The Todd’s core text dips back into thematic excess amid some substantial worldbuilding as the Spawn’s Universe branding reaches Spawn #321, written by Todd McFarlane, drawn by Carlo Barberi and Thomas Nachlik, colored by Jay David Ramos and Andrew Dalhouse, and lettered by Tom Orzechowski.
*TW/CW: This review contains mentions of sexual assault and trafficking.*
Justin Partridge: Welcome back, reader demons, to what is quickly becoming the highlight of my month: another examination of the ongoing Spawn’s Universe! Which has now come properly into the “main” Spawn title in Spawn #321, another deeply strange but incredibly fascinating effort in this grand Hell-powered experiment.
Even better, Ritesh is back! Acting once more as the incredibly smart and incisive Virgil to my all-too-easily-pleased and overemotional Dante. How are you feeling generally about this one, Ritesh? Are you regretting any of this so far? I would totally understand if you were. I am … kind of A Lot (as are these books).
Ritesh Babu: I am! Jesus Christ, Todd. Like holy shit is this bad. Good lord does it squander any and all, let’s not say “goodwill” but “forgiveness” one might have with this one. I cannot imagine reading this as a new reader and thinking, “Yeah, you know what, I should keep picking this up. I wanna read more of this.”
But we can get into that.
Justin: OH BOY, WILL WE!
The Spawn’s Universe Guarantee
Justin: Right off the bat, Spawn #321 distinguishes itself as a post-King Spawn and Spawn’s Universe comic, one that is now designed as part of a whole instead of just as a single Spawn tale. Or even really part of an ongoing arc. This presentation is even extended to explicit production choices, like the replacement of the usual Todd McFarlane Productions stamp on the credits page with one centered on the new Universe. Completed further with its own timestamp of ’92 to ’21; tightly tying not only McFarlane’s whole brand to the trade dress, but a strong connection between these books and Spawn #1, functionally presenting them as the “next phase” of the title.
I still think plot-wise some of this stuff can be smoothed out. Once again, the direct action of this issue is pretty glacial. Al is fed up with people (Spawn-branded and otherwise) waltzing throughout the shared secret base he, Jessica Priest and Marc Rosen inhabit. Plus there is also the matter of the missing Medieval Spawn, last seen in Spawn’s Universe #1, and the “Shadow Operators” escalating efforts. So, obviously, he lashes out at his allies and then storms off to dispense some Hell Justice on a former Operator turned horrible, abusive sex criminal.
Largely bereft of any real action, much of Spawn #321 is dedicated to our antihero trio’s argument, which is also positively teeming with mentions of the newly expanded cast and the now simmering plots Todd is weaving throughout the line.
Conceptually, I love a lot of this stuff. It shows a dedication from Todd and the creative teams that they are going to be making good on the promise of making this a franchise. Also, I think the turns telegraphed for Rosen and Al give it a bit more ensemble-focused juice, despite Jessica not having much to do this month. But once again, the execution leaves a little to be desired.
What did you make of it, Ritesh? I think, if anything, it certainly still LOOKS great.
Ritesh: So my feelings on all the pre-basement reveal contents of the issue were largely amusement. Todd McFarlane is launching out into the future. He’s trying to get a bigger audience still, attract fresh readership, and be hip and cool. He even uses the word “gaslighting” in here, to let you know, hey, I’m current with the times.
But still, he has Tom Orzechowski lettering it all, as he always has, with those classic signature Spawn balloons:
And with the sheer number of words he puts down there, and how he forces poor Tom Orz to shove it all into this tiny three-vertical panel space … I was just laughing. It’s so retro! This is so unintentionally, delightfully dated. “This is so old” is what comes to mind as one looks at it. Visually, presentation-wise, Spawn was sleek as hell when it first hit, but it’s now as ancient as they come, particularly as Todd tries very hard to make this go big and take over Hollywood.
LIKE, WHO THE F*CK IS MEDIEVAL SPAWN ANYWAY? Is genuinely hilarious, and Todd writes some amazing unintentional comedy. The F bomb drop with the asterisk gives it a perfect comedic texture of trying too hard, which is beautiful. The whole thing is so preposterously stupid and dumb, especially when you have bits like this greeting us:
I mean this is just comedy gold. It’s so goddamn silly and campy.
The splash page of Spawn screaming could easily be cut down for words to “MY WIFE!” and it’d mostly accomplish the same effect it had on me, albeit being twice as funny.
None of this is good, because that’s not what Spawn’s really about, but it does have an entertainment value and factor. It’s a kind of vibe.
Justin: NO, ABSOLUTELY! And alongside the Medieval-focused stuff later on, I actually found myself having a lot of fun with this, too. It’s broadly sketched and still it seems one draft overwritten, but at least it’s the flavor of Spawn I want to be working with. Even better, it’s got a few more characters for Al to be bouncing off of. It’s functional, at the very least, and again, looks fantastic thanks to the continually solid Carlo Barberi and Jay David Ramos.
