Customer Reviews

Spawn Collection, Vol. 1 (v. 1)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Awesome!!! The perfect start to the Spawn collection. The only unfortunate thing about this collection is that it doesn't include issue 9 the one that introduced Angela, Cogliostro and Medieval Spawn. They also removed issue 10. I think it had to do with some legal issues with the writers. Otherwise it is a must have.

The ultra high profile and notorious comic book that made the big name companies re-think a darker edge for their mainstream characters, Todd McFarlane's Spawn is here from the beginning. After gaining much notoriety working on Marvel's Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man, McFarlane was one of the architects behind Image Comics, and Spawn helped the fledgeling company get off the ground. We all know the origin by now: government agent Al Simmons meets his demise, and strikes a deal with the devil to return to Earth to be with his beloved wife Wanda. Simmons is resurrected as the Hellspawn: complete with supernatural powers and demonic chains and charred and scarred flesh to boot. When he returns, he finds Wanda has remarried his best friend Terry, and the two have a child together as well. Not to mention that his memory has been practically obliterated, and he soon seeks vengeance on those who did him wrong. Besides Spawn himself, this first collection introduces many pivotal characters that would become icons of the series, including the foul Clown and his demonic alter-ego, the Violator, as well as the equally evil human Jason Wynn, and a host of other deadly enemies and few allies. Full of over the top violence and themes, Spawn marked a new era in comics that started off well, but began a chain reaction in character creation and storytelling that almost buried the industry forever. McFarlane's storytelling still packs a punch, but it's his artwork that is the mixed bag. His regular, normal character models have never been anything to write home about, but it's his design of Spawn that has always made the book a seller, and this is undoubtadly the best the series ever was before it grew into stale repetitiveness. Since Spawn was a smash hit, a feature film soon followed (and we all know how well that turned out, remember?) as well as the excellent and short lived HBO animated series. If you were late getting into Spawn, check this out to see what all the fuss was about, and it's a worthy pick up for those who have fond memories of the series in it's early days but don't have the single issues.

Though I was well aware of Spawn via his action figure line, I never knew much about the character or the comics which he originated from, wondering what the big deal was about this seemingly over-popular indie hero. Upon reading the first Spawn volume (and watching the movie), I learned what the buzz was about. This graphic novel introduced one of the coolest comic book characters out there. The story was pretty good, if a little simple sometimes, the dialogue, though sometimes stilted and cliched, could be interesting, but where the book really shined is McFarlane's magnificent artwork. This guy, no matter how ridiculous his human characters can look, draws a tight-looking Spawn, chains, skulls, cape and glowing green eyes and all. The action scenes are very good too. Overall a really good introduction to Spawn. However, the two issues that really launch the title in the direction it would go in for the rest of the series, involving Cogliostro and the angels of Heaven, was left out, porbably due to the fact that McFarlane tried to screw Neil Gaiman out of his Neil's own characters he created and wrote for Spawn. While these would have made the collection way better due to their educational content in the world of Spawn, nevertheless, I still highly recommend the first volume of Spawn.

Al Simmons was basically a hitman for the United States government. After he is killed all he dreams about is seeing his wife one more time. So, he makes a deal with the devil. Simmons is sent down to earth as The HellSpawn but instantly feels betrayed (what'd he expect?). His wife has remarried and has a child, his memory is shot, and he's plauged by demons (both inner and litteral).

This Novel collects issues 1-8 and 11-12 and is the perfect introduction to anyone new to the series.

I recommend this title to anyone who is tired of the normal every day super hero comic. The only problem I have with the series is that it gets really dark at times. Don't get me wrong...I love that. It's just I can't read something like that straight through. I have to take breaks and read something a little less dark now and then just to keep my mind from becoming completely warped.

Spawn is classic in many ways but I believe what he stands for is more important than his stories. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McFarlane became a comic book superstar due to his work on Marvel Comics' Spider-Man franchise. In 1992, he helped form Image Comics, pulling the occult anti-hero character Spawn from his high school portfolio and updating him for the 1990s. Spawn was a popular hero in the 1990s and encouraged a trend in creator-owned comic book properties.

This collection is great because it encompasses so many of the original books as compared to the more recent collections. Of course, issues 9 and 10 are left out because McFarlane contracted Neil Gaiman to write Spawn #9 and Dave Sim's #10 which introduced the characters Cogliostro, Angela, Medieval Spawn, and Cerebus. All four characters continued to be featured prominently in the series after their involvement, and had many tie-ins with McFarlane's toy company. After a few years Mcfarlane ceased the payment of royalties and gave them notices that he owned all rights to the characters, citing the copyright notices and claimed that their work had been work-for-hire and that McFarlane was the sole owner which turned into more lawsuits. Gaiman and Sims were eventually given soul rights so we'll never see those issues in any collections of Spawn, but if you look for the original issues online they aren't hard to find and aren't that expensive.

Very good buy, that is if you're into Spawn Comics and what not. Sadly enough it's missing a few issues for licensing problems. But all in all pretty good deal and I highly enjoyed it.

Everyone knows that "Spawn" is awesome. He's a guy who was tricked by the devil and wears a sweet costume. That being said, I kinda wish that this was in it's entirety. this TPB leaves out issues 9 and 10. Luckely, I went down to my Comic shop and got the original issues, but I think they should have been in here. issue 9 is the first appearence of Cogliastro, Angela, and Medivil Spawn, there were just some legal disputes and that's the reason it wasn't included. issue 10 is a satire on the comic industry and all of the various comic creators who have sold out. I reccamend that you buy those 2 issues, you can get them for like 2 bucks each. The last chapter in this is a two parter, but only the first chapter is presented, soooo you finish the book with an unfinished story. but for the most part, this book is filled with awesome writing and art.

Al Simmons/Spawn is one of the more interesting comic book characters I've read who I'd recommend to anybody. He's no tight spandex mr. perfect who wants to save the world so he can get a pat on the back, no he is a flawed man struggling with his inner demons while caught in the middle of an ongoing war between heaven and hell. If your looking for something engaging to read than this is it, especially if you like anti-heroes.

This was a good book to pick up if you are just getting into the Spawn universe. It does omit issue 9-10 because of writer issues that happened in the 90's, but it is still worth checking out!

Product came in mint condition, smartly packaged, and shipped quickly. The book is great and so was the price.