Spawn #175 Review

Full of action and a powerful twist, Spawn 175 is a treat to read.

Spawn has been really hit and miss since artist Philip Tan left the book after issue 164 and ventured on to do Spawn: Godslayer. I really liked the Armageddon storyline that led up to Tan's departure and wasn't prepared for the book's drop in grade after he left. The last ten issues haven't been bad, they've just been easy to ignore. It's tough to settle for the current quality of the book when you've had a taste of how excellent Hine's writing can be when he's on his game.



Spawn 174 was a return to top form for David Hine and a fun read. Issue 175 continues that trend, concluding the two-part Gunslinger Spawn arc. The gun-toting western-themed Spawn is going on a rampage and plans on killing an entire town unless a fugitive can stop him. It's an exciting and action-packed issue that concludes with a great twist tying the arc back to present-day Spawn.

The art in this issue by Bing Cansino and Geirrod Van Dyke is amazing. The two showcase a very thick-brushed painted feel with amazing flow and detail not often found in your average comic. The action looks great and there is quite a bit of beautifully rendered gore and explosions. I'm a huge fan of comic artists who excel at the painted style and these two have done an excellent job over the past two issues.

The two-part Gunslinger Spawn arc proved to be a great stand-alone Spawn storyline. It was able to deal with issues in the Spawn Universe but didn't require its readers to have any knowledge of the current Spawn status quo. Hopefully this arc opened the door to some new Spawn readers and that the quality of this arc is carried on in Spawn 176 and forward.

One Sentence Review: Great issue and a fitting conclusion to an excellent arc.

Spawn #176 hits comic shops in March and will feature the return of regular Spawn artist Brian Haberlin.

Cheers.

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Spawn #164 Review (Spoilers)

The end of Spawn? My opinion on arguably the most important Spawn comic thus far.

Billed as the "end of Spawn mythology as you know it", Spawn 164 shatters barriers that have been constant throughout Todd Mcfarlane's comic's life on the shelves.

The issue opens up with Al Simmons, in a ghost state, walking towards his old home with intentions of being with Wanda once again. He enters the home to find Wanda in a feud with her current husband Terry who feels as if Wanda hasn't gotten over Al and loves the now-Hellspawn more than her current husband. Wanda admits she still loves Al but reveals the previously unknown truth about their relationship; Al Simmons was a wife beater (and baby killer) yet chose to subconsciously smother his memories of hurting Wanda, instead remembering love and compassion.

Now, I was completely shocked reading this after following Spawn since issue one back in the early 90's. I found Spawn to be such a great comic (at times) because you felt for Al Simmons, a man fighting an impossible battle because of the love for his wife and the desire to one day be with her again. Labelling him a wife beater throws that completely out of the window, creating a much darker character and one that will essentially have to work harder to earn my pity.



The art in the issue, as fans have become accustomed to over the past year, is phenomenal. Philip Tan does an excellent job and the interiors, as well as Brian Haberlin's colours, take on a darker quality than normal to accommodate with the dark twist in the storyline. There is one amazing pin-up towards the end of the issue with Spawn sitting back in his throne, it's pretty sweet and sums up the end of the issue completely.

Some fans of the series have been stating that this twist opens up a huge plot hole in Todd McFarlane's Spawn universe and that it completely destroys the character. I agree, to a point. Sure, it's hard to believe that no one would have used this against Spawn earlier or warned him, saving him a ton of grief but at the same time I think that this will benefit the character. Hopefully we will see a darker and more merciless Spawn in the future.

Cheers.

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