REVIEW: Spawn Kills Everyone #1

Writer:  Todd McFarlane
Art:  JJ Kirby
Colors:  FCO Plascenscia
Letters:  Tom Orzechowski
Review: Art Bee

A couple of months ago I caught wind of this one-shot and instantly put it on my pull list. My curiosity was piqued beyond measure. Wanting to be completely surprised, I avoided all information about it as if it were leprosy. Now it has arrived and been read, and it has my emotions in a complete jumble.

All of the covers are great! The issue I purchased featured the cover by Liana Hee (pictured at left) and is by far the best of the three. When I first saw it I was certain it was a Scottie Young cover. By the looks of it Spawn is in a showdown with several Marvel super-heroes, enough to bow the wheels of a red wagon.

The artwork inside the issue is split for me. Most of it is excellent, but there are some panels that look of a lesser quality. They resemble a hurried job or one added at the last minute. Even the colors don’t seem to be of the same quality as the rest of the book. The chibi-style rendering of Spawn is really nice and adds to the exaggeration prevalent throughout the book.



The story starts with a three page all-out battle with Spawn decimating everyone. We then shift to 12-13 hours previous. On page four (pictured on right), we find full-page artistry of Spawn on the toilet reading Spawn #1 (the original, not this issue). This scene is hilarious, but there seems to be more text boxes than needed. Spawn is at the SDCC to make an announcement about his upcoming feature film, but everyone mistakes him for a cosplayer.

For some reason this seems familiar . . .
Now I remember! This was the premise of Harley Quinn Invades Comic-Con International: San Diego #1 from 2014.

This comic has a one-track shallow and simple plot. Spawn wants to announce his movie and kills everyone he encounters in the process. Even with a lack of plot substance, this story does pull off being entertaining with its shtick. Some of the puns are very clever, but most are just cheesy.

This Spawn resembles the real character in appearance and power, but otherwise is an egotistical, homicidal maniac. For most of the story I was wondering if this little guy was a cosplayer who just happened to take his role TOO seriously and got lost in the persona. That was not the case. What I found really entertaining was this little guy thought all of these cosplayers were the REAL actors or characters.

***Spoiler Warning***
What’s really funny about this comic is Todd McFarlane sort of commits suicide in the book. He actually wrote himself into the end scene, and Spawn blows him away with a rather large gun. This was a very interesting occurrence; one I have never seen before. McFarlane could have made his own death more dramatic or amazing; he went with poetic instead. After blowing a large hole in Todd’s chest, Spawn is depicted standing in it. To me, this represents Spawn as the heart and soul of Todd’s success.

Spawn Kills Everyone did not match my built-up excitement, but it was entertaining nonetheless. As a one-shot this works but if tried as a series would flop harder than Rob Liefeld. Grab this comic for some really amazing looking scenes, awesome covers, and comedic shtick. Don’t expect too much and you will be fine.