For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.
I hadn't realized when I sat down to read this comic that not only is Dwayne Turner, artist of the issue, a Black man, but so is Alan McElroy, the writer.
And this comic is very, very angry. Mr. McElroy's style of writing is very descriptive, perhaps something that comes from his other writing work in film. It reminds me a great deal of Don McGregor's work for Marvel in the late 70s, almost a poetic accompaniment to the apocalyptic landscape through which our numerous characters journey. Dwayne Turner evokes the landscape viscerally. This is Hell come to Earth, and humanity really has no chance of surviving. The question of the comic is whether or not the new Hellspawn will accept this and play his part, or if he'll rebel, like many do.
But angry. There is a scene in which the Spawn character, Daniel Llanso, is fighting some human soldiers, and the prose that accompanies it is worth considering, especially given current circumstances: "He's been spit on his entire life by cops, soldiers, men in various uniforms. Now he has the power to make them pay for the pain, the misery, the humiliation. It all comes down to this." I often wonder, when taking in any work of fiction, at what points are we actually seeing a glimpse into the author's self, whatever that might be. A good writer will always bring something of themselves to a work, but a great writer knows when to hide and when to be heard. I wonder how close that particular passage is.
So yes, an angry comic, but one also that drips with passion. The subject matter is the end of the world, and the setting is rendered in detailed, organic art, accompanied, as I say, by this poetic exposition. There is a palpable feeling of building to something, to a meeting of all of these players at a conflict that likely will decide the fate of the planet and its peoples. And I'm pretty sure I have the next part, but it'll have to wait for a bit. I'm not optimistic for humanity's chances.
More to follow.
Further Reading and Related Links
I read the first issue of Curse of the Spawn from a very different perspective.
Here's a piece I wrote about Spawn for CBR. The Al Simmons version of the character is one of the most prominent Black superheroes around.
No comments:
Post a Comment