Writer: Todd McFarlane
Artists: Javi Fernandez & Kevin Keane
Colorist: Ivan Nunes
Letterer: Andworld Design
Cover Artists: Dan Panosian; Don Aguillo
Publisher: Image
Price: $2.99
Release Date: November 1, 2023
Spawn doesn’t want Cogliostro on Hell’s Throne. So he asked the
Visage to send him there. She did so after warning that he could never return.
What battles will Spawn wage in his new home? Let's leap into King Spawn #27
and find out!
Story
Al’s past flashes before his eyes as he falls. Powerless to
halt his descent, doubts assault him. Questions probe his memory. Why did Hell
choose him? What made Al Simmons worthy of returning from the dead?
Rage formed him. He tried to ignore what his father taught
him. Ultimately, he became what he hated. The military valued his rage. Jason
Wynn wished he could find more killers like Al. But Wanda paid for his talent.
Al couldn't protect her from himself.
In King Spawn #27, Spawn travels to an area forbidden to
symbiotes. Before he can accomplish his goal, he must endure testing. Is he
just another lost soul striving to protect others? Or does Al Simmons belong in
Hell?
Art
Spawn falls through a white abyss. Javi Fernandez &
Kevin Keane spin memories like shards of glass, revealing childhood abuse,
schoolyard fights, death on the battlefield, and meeting Wanda. Tentacles greet
Al's entrance to Hell. A face filled with eyes and teeth looms. Scorpions,
spiders, and other insects infest this Valley Of The Shadow. If Al Simmons
fears Death in King Spawn #27, he doesn’t show it.
Spawn's crimson suit and cape paint a trail of pink like a
brush across a virgin canvas. At the heart of the green fires, white stars burn
in his eyes. Ivan Nunes uses red to amplify a limited palette for Al's
memories. He enhances characters, objects, and backgrounds with highlighting,
shading, and texturing. Gray smoke surrounds Spawn in the darkness. Yet the
fractured floor reflects light, and the tentacled creature glows with unwelcome
vitality.
Yellow uppercase letters glow within brown narrative boxes
as Todd McFarlane retells Al’s origins in King Spawn #27. Andworld Design helps
us hear the impact as Spawn hits Hell’s stone floor. The tentacled monster
speaks white letters into cloudy black balloons. Spawn responds with his
signature-styled balloons. His words are big, black, and beautiful. Yet the
color of a stressed word reminds us of his eyes. Does Spawn’s final utterance
suggest a link with Gaia? Or is it just the anger that drives him?
Thanks to Image Comics and Todd McFarlane Productions for
providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Who are we? Where do we belong? Spawn must wrestle with such
questions and accept his destiny in King Spawn #27.
Rating 9/10
For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
