Spawn's Universe: #1

Spawn Universe

by Todd McFarlane (Writer / Inker), Jim Cheung (Artist), Stephen Segovia (Artist)

IT’S THE OFFICIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LONG-AWAITED SPAWN’S UNIVERSE! A double-sized issue that begins a storyline so huge that three NEW SPAWN-related monthly titles will spill out from it, including… A new SPAWN title. GUNSLINGER SPAWN monthly. And a new TEAM book bringing a handful of these characters together in their own book. With this one-shot…the world of SPAWN changes forever! New heroes. New villains, and more importantly, new titles coming to a comic shop near you. Join this list of artists as we unveil a historic moment in the mythology of SPAWN’S JIM CHEUNG TODD McFARLANE STEPHEN SEGOVIA MARCIO TAKARA

Genres: Comics, Fiction

68 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2021

About the author

Todd McFarlane is a Canadian comic book artist, writer, toy manufacturer/designer, and media entrepreneur who is best known as the creator of the epic occult fantasy series Spawn.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McFarlane became a comic book superstar due to his work on Marvel Comics' Spider-Man franchise. In 1992, he helped form Image Comics, pulling the occult anti-hero character Spawn from his high school portfolio and updating him for the 1990s. Spawn was one of America's most popular heroes in the 1990's and encouraged a trend in creator-owned comic book properties.

In recent years, McFarlane has illustrated comic books less often, focusing on entrepreneurial efforts, such as McFarlane Toys and Todd McFarlane Entertainment, a film and animation studio.

In September, 2006, it was announced that McFarlane will be the Art Director of the newly formed 38 Studios, formerly Green Monster Games, founded by Curt Schilling.

McFarlane used to be co-owner of National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers but sold his shares to Daryl Katz. He's also a high-profile collector of history-making baseballs.

Reviews

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a dumb-fun, nonsensical, book and I loved it.

The editing was bad though, especially on the letters. They literally use "you're" wrong every time, and there were a few repeated words here and there.

[Myles Likes Tacos and Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON but for some reason I love it.

Not sure if its the art, the throwback to 90s style description boxes,the fact that Gunslinger and Al are so emo (just hug already) or the thank you letter from Todd to his fans at the end.

Spawn is a case of how having a creator who cares about his work and fans can amplify a mediocre and confusing story.

[Oneirosophos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Multiverse starting stuff. Some cool panels. And that's it.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel the same way about this book that a lot of readers seem to: I'm not sure exactly what's going on yet, but I like it.

This is a big set up for the expansion of the Spawn universe from one monthly book to like five or so. It's obvious this is just a beginning and that things should start to make sense in time. (At least, let's hope so.)

Cool characters, cool art, now we just have to see the story come together.

[Aron · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars. Really enjoyed this, I always wanted to give Spawn a shot but just never tried it. When I decided to give Spawn a try I picked up the back issues starting at #318, which immediately preceeds this one-shot. So far I'm lovin' Spawn & King Spawn, looking forward to Gunslinger Spawn with great enthusiasm. Highly recommend!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I few typos here and there, as usually, but this was awesome. What a throwback.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Main story: This issue was billed as a jumping on point... but it was heavily based in previous big events in continuity. Not necessarily impossible to understand, but not very interesting either. The dialogue wasn't great, and the caption boxes were worse. There were even a couple typos. The art was gorgeous, I knew Jim Cheung would draw a great Spawn and he did. The colors popped wonderfully as well. I'm just sad the story didn't live up to it. The other stories weren't that interesting either. I especially wanted to like Gunslinger Spawn, but his was the most boring, literally nothing happened in it. It had decent art though. Overall, this did not make me interested in jumping back into Spawn. What had worked for me in early Spawn stories was the focus on the characters, with the war of heaven and hell being an interesting, mysterious backdrop to the very human and tragic story of Spawn. But this comic had no characters to speak of, everyone talked the same and it was all about boring plot stuff. Alas.

[Clay Bartel · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1992 I was 7 years old and some of the most famous comics were being printed. The Death Of Superman and Batman Knightfall were rocking the world, oh and this guy name Todd McFarlane dropped some of the most iconic story and imagery in the most successful author owned comic in history. SPAWN!


Thing was I was just a little kid and basically into DC and Marvel... and 30ish years later not much had change.

I'd watched the film which while custom wise was brilliant, some cool Sfx and Clown being preformed fantasticly... over all it was a disappointment... though I'm tempted to revisit it.

Crave HBO has the old animated Spawn series and I found it hypnotically appealing, so.... it would have ended there but--

--Then King Spawn and Spawn's Universe drop and a series that was over 300 issues deep had two, #1's and Gunslinger and Scorched will be dropping soon too, adding even more #1's.

So I decided to dive in, first with King Spawn #1, then with Spawn's Universe #1 and original series with Spawn #310 to #321.

Whoa! Fantastic! Now I've added the Spawn Origin Volumes to my list of must purchase and read!

Honesty if you've ever had a morbid curiosity for Spawn but never actual read anything. Do yourself a huge favor and read this series!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm largely considering this my "end" of the Spawn Universe (even though it's a beginning).

I've never been a huge fan of the character, even though I understand his importance. The aesthetic doesn't do much for me; and the parts I like are where McFarland brought in Moore/Miller/Gaiman/Sim, Morrison's Anti-Spawn, David Hine's Armageddon storyline and then the fanfare build-up to #300. There are other assorted mini-series (Angela), Issue #100, etc.

I'm at the point where I want more of an ending to the character, rather than brand extensions. This, with King Spawn, Gunslinger and The Scorched kind of remind me the character is more of a toy and IP property.

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was told this was a necessary introduction to the extended Spawn universe, but after reading it I think I would have been less confused if I had just skipped it. It felt like reading the middle issue of an ongoing story.
Also, I see that Todd Mcfarlane isn't any better of a writer than he was in the 90s (the only other Mcfarlane that I have read is a few of the very first Spawn comics). Almost every word he writes is heavy-handed exposition, and he refuses to let the art in the panels do any story-telling at all.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of these Spawn one offs never seem to make it into any of the collections and that trend continues here. It spins out of Spawn #318 and sets up the three Spawn spinoff books, King Spawn, Gunslinger Spawn and the team book, The Scorched. There's a whole lot of Spawns running around these days after Spawn #300. McFarlane has brought some really good artists into the fold. We'll see if the writing can keep up with the art.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why did they make the Mr. Boogedy/Puritan hat SOOOO tall.....4 Stars with any other hat! The art at the beginning of the main story was great.

[Romano]

Dumb, convoluted, fun.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun, beautiful art and stage is set for big things.
Not a big fan of She Spawn but still…a lot of fun.

[Niki Lyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Been a long time Spawn fan, and it was great to see all of the Spawns!

[Wongi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good start, looking forward to more.

[Adam Magson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up some spawn issues as I find the characters look fantastic. This is not a story for me. I Keep slipping back to the super hero books to remember they are a rinse and repeat.