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What happened to Spawn?

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What happened to Spawn?

Old 03-13-07, 07:19 AM
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wlj
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What happened to Spawn?

I am pretty new to comics, but i remember in the 90s it seemed like everything was SPAWN SPAWN SPAWN. I go to several message boards and nobody ever talks about Spawn. Is Spawn "uncool" now or just "uncool" to the "elite" comic collectors? Is Spawn kind of the "Slipknot" of comics? I am just curious. i am not very familiar with spawn's story, but it seems like a ghost rider ripoff.

i just noticed how many quotation marks i have in this post.


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Old 03-13-07, 08:22 AM
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Wikipedia is your God when it comes to catching up on comics.

That said:

Spawn enjoyed a considerable amount of popularity in the 1990s, which was a notable feat for a non DC and non Marvel character. From 1994-95 on Spawn was very popular, and part of this was possibly due to the widespread popularity of McFarlane Toys, which expanded beyond specialty stores, and the toys were sold in major department stores as well as Toys "R" Us and KB Toys. This gave the title a boost, and brought it to the attention of both younger audiences and older toy collectors who were exposed to the toys.

When this popularity ended is impossible to place, at least in regards to any one date. In general, Spawn's popularity peaked with the 1997 Spawn feature film. The character's popularity began to slowly decline after this, until he largely dropped off the "mainstream" radar in 1998-1999. The comic book's sales have been in steady decline, though it continues to be published today. Still, figures produced by McFarlane Toys continue to remain very popular, mostly due to their tremendous detailing.

Most recently, the hype around Spawn #150 allowed the issue to sell-out very quickly as a new creative team was brought on board and fan interest in the book has again picked up, but the book is still critically panned in most circles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spawn_%28comics%29
Old 03-13-07, 08:32 AM
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I was a loyal reader of Spawn until about issue 125. It went down hill fast the last couple of years. I don't even think McFarlane has anything to do with the book anymore. The last time I saw an issue at my LCS it looked like the shop ordered about 10-12 copies, it's sad that this use to be the best selling comic every month. Now hardly anyone buys it in my area...I think McFarlane makes his money on his toys so he could care less about the comics...
Old 03-13-07, 10:39 AM
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I think people confused McFarlane's popularity with Spawn's popularity. I'm not sure when Spawn fell off since I didn't follow the book, but I know that around 2004 the book faced some serious delays. Several issues were canceled and re-solicited. It couldn't have helped that there wasn't a new Spawn on the shelves for months on end.
Old 03-13-07, 10:58 AM
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So did they ever explain his dwindling power? Early on, he only had a certain level of power and after some point it all goes away and he'd die, right?

Why is he still around? I honestly like if a book follows an overall arc and has an end, like Sandman, or like I presume Y: The Last Man will have.
Old 03-13-07, 01:39 PM
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Yeah, I stopped around when McFarlane stopped, as I wasn't exactly reading for the story.
Old 03-13-07, 06:58 PM
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I read the first six or seven issues as they were released, and even then, I was ummm....let's just say "unimpressed". Great visuals, but I hated the clown as a villain...hell, as a character. The books just proved that Todd could really draw, but that he had no concept of what made good comics characters (i.e. Spider-Man, Hulk, FF etc...).
Old 03-13-07, 09:00 PM
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Originally Posted by The Bus
So did they ever explain his dwindling power? Early on, he only had a certain level of power and after some point it all goes away and he'd die, right?

Why is he still around? I honestly like if a book follows an overall arc and has an end, like Sandman, or like I presume Y: The Last Man will have.
I almost started a thread on this very question yesterday. I remember when it started McFarlane was very adamant that Spawn would have an end, and the power ticker was shown in almost every issue whenever he used his hell powers.
Old 03-13-07, 10:21 PM
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What happened to all the original Image titles?

Spawn: gave it up after Mcfarlane left, but it has gone on to "spawn" offshoots, and is still ongoing today, if not nearly as popular.

