Title: Spawn #285

Publisher: Image

Words: Todd McFarlane

Art: Jason Shawn Alexander

Publication Date: May 2, 2018

Publisher’s Summary: Spawn’s new powers continue to manifest as he finds he’s able to do things he never could before.

Review:

In Issue #285, our favorite hell-spawn takes a nightmarish trip to the morgue where the men holding him realize that they got a whole hell of a lot more than they bargained for when they took Spawn into custody.

When it comes to progressing the plot forward, McFarlane does a lot more telling than he does showing, and while I can appreciate the attention to detail and the time spent developing the mood and feel of the issue, McFarlane is getting hung up and is losing momentum in taking the time to develop some of the finer details of Spawn’s imprisonment; he’s spending too much time trying to drive home a point that’s already been made. The issue is that right now, nothing is at stake, or, at least that’s how it feels. While the situation that Spawn has landed in is unsettling and worth reading about, I fear that McFarlane will lose the attention of readers soon if he doesn’t make a move.

As I stated in the opening paragraph of this review, Spawn’s trip to the morgue is nightmarish; thanks to Jason Shawn Alexander’s artwork, this issue’s tone is grave and its feel is (delightfully) uncomfortable. Alexander did a fine job in unsettling readers, but the artwork isn’t enough to carry the story. Readers need more of what McFarlane has proven he can deliver.

The Bottom Line:

We’re getting somewhere, but we’re not there just yet; McFarlane’s script is interesting and gives readers good reason to continue reading, but this story is a slow-burn and may not work for readers that are hungry for action. Alexander does another fine job with bringing the book to life, but the artwork isn’t enough, something big needs to happen and it needs to happen soon.