I was trying to decide this morning whether or not Spawn is a title I'd have picked up if I were as deep into comics in 1992 as I am now. I will admit to loving Todd McFarlane's art - there's a reason he's so highly regarded. Well, highly regarded for his art, at least. He's also a well-known jerk, as evidenced by his long feud with Neil Gaiman over creators's rights. This was perhaps the problem with the early Image founders: by and large, they ended up becoming what they beheld at Marvel. Considering the impetus for their exodus, that's textbook irony right there.
I've a passing knowledge of the Spawn series. I used to have the first few trades, though they appear to have vanished from my collection in the last 15 years or so. McFarlane was very smart about his series - he realized that he's a really good artist, but that his narratives needed a bit of work. While working on this aspect, he brought in other writers on the series, resulting in some stellar comics from Alan Moore, Dave Sim, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, and Grant Morrison. In fact, the McFarlane/Sim collaboration in issue #10 ranks as one of my favourite comics.
But what about today's issue? Well, there's a lot of monologuing. When I teach communications, the "monologuer" is one of the negative forms of conversationalist that we look at. Of course, when Violator is monologuing to a small kitten at the beginning of the issue, it's hilarious. But the other monologues, notably the ones from detective Sam Burke and the extended ruminations of the main character himself, are tiresome. There's a reason thought bubbles have all but died out in comics. Over use of the monologue makes every issue of a comic seem like it's a Shakespearean tragedy, though Shakespeare knew that a monologue or soliloquy needed to be balanced by some dialogue. The balance is a bit off in this comic.
That said, not a bad comic, given the era and company it represents. I guess there's a reason this one has lasted so long.
To be continued.
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