Savage Dragon: the only original Image property that has gone on pretty much uninterrupted with the creator (Larsen) still doing the bulk of the work. I still enjoy it, and it and Invincible are pretty much the only two Image comics I still pick up

Youngblood: Leifeld fell out of favor, and although he's tried multiple times to pick the title back up, they've all failed one after another.

WildC.A.T.S.: this one at least evolved a bit, to the Moore and Charest issues and finally to the Casey no-costumes part. I have no idea what's going on now, though. Lee made off well, though, with his partnership with DC, his Stormwatch -> Authority, the run that Gen13 had, etc. I give him props for still drawing as well.

Cyberforce: Silvestri's still got his imprint, but I haven't read one of his books for ages, since I never got into Witchblade or the Darkness.

Shadowhawk: Valentino's still tightly bound with Image and I think this still has some kind of series out, but to me he was always the weakest artist of the Image founders.

Wetworks: While Portacio's many, many delays in getting his book out may keep him out of the official founders' circle, he was originally included with them. I think he recently made a reappearance drawing some DC/Wildstorm titles, but I haven't been wowed by his art since the X-Factor/Uncanny days.
Old 03-29-07, 09:55 AM
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I too always wondered what happened to his finite power supply. I always thought that was interesting. I seem to remember hearing they did away with it somehow, but that was after I stopped following the book.

I have a bunch of those early Image books - that was right when I started collecting, so I was snagging some back issues of X-Men, TMNT and Spider-Man, but some of the new stuff I was getting was Image. I always liked WildC.A.T.S. and Wetworks.
Old 03-29-07, 10:06 AM
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I was a Image zombie for many years, now I do not purchase any Image titles..Image got too big too fast and now they are just a low budget indy company that very few people care about anymore....
Old 03-29-07, 04:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Wildo1966
I was a Image zombie for many years, now I do not purchase any Image titles..Image got too big too fast and now they are just a low budget indy company that very few people care about anymore....

The Walking Dead is a kick @$$ comic and seems to be pretty popular.
Old 03-29-07, 07:38 PM
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Originally Posted by wlj
The Walking Dead is a kick @$$ comic and seems to be pretty popular.
That's true, but I don't look at Walking Dead as an "Image" book if that makes any sense. It's a Kirkman book that just happens to be put out by Image. In fact Image operates like a mid-level publisher, but doesn't really have an identity like say Ape, Fantagraphics, Devils Due, or Top Shelf does. They just put shit out in my eyes. Which isn't a knock on them at all, just how I view them as a publisher.

That being said, a lot of great books are put out through Image. They actually might be "better" right now than they've ever been.

Last edited by boredsilly; 03-29-07 at 07:57 PM.
Old 03-30-07, 12:34 AM
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Originally Posted by boredsilly
That being said, a lot of great books are put out through Image. They actually might be "better" right now than they've ever been.
They're definitely a better publisher now, both from an artistic standpoint and as a publisher. It's great to see books actually come out on time, with the occasional snag here and there.

I like how Image really diversified after 2000. Their new "superhero" line has put out a lot of great books on the market.
Old 03-31-07, 04:28 AM
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Spawn has been plagued with reader attrition.

It's taken several pretty big hits... McFarlane quit drawing it, and for a while got plagued by delays (which, unless the comic is particulary good, is a sales killer).

Combine that with an aging readership slowly figuring out that the book always sucked ass and losing interest in it, and it's not exactly a mystery.
Old 04-01-07, 02:38 PM
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Another early Image original was The Maxx. I stopped reading sometime in the teens (issue wise). I still have Maxx 1/2 somewhere and Darker Image #1.

BTW, what is it with all this anti-Liefeld rants I see on the internet. He was never that criticized when he was drawing X-Force, for example. Was this all because of what happened in '96 and '97? (Browsing Wiki for clues here).

I never thought he was that bad of an artist. Some of his stuff was really cool looking (for its time).

