Just read Spawn #1 for the second time in 28 years... 1 1

[Mercury Man]

The first being 1992.    While I really like McFarlane's art, what are your thoughts on the substance of this monumental #1, first appearance story.   

I read it and was kind of *meh*.  

[oldbsturgeon]

It’s kinda like his spiderman 1-great art lameish story.

[500Club]

Todd’s writing was ‘meh’.  I always cringed when he mixed verb tenses in a sentence. 

[bobotski]

Read again through the first 25 issues and like on every book there's lamentation of the devil's trickery, and Wanda, and how he was a hotshot covert agent. Over and over and over again.

I get that it tries to paint his origin story, but each issue there's at least a full page paragraph dedicated to a summary of what was already said on prior issues. Art was gratuitous at best but pacing was really bad. It was ok back I guess then, but you're right, now I cringe.

[WolverineX]

2 hours ago, Mercury Man said:

The first being 1992.    While I really like McFarlane's art, what are your thoughts on the substance of this monumental #1, first appearance story.   

I read it and was kind of *meh*.  

Kinda like Hulk 181

[Myowncollector]

1 hour ago, Wolverinex said:

Kinda like Hulk 181

I like the hulk 181 story. Spawn horrible story. Was a good concept but failed. Imo Todd's best art yet. When Greg took over it didn't miss a beat. 

[Skylath]

Yeah, Spawn #1 through the first fifty issues were really hit or miss because he'd hardly written much story prose before then, but it managed to really pick up afterward! 

[littledoom]

It's really cool

[Ken Aldred]

3 hours ago, Skylath said:

Yeah, Spawn #1 through the first fifty issues were really hit or miss because he'd hardly written much story prose before then, but it managed to really pick up afterward! 

That's good to know.  I got a digital 300 issue run last year via 2 Humble Bundles, minus the Cerebus crossover issue.  

Still to wade through it all.

 

Edited May 22, 2020 by Ken Aldred

[Jeffro.]

14 hours ago, Mercury Man said:

 

I read it and was kind of *meh*.  

That's pretty much all the early Image stuff. Flashy art on slick paper with vibrant covers and stories that are whatever. Pretty to look at it (perhaps) but not much of a read.

[KirbyJack]

15 hours ago, 500Club said:

Todd’s writing was ‘meh’.  I always cringed when he mixed verb tenses in a sentence. 

I catch myself doing that a lot. I worry about the ones I miss.

[oldmilwaukee6er]

13 hours ago, bobotski said:

Each issue there's at least a full page paragraph dedicated to a summary of what was already said on prior issues.

This was one of the features I appreciated early on. I've been with Spawn since the beginning, but immediately went to college early in the run. This summary kept me connected with the story the first few years of haphazard collecting. It helped keep the plodding story accessible. 

[Coolio McCool]

I thought it was well-written, the title character's narration leaves a lot of questions unanswered and makes you want to come back for more to get the entire story.

Hulk 181 is fine, the story is a bit childish but so is that entire run of Hulk. Good thing Hulk hit Wolverine with only a glancing blow at the end or Wolverine would have been a goner and would have never had a chance to join the X-Men!

Edited May 22, 2020 by Coolio McCool

[shadroch]

I've never read Spawn. I don't remember reading his Spiderman series but I imagine I read some of them.  I enjoyed the Spawn cartoons but they never encouraged me to pick up an issue.  I didn't like the live action movie.

[ThothAmon]

Prolly got 20 copies. Never read it. Thought the diminution in value wasn’t worth it. Doesn’t sound like I’m missing much. Fun cover though!

[Artboy99]

I never really liked Spawn, I thought the story lacked substance: it was very one dimensional. As to Todd's art I appreciate it but I always felt it was "over-drawn". There has to be little scratchy lines in every surface.

Overall:

[Ken Aldred]

The artist on the recent issues, Jason Shawn Alexander, is really good.

[Mercury Man]

I haven't bought a new Image comic in decades.  Is McFarlane involved that much anymore with this title?  Does he still write or draw any issues?  Or is he too busy with action figures, bidding on baseballs, and doing private signings?

[Coolio McCool]

2 hours ago, SteveITC said:

What is the threshold for cancelling Spawn? Does it even sell more than 5,000 copies a month? Is it just a vanity project at this point?

Your numbers are way off. Spawn 305 (from Feb 2020, last pre-Corona month, nothing special about that issue that I'm aware of) sold around 35,000 copies, making it the top-selling Image comic of the month (probably Saga will outsell it if / when it returns).

Here's a super long recent interview with Todd where he talks about his motivation and his current involvement in Spawn comics. One of the things he seems super proud of is the "world record" of highest issue number, unlike Marvel and DC he has refused to reset every few years as a gimmick, he thinks it's not helpful in the long-term to do those resets (FWIW, I agree).

. 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Coolio McCool

[Skylath]

38 minutes ago, Mercury Man said:

I haven't bought a new Image comic in decades.  Is McFarlane involved that much anymore with this title?  Does he still write or draw any issues?  Or is he too busy with action figures, bidding on baseballs, and doing private signings?

yes, he took a few brief hiatuses in the past, but now he's back to drawing covers and continuing the story.