Spawn #297: History of Spawn (pt. 2)

Part 2 of the History of Spawn truly lives up to its name, bringing readers up to speed remarkably well by both detailing Spawn’s rather complex history and setting up the quickly approaching battle.

The road to 300 has so far been an exercise in how to bring together years of storytelling into a single achievement that epitomizes what Spawn has really brought to the table for so long. It’s a dark and fantastic journey with a lot of moving pieces and they are all aligning for the highly anticipated issue #300. The History of Spawn succeeds in serving as a primer for this historic issue primarily because of the exquisite attention to detail from creator Todd McFarlane. If there is anyone who knows the series on a fundamental level, it’s him, and he shows this with a true deep dive into Spawn lore over the years.

As The Redeemer and Cogliostro dwell on the enemy before them, we see a showcase of artwork that beautifully depicts moments in Spawn’s life in a near-repetitive format. Lacking distinct panels throughout the majority of the issue, we are able to take in the story as a whole with glimpses of imagery to highlight some of the most memorable instances. This is often a difficult structure to pull off, but for what this issue seeks to accomplish, it really does work well. And for those who may not catch every single reference, Editor-In-Chief Jon Goff has another “field guide” at the end that walks you through every page to really show how much attention to detail this book features.

While McFarlane’s intricately referenced lore will please many longtime fans, the real star is once again Jason Shawn Alexander’s artwork. I’ve spoken on this topic a few times, but this person seems to be born for this book. Alexander’s art on Spawn continues to be nothing short of iconic, in the same vein of Capullo and even McFarlane himself. Every book is just an absolute treat, and issue #297 is no different.

While the History of Spawn has offered some fun moments of retrospection, I am glad to see that it also helped to prepare for what’s to come as the road to 300 continues on. It could have easily gotten lost in the overwhelming amount of events that have transpired over the years, and although this isn’t a perfect look back at those events, it is sufficient enough for newcomers to understand what has happened thus far. This is the second part to what is most likely the best jumping on point before issue #300, and it’s an excellent book to show what this series has to offer.

This series is just on fire right now (pun intended) and it looks like more truly epic events are just around the corner as The Redeemer and Cogliostro prepare their attack against Spawn!