This next stuff, however … is less so. Considerably.
The Second Coming of Billy Kincaid
(Or, The Dream of the ’90s is Alive in Spawn’s Universe)
Justin: With Spawn #321 being the first main-title issue to carry the Universe branding comes a reorientation of sorts, both to the tonality of Spawn and its “edginess.” I’m not entirely sure the issue is better for it.
Meaning, Spawn, as a title, carries with it a certain reputation for being a “mature” title. We are obviously some years away from Billy Kincaid and his ghoulish finger paintings, but I think there is a certain “expectation” when it comes to Spawn that if it’s not heady and/or written like a psychodrama, it has to be violent. That violence, it seems, wants to make a jump into the Universe era.
We talked a little bit about this last time during King Spawn. These big, splashy, high-profile dramas and launches have to now apparently have some sort of grit, or at least a single terrifying event to shock readers into seeing how far it might actually push it. Hell, Spawn for years has had this same(ish) sort of cartoonish attitude toward trauma and violence, digging into the “darkest recesses of humanity” for more grist heaped directly into its narrative mill, followed closely by a few buckets of wonderfully colored blood.
This may make me sound like a square, but I just don’t see what this stuff adds here, aside from making me audibly just go, “Oh, ew, don’t like that.” I totally understand having to establish for new readers (and reaffirm for older fans, skeptical of the Universe and its effects on the books) that Al’s world is fucked up, and that he’s an antihero attempting to operate in said fucked up world, which is rapidly expanding.
But I feel like there could have been better, more effective ways to get this across.
Ritesh: See, this basement reveal shit is exactly where this book crossed over that vital line, going from Laughably Bad to Offensively Bad.
Even just a page prior to that, you had bits like this:
And this is just super silly nonsense, which ends with Spawn being like, “Aha, but I control all pets! They will not do anything to me!” It’s incredibly dumb comics that, if they don’t make you wince, will probably make you laugh. Even the hilariously dated and ancient SFX the issue is covered in, like the above MMPP, might get a chuckle out of you.
But then this damn thing does the basement reveal, and I was utterly disgusted. You do not get to invoke and use sexual assault, particularly of minors, and do this awful tasteless shit for your poor superhero comics catharsis. This was just revolting, and took me right out of the damn story. I went from silly laughter to being mad at the utterly shitty handling and invocation of very real things in such a manner.
You do not get to use the pain and suffering of sexual assault victims, especially women, to fuel your superhero rage-heroics moment. Especially when the suffering is all you have reduced this woman to being. Do I expect she’s gonna show up more or get anything or have something beyond being an empty narrative tool and signifier to indicate “Spawn is a heroic force”? No. Absolutely not. I have no such faith or expectation. Just the way the book presented what it did, the language it used, the framing it went with, it’s all so bloody careless and horrible.
This is where you cross the mark from “stupid edge” to “actively, horribly hurtful.” You do not handle or treat this stuff like this. It’s actively insulting to your readership, new or old. I went from chuckling to seething, going “Fuck this.”
This is where the “Oh it’s old, it’s dated” becomes no longer funny but offensive as all hell. What the hell was the point and purpose of featuring this in the work, the way this did, at all? This added nothing. It just ruined it. It just killed it.
The scene where Spawn’s captions detail how he imagines his wife in this situation and gets enraged do not make me think “Spawn is righteous,” they just infuriate me. This is so frustrating. It’s all about Spawn. The women in here are all folks who get reemed by Spawn, who are either dead ex-wives with bruised faces, or this poor minor. What part of any of this is appealing to, forget the new crowd, any crowd?
Todd McFarlane is many things, but he is not the guy any of us go to to see him write about or discuss sexual assault and human trafficking. Can an issue of Spawn address and discuss these things? Sure! But it for sure should not be by McFarlane of all people. Get literally anyone else, hire some women, hire one woman, goddamnit. You look at this line, this Spawn Universe, and it’s all dudes. Where are the women? Where are the non-binary creatives? What the hell is this sausage fest?! Can we not do better than this?
Sigh. I wish this comic didn’t have to just drive straight into a wall, but it did. And I’m mad about it, because I just wanted to read a stupid issue of Spawn without all this shit kicking me in the gut. I suspect a lot of folks will feel that way, reading this. You don’t read Spawn to see this disgusting horseshit, you read it to see Spawn’s big cape and a stupid Cyber-Gorilla. The bar is low here, and we’re not asking for much. Todd didn’t have to go so bloody under it.
Justin: And see, THAT right there? Is precisely why I am so honored to work with Ritesh.
