REVIEW: Spawn #50

Story: Todd McFarlane
Pencils: Greg Capullo (part 2) & Todd McFarlane (part 1)
Inks: Todd McFarlane & Danny Miki
Colors: Brian Haberlin, Dan Kemp, and Todd Broeker
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Review: Art Bee

Recently the realization of my negligence in unintentionally avoiding reviewing an issue of The Darkness has driven me to the irresistible urge to review an old issue of Spawn. This series has graced comic shelves since 1991 and my eyes have been along for most of the ride.

Spawn #50 is one of my favorites in the series mostly for the cover, which is fantastic. The border around the art elevates the cover to another level. At first glance the border looks fancy, but if you look directly at it, you will find the Spawn emblem and the number 50 repeating over and over. The subtlety of it is what enthralls me. Aside from the border, the cover contains my absolute favorite depiction of Spawn to date.

Another reason for my love of this issue is that we get a double dose of Spawn in the double size issue.
Double the pleasure, double the taste, double mint…wait, that is a gum thing. Oops!     

The artwork in this issue screams competition. Up ‘til this issue Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo have been sharing art detail, and if you have to ask who Greg Capullo is you need to check your comic pulse. He has been the main artist for the more recent Batman series among many other titles. Todd McFarlane is a hard artist to follow, but Capullo does a suburb job. Seriously, there are very minor differences in the line styles between these two artistic heavyweights, but aside from that, their artwork is VERY consistent.
Shifting focus from the artists to the artwork, all I can say is…WOW! It is gorgeous. One of the main reasons for my love of McFarlane’s artwork is his attention to detail and how much of it he pours and packs into each panel. Let’s face it: this is the man who revolutionized Spider-Man’s webbing.

The issue’s plot serves as a transition in the storyline. Part 1 acts as an epilogue to the previous story arc which ended with Cy-Gor hunting for Spawn and Terry, Al Simmon’s former best friend and Wanda’s current husband. Meanwhile, Al is having an out-of-body experience as his hellspawn symbiote has separated from him and is rampaging through the city. This first part ends with Al committing an act of mercy and getting promptly transported to Hell, where Part 2 begins. This second dose of Spawn finds Al in the second level of Hell served up as the main course for some very nasty, unappealing little…under-worldly beasties.

Heaven vs. Hell fictional stories are a bittersweet chocolate for me and must be devoured. That is the main reason I love this series. There isn’t a single issue that I can remember not liking, but there are some that are elites above the rest for various reasons. Spawn #50 has an incredible cover while issue #12 has an amazing storyline tangent.
I better stop before this becomes a novel of reviews and make many eyeballs commit murder/suicide.