I'm really intrigued that Savage Dragon is still going on and still with Erik Larsen. I might pick up a TPB or two and see how the book is nowadays.
Old 04-01-07, 03:05 PM
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Originally Posted by The Bus
BTW, what is it with all this anti-Liefeld rants I see on the internet. He was never that criticized when he was drawing X-Force, for example.
I think there was some novelty value with that kind of eye-catching, dynamic style Liefeld has, but when that novelty wore off, you were kind of left with him drawing the same things in the same exaggerated way, the writing was usually abysmal, and he couldn't turn anything around on time. Not to mention that many of the people who hate him now were in middle school and high school during the peak of his popularity. We didn't know any better.
Old 04-01-07, 11:52 PM
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Originally Posted by The Bus
He was never that criticized when he was drawing X-Force, for example. Was this all because of what happened in '96 and '97? (Browsing Wiki for clues here).
Out of curiosity how old were you when he was drawing X-Force in the early 90s? I ask because most people my age at the time laughed hysterically at his artwork. Everyone had tiny feet, 60 teeth, and the most angular heads this side of Alpha Centuri. I was never clear on why he was so popular. Conversely, I also didn't hate him like so many others and have taken very little pleasure in his fall from grace.
Old 04-03-07, 02:57 PM
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I agree with the Liefeld novelty value thing. When he was doing New Mutants and X-Force and even stuff like Hawk and Dove, his style (and the rest of the Image founders) was new and different, and most importantly of all, he (and everyone else) was kept pretty much on schedule for a monthly book. But over time, you can't help but notice the similar pose (especially with the outstretched arms), the always-gritted teeth, the hidden feet, etc. When Youngblood came out, I thought he did show some growth as an artist, but after that it seems like he regressed.

Of course, I think that about some of Portacio's later work as well. Even Jim Lee's recent run on Batman and Superman didn't awe me as much as his art once did.
Old 04-03-07, 03:07 PM
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Originally Posted by fujishig
I agree with the Liefeld novelty value thing. When he was doing New Mutants and X-Force and even stuff like Hawk and Dove, his style (and the rest of the Image founders) was new and different, and most importantly of all, he (and everyone else) was kept pretty much on schedule for a monthly book.
I wouldn't give him too much credit for Hawk & Dove -- he was inked by Karl Kesel on that one. Karl Kesel could ink my pencils and make them look good, and I can't draw worth a damn.

Funny story about Liefeld's work on that Hawk & Dove miniseries here.
Old 04-03-07, 03:58 PM
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Originally Posted by JasonF
I wouldn't give him too much credit for Hawk & Dove -- he was inked by Karl Kesel on that one. Karl Kesel could ink my pencils and make them look good, and I can't draw worth a damn.

Funny story about Liefeld's work on that Hawk & Dove miniseries here.

Sometimes I forget how much a good inker can improve the art. For instance, I think Byrne's early work for X-men and FF was incredible, but his recent stuff... eh.
Old 04-03-07, 09:10 PM
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Originally Posted by fujishig
Sometimes I forget how much a good inker can improve the art. For instance, I think Byrne's early work for X-men and FF was incredible, but his recent stuff... eh.
Yeah, his proportions have gone way off. His work on Superman/Batman generations was vastly inferior to his work on The Man of Steel.
Old 04-05-07, 05:35 PM
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Liefeld has always had two styles - his out of proportion whaked out drawings, and the style of whomever he's tracing.

I think a lot of the Liefeld hate started with Youngblood #1. Many fans already knew about his propensity for copying other people's works, but Youngblood #1 exposed him as an extremely bad writer / artist. After being delayed seemingly forever, fans were treated to a marginally drawn book of splash pages with very little story.
Old 04-10-07, 11:26 AM
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believe it or not....but spawn has become a great book.
david hine started writing it with issue 150.
i would say to start there.....i am loving this book now!!!
Old 05-20-07, 10:50 PM
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Originally Posted by The Bus
BTW, what is it with all this anti-Liefeld rants I see on the internet. He was never that criticized when he was drawing X-Force, for example. Was this all because of what happened in '96 and '97? (Browsing Wiki for clues here).

I never thought he was that bad of an artist. Some of his stuff was really cool looking (for its time).
I hated how he had an character that was a complete rip off of every classic Marvel and DC character. Zero originality, mediocre talent.

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