars in the book,when he is convinced by two other angels who are Angela's friends to be a witness at Angela's trail.This is a great book,anybody who's reading this should get it.It's not really as serious as it sounds,it's very funny,I recommened it to anybody that likes a good fun read.

I've bought a few Spawn-related stories in the past, when a favorite Writer was involved, such as Dave Sim, Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, etc. With the exception of Frank Miller's Spawn/Batman crossover, and Alan Moore's Violator and Violator/Badrock, they've all stunk. I blame this on the character of Spawn himself, which is truly limited by it's one-dimensionality. Not even the greatest Writers in the field of comics can make him interesting.

Angela's Hunt will be incomprehensible to people who haven't read Spawn #9, also written by Neil Gaiman. It should have been included in the book, as the story makes precious little sense without it. Gaiman, who created the amazing Sandman for DC, has finally done something I didn't love. (First time for everything, I suppose...) The book is only interesting as a historical footnote now, as it was the catalyst for the recently decided Todd McFarlane/Neil Gaiman Lawsuit over the ownership of Angela, Cogliostro, and Medieval Spawn. (Gaiman won, and was granted ownership of the characters, as well as a settlement and residuals from other uses of those characters, including their appearances in the Spawn movie & cartoons.)

Spawn fans ONLY should read this; Gaiman fans should steer clear. You're not missing anything.