By Title: Spawn #284
Publisher: Image Comics
Writers: Todd McFarlane
Artists: Jason Shawn Alexander
Story Rating: 5
Art Rating: 9
Color Rating: 6
Overall Rating: 7.3
Al Simmons, Spawn, takes on the New York City police department. As the world seeks to discover who is behind the mask Spawn’s goals seem much more sinister.
Todd McFarlane sets up the ultimate game of wits between one man and an entire fortified government. Spawn surrenders to the New York police department only to be placed under government supervision.
In this time the government makes every attempt to identify the person who captured famed celebrity Bonz Chillin. Spawn does not reveal his motives behind his actions for his initial capture leading only to unanswered questions.
The comic does not have a clear direction within the storytelling. The events that have taken place do not seem entirely significant. Therefore, the comic book feels lacking in the overall result.
The perspective switch for the book follows the police trying to identify Spawn’s real identity for the entire issue, which develops a mystery style of a story.
Jason Shawn Alexander takes over the artwork for the issue with splashes of heavy ink, gritty art, and pale pigments. Jason’s vision has given realism behind horror elements inside the comic book.
Pencil work is strong with thick lines. Characters take on a more realistic quality giving them more depth in appearance and body language. The background shares the same approach of basic lines forming heavy outlined structures.
The colors appear dirty a cross between a horror flick and noir drama. The atmosphere is stretched throughout the entire book with light brown, black, grey, and occasional orange. The color pallet lacks luster, which may leave scenes unappealing to the eye.
The conclusion offers some bursts of suspense but it is immediately retracted. The latest attempt to identify Spawn will perhaps fail because previous attempts have all failed. The suit that covers Spawn’s body is capable of disrupting cutting edge technology and medical procedures. Therefore, one can in full faith assume that the efforts of the government will continue to fail in the same motion.
