Image is a company that has re-emerged from relative obscurity and taken the comic world by storm in the last few years. Books such as Saga, The Walking Dead, Sex Criminals, Invincible and Rat Queens have earned enthusiastic praise from critics, longtime fans, and newly initiated comic readers. It’s exciting to see a company embrace new and bold ideas, but there is a push to elevate one particular character who has all but disappeared from the public eye.
Todd McFarlane, the creator of Spawn, has hardly been quiet about his most cherished creation. Spawn originally enjoyed a period of intense popularity in the 90s, especially when the book was being written by notable guest writers Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller. After the release of the 1997 film adaptation of the comic, popularity for Spawn started to wane. Well, in an effort to restore the character’s public profile, the Image co-founder has released new details on Spawn #250, and the future of the comic.
With the promise of a returning character from the series, an entirely new creative team, a digital collection of all prior issues and a triple-sized anniversary issue, McFarlane is looking to bring Spawn back into the public consciousness, and promote the ever living hell out of the anti-hero. To start with, an image of the cover to Spawn #250, illustrated by Greg Capullo (Batman), has been released to showcase the new “attitude” of the character.
McFarlane has selected writer Brian Wood (Star Wars, DMZ) and artist Jonboy Meyers to take over the book after Spawn #250. The duo will make their debut with the character in the one-shot entitled Spawn: Resurrection in February. Afterwards, they’ll pick up where McFarlane left off with Spawn #251.
To be completely honest, I know next to nothing about Spawn. I never read the comic, never watched the animated HBO series and barely recall the film which I saw a decade ago. I’m not criticizing the character or McFarlane’s work; I’m just stating that my knowledge of Spawn is extremely limited. If this new creative team can generate well-written stories and offer a fresh perspective on the character of Spawn, then I’m all for this initiative to promote the superhero.
For those who are fans of the comic, are these recent shake-ups to your liking? Would you prefer the comic being under the watchful gaze of McFarlane? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: USA Today
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