Friday, March 24, 2023

The Scorched #16 Review

Writers: Sean Lewis & Todd McFarlane

Artist: Stephen Segovia

Colorist: Ulises Arreola

Letterer: Andworld Design

Cover Artists: Mark Spears; Von Randal

Publisher: Image

Price: 2.99

Release Date: March 22, 2023

Necro and Margaret Love have teamed up with Mandarin. They pound away at the mountainside to free the imprisoned Urizen. They were looking for a teammate. But can they control this fierce demon spawn? Or will he rule them? Let’s descend into Scorched #16 and find out!

Story

When Urizen gives Necro, Margaret Love, and Mandarin orders, Mandarin orders his forces to attack. The fight doesn't go Mandarin's way. Urizen regards them as children. The war between Heaven and Hell is bigger than Necro, Margaret Love, and Mandarin had realized.

Meanwhile, at the Black Fortress, the fellowship of the Scorched is breaking. Gunslinger has departed; Soul Crusher and Reaper have their tasks to perform. Like the demons, the group realizes how unhappy Gaia is with everything. Rather than allow this war between Heaven and Hell to continue, she'll kill everyone on Earth. Medieval, Redeemer, and She-Spawn must repair some things that our hero Spawn has done before Gaia can end the war once and forever.

Art

All the main characters emerge bigger and bolder than life in The Scorched #16. Everyone seems so expressive in body language and facial expression. Stephen Segovia lavishes great care upon each character's costume and armor. I wonder if McFarlane's toy line measures up to the beauty and intricacy of Segovia's art.

Ulises Arreola elevates Segovia’s drawings. Giant Urizen breathes green fire as his hairy gray arms sweep through Mandarin's hordes. He breaks bodies and spills blood as he charges from the cave that imprisoned him. The armor catches every variation in lighting as the Scorched stand before a window in the Black Fortress. She-Spawn and Medieval’s eyes burn with green fire. Their red, blue, and black spiky armor looks rich and bold on the misty white and blue snowfield that slopes toward a lavender hillside.

Andworld Design makes each character’s dialogue balloons expressive. Urizen’s words are red and black, his balloons outlined in red. Uppercase letters start big and grow darker and bigger with inflection. Gray encircles Medieval Spawn's balloons. In place of an arrow, Redeemer's balloons get a cross. Yellow words in brown narration boxes lead us through these titanic events. Brash sound effects help us feel Urizen’s mighty blows.

Final Thoughts

The Spawn Universe has been spinning stories for decades. Dipping your feet into a team book like The Scorched #16 won't be easy. As a newcomer, I won't even pretend to understand half of what this issue holds. If you're fascinated by Saint John's Book Of Revelation and stories about great clashes between powerful mythological forces, you might check out this series. You don't need to understand everything about a long-form story like this to enjoy it. After all, the less you know, the more you can discover.