BATMAN SPAWN REVIEW
Writer & Inks – Todd McFarlane
Art – Greg Capullo
Inks Assist – Jonathan Glapion
Colors – Dave McCaig
Letters – Tom Napolitano
Publisher – DC Comics
The comic event of the year is finally here! Batman Spawn has really been making noise all over the comic world since Spawn creator, Todd McFarlane and Spawn and Batman artist, Greg Capullo made the official announcement earlier this year that they would be banding together to bring two of comics biggest heroes back together in one giant crossover event, coming 20 years after their original crossover titles, Spawn Batman and Batman Spawn: War Devil. If you’ve been paying attention to anything comic related, you’ve probably seen the massive amount of hype that this book has generated, but does it live up to all of that hype?
Spawn creator Todd McFarlane takes over the writing reigns of the Dark Knight for the first time while bribing his record breaking comic character Spawn into the fold as well. For Batman, McFarlane keeps the character grounded delivering a Batman that feels true to what fans have come to know and love of the character, including the morals of his mission and everything that drives him to be the worlds greatest detective and Dark Knight while keeping Spawn, well, Spawn. This book opens up with McFarlane using his classic self narration while giving readers a “side by side” of the two heroes and their differences as well as their common motivations that drive them. The two main characters cross paths pretty early on in this story and while they do have conflict with one another, they seem to settle their differences pretty quickly and it’s a pretty underwhelming sequence to say the least, especially with how much McFarlane went on about the conflict we would see between the two in this crossover. The story continues to underwhelm for awhile as our characters work towards the final conflict, but it does pick up a bit towards the end and McFarlane delivers some pretty exciting action sequences as well as throwing in a twist that takes readers by surprise. The end of the issue builds off of a sequence we see early on in the story and leads readers to believe this is not the end of this story, so it will be interesting to see if we get any additional follow ups to this story or if it remains a one and done, as it’s advertised.
The art of this book is where the real excitement and enjoyment comes from with long time Spawn and Batman artist, Greg Capullo blending two worlds he’s redefined at different times in his career and delivering one of the most incredible looking books he’s delivered in his entire career, with McFarlane inking over his pencils as well as fellow Batman and Spawn inker, Jonathan Glapion. The aesthetics of the art in this book are top notch all around and I really don’t think there is any other comic artist working today who could have done what Capullo does in this issue and it’s just a gorgeous final product when you add in the e vibrant and brilliant colors from colorist, Dave McCaig. The art team on this book delivers something truly special that will captivate all long term Batman and Spawn fans, as well as any newcomers.
Overall, Batman Spawn falls short of the grandeur that has been built up around it, but it still delivers a unique story blending these comic giants worlds together with the art being the real hero of this comic, making it worth picking up for the visuals alone! While not hitting where I would have liked it to, as a lifelong Batman and Spawn fan, I felt satisfied with what this team has delivered and I would recommend it to other fans of these characters, either together or separate.
Batman Spawn is available today at your local comic book store as well as in digital format via your preferred digital comic retailer.
-Wes Greer
Art – Greg Capullo
Inks Assist – Jonathan Glapion
Colors – Dave McCaig
Letters – Tom Napolitano
Publisher – DC Comics
The comic event of the year is finally here! Batman Spawn has really been making noise all over the comic world since Spawn creator, Todd McFarlane and Spawn and Batman artist, Greg Capullo made the official announcement earlier this year that they would be banding together to bring two of comics biggest heroes back together in one giant crossover event, coming 20 years after their original crossover titles, Spawn Batman and Batman Spawn: War Devil. If you’ve been paying attention to anything comic related, you’ve probably seen the massive amount of hype that this book has generated, but does it live up to all of that hype?
Spawn creator Todd McFarlane takes over the writing reigns of the Dark Knight for the first time while bribing his record breaking comic character Spawn into the fold as well. For Batman, McFarlane keeps the character grounded delivering a Batman that feels true to what fans have come to know and love of the character, including the morals of his mission and everything that drives him to be the worlds greatest detective and Dark Knight while keeping Spawn, well, Spawn. This book opens up with McFarlane using his classic self narration while giving readers a “side by side” of the two heroes and their differences as well as their common motivations that drive them. The two main characters cross paths pretty early on in this story and while they do have conflict with one another, they seem to settle their differences pretty quickly and it’s a pretty underwhelming sequence to say the least, especially with how much McFarlane went on about the conflict we would see between the two in this crossover. The story continues to underwhelm for awhile as our characters work towards the final conflict, but it does pick up a bit towards the end and McFarlane delivers some pretty exciting action sequences as well as throwing in a twist that takes readers by surprise. The end of the issue builds off of a sequence we see early on in the story and leads readers to believe this is not the end of this story, so it will be interesting to see if we get any additional follow ups to this story or if it remains a one and done, as it’s advertised.
The art of this book is where the real excitement and enjoyment comes from with long time Spawn and Batman artist, Greg Capullo blending two worlds he’s redefined at different times in his career and delivering one of the most incredible looking books he’s delivered in his entire career, with McFarlane inking over his pencils as well as fellow Batman and Spawn inker, Jonathan Glapion. The aesthetics of the art in this book are top notch all around and I really don’t think there is any other comic artist working today who could have done what Capullo does in this issue and it’s just a gorgeous final product when you add in the e vibrant and brilliant colors from colorist, Dave McCaig. The art team on this book delivers something truly special that will captivate all long term Batman and Spawn fans, as well as any newcomers.
Overall, Batman Spawn falls short of the grandeur that has been built up around it, but it still delivers a unique story blending these comic giants worlds together with the art being the real hero of this comic, making it worth picking up for the visuals alone! While not hitting where I would have liked it to, as a lifelong Batman and Spawn fan, I felt satisfied with what this team has delivered and I would recommend it to other fans of these characters, either together or separate.
Batman Spawn is available today at your local comic book store as well as in digital format via your preferred digital comic retailer.
-Wes Greer
A Look Inside
