SPAWN #117
"A Season in Hell - Part 1"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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Image Comics/Todd McFarlane Productions
Writers: Brian Holguin & Todd McFarlane
Pencils: Angel Medina
Inks: Danny Miki, Victor Olazaba, Allen Martinez & Crime Lab Studios
Colors: Dan Kemp & Brian Haberlin
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Price: $2.50 US/$4.00 CAN |
It's been a year or more since I thumbed through the pages of Todd McFarlane's little corner of the world of Image Comics. The tone and direction of this title seem to have shifted back to its more conventional super-hero genre roots, as opposed to the supernatural horror that came before. Holguin's scripting remains strong, and he provides an accessible story despite its heavy foundation on previous Spawn lore. the art maintains a consistent visual tone for the series, but there are moments when a bit more clarity would have been nice.
A young man that Spawn tried to help years ago lies in a coma, and his spirit cries out for revenge. His soul inhabits the powerful form of the Redeemer, and he seeks out the Hellspawn so he can get even. Meanwhile, his quarry is to be found in the middle of the Tunisian desert, making preparations to transform the world into a better place. Along for the side is an ailing and confused Cogliostro.
Medina's art certainly conveys that McFarlane style, the extreme angles, exaggerated features and sense of energy and power. Actually, in this case, power corrupts... the art. Some over-the-top computer-color tricks make the action kind of difficult to follow. Just about every scene featuring the Redeemer -- bursting with fiery energy -- is overwhelmed by that trail of burning brightness. The darker colors, though, reinforce the tense and depressed mood of the story nicely.
When I last followed this title, it had an interesting Alfred Hitchcock Presents horror riff on the go, and then moved into a climactic saga as it neared its 100th issue. Here, I discover it's shifted in tone once again. Holguin is to be applauded for keeping things fresh. This story reflects the more traditional comics storytelling that we saw when this title first debuted.
On the other hand, though, this plot is quite basic, something we've seen before in super-hero comics time and time again. It comes as no surprise when the chief antagonist comes to his senses. I would have preferred it if Holguin got inside Eddie's head and see how the fallout with her previous encounter with Spawn altered the course of his life so radically. Was it for the better? Well, clearly not, but would his life have been that much worse? The writer touches ever so lightly on this potential, and he left me wanting to know more but seeing no prospect of it coming to pass.
Note: This comic book was not among this week's new releases.
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