But I absolutely agree with you here. It’s just bald exploitation with no real comment or texture beyond JUST that. Exploitation. I was hoping with the expansion of the line would come a refinement or at the very least some kind of upward-trending evolution for the title. But this is just … really disappointing to see in a major-market comic in 2021. Especially one that is aiming to bring in a whole new audience of readers.
I know Image has the branding of being the “edgy” market of books and they have an audience that expects that to a certain extent. But this was just truly gross, and I am looking forward to never having to think about it again (while also trying to reckon with it here and with the reading audience).
The Case of the Missing Medieval
*Slight Spoilers Ahead*
Justin: NOW THIS stuff is the speed I wanna be going. As #321 gets into the muck of humanity and keeps setting up story crossbeams for the Universe, Spawn’s Microchip/Wintergreen, Marc Rosen, keeps running into Medieval Spawn’s armor. Which has been eerily following him around since the previous study of the armor in earlier issues.
Turns out, Todd wants to do some more open riffs on comic book tropes! By turning the helmet of Medieval Spawn into a sort of Doctor Fate-esque upgrade circuit! Now that Rosen has been “touched” by the armor, he can transform into the Medieval Spawn as he dons the helmet.
Medieval Spawn has always been a fan favorite, but it always seemed like the title never truly knew what to do with them. Which is even further grimly illustrated by the backmatter’s quick primer on Medieval; one dominated by his repeated death and co-opting by Hell’s forces.
I think this new wrinkle is one that could finally find Medieval Spawn sharing the stage with Al and company as an equal. Instead of just a character to keep around until you need to kill them again. How did you dig this stuff, Ritesh? Very Fawcett again, no?
Ritesh: Doctor Fate is exactly what I thought of. That’s probably the best and most fun idea Todd’s had in a bit, turning each of the Spawn variants retroactively into a specific niche of comics character and/or archetype. And yes! The backmatter wiki is super helpful! I doubt most of us remember much or know the intricate history of Medieval Spawn, so the quick collected Cliffs Notes were great. More of this, please!
This is the kind of dumb, stupid nonsense Spawn is actually better off doing than whatever the hell above Todd tried to do.
What you want isn’t Todd Writes on Real Issues, but this:
Spawn doing Serious Reading.
And that’s what he will be doing moving forward, as his closest ally is the strange specter of secrets known as Medieval Spawn! I’m curious where this goes, and how all of this might potentially lead to the upcoming and inevitable team-title THE SCORCHED.
I hope they get someone who’s genuinely gonna go wild on that one. Try all manner of absolutely dumb, stupid shit, going maximalist, because if you’re gonna have a “team” title like The Avengers or The Justice League with the Spawn Universe, you kinda need that. And that’s where I imagine Medieval Spawn will fit in here.
We made the Fate comparison, but there’s a sort of Hulk/Banner or Etrigan/Blood element here, too. There’s some weird identity struggle going on, with Marc not even knowing, and Medieval is very clearly the mysterious “monster” figure of fantastical power. So I’m interested in where all this is headed.
Justin: OH, BIG TIME. And again, like I said above, THIS is where I think the title’s bread should be buttered now. Not in these “moralistic” grim antihero fables, but broad, splashy supernatural superhero nonsense! I am actually really glad this stuff is positioned after the basement scene because this sequence basically saved Spawn #321 for me.
I don’t think it swings it upward hardways into “good,” but it hooks me in a way that seeing Al murderizing a sex criminal doesn’t. And it starts us, like Ritesh said, further toward what the team-up title is going to operate like. I just REALLY wish this issue threaded that needle better. Because the expansion of the cast and more riffs on the Distinguished Competition’s weirder heroes ARE really great selling points to the Universe.
They are just bolted to an issue with a truly rotten core, one that I can’t feel comfortable recommending to anybody, to be honest, despite my whole connection to the title overall. Loving something means knowing and recognizing when that thing can be bad, and I think Spawn #321 is a bad comic. One with good elements and visuals, for sure, but one that ultimately stands as a bad single issue of an ongoingly fascinating idea.
Ritesh: This is definitely the “I would quit” issue. One can only hope these other upcoming new #1s don’t do the things this does. But I suppose we’ll see, won’t we?
Chain-O-Grams
- We keep getting mentions of the “Prime Spawn,” but we aren’t entirely sure who or what that is just yet.
- The Timer also makes a pretty dramatic, final page return here. Very hilarious that it’s been around since ’92 and we STILL don’t ACTUALLY know what it’s counting down to. The obvious answer is Al’s death or depowering (which would actually serve as another neat bit of transitory storytelling for the Universe), but we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s something far goofier.
- How the suffering hells has there not been a Kid Spawn yet? Al definitely needs a Kid Miracleman eventually.
Ritesh Babu is a comics history nut who spends far too much time writing about weird stuff and cosmic nonsense.
