Spawn #307: A Cryptic Tale to Tell

Spawn finds himself in a time-travelling mess of apocalyptic proportions in issue #307. It helps to bring some clarity to the events in last issue, and while it continues to push the series in exciting ways following the massive issue #300 revelations, I have to say, this whole concept was something I never saw coming.

Surprises in long running stories can be a bit of a mixed bag. I do understand what is happening here, using a touch of nostalgia to usher in a new development in the war with Heaven and Hell, but there is a lack of connective tissue to the current story in this two-part arc that pulls us out of the complex story that took so long to build up to. Jumping ahead in the future and establishing a nightmarish vision of what’s to come is really cool, and bringing back Billy Kincaid is sure to have longtime fans hyped, but it’s the type of story that relies on both what’s come before and what’s still to come to work successfully. Taken on it’s own, these two issues are somewhat hard to decipher.

Still, if you’ve been following along, Spawn #307 packs a remarkable punch. Spawn falling into darkness and the rise of Raptor sets the stage for an entirely new element in the series that could prove to be more impactful than we might think at the moment. The foundation that McFarlane and company have laid recently is taking root and the storytelling potentials that can come of it are near limitless. It’s comprehensive in its scope, and that is certainly thrilling, but hopefully it can manage to not collapse under its own weight as the story continues to expand.

Philip Tan is pulling off some incredible artwork that is ultimately the true highlight of Spawn #307. Page after page of quintessential Spawn visuals help to fit the time-travelling story into the larger story and give it a true badass feel. Tan captures some of the 90’s flair that helped Spawn to become what he is today as well. With Orzechowski’s timeless lettering, the visuals help to make this issue stand out.

The real question that I was hoping to find out was the motivations behind Raptor, the new character introduced in this nightmarish vision of the future. It was great to get just a little backstory on what Raptor is doing and the connections with Billy, but with no identity and a mysterious connection to Spawn it’s easy to see there is more to this character than meets the eye. Hopefully future issues will flesh them out just a bit more.

While the story is one that fans will be talking about for some time, we are going to need to see how things continue to play out to determine if everything was truly worthwhile. This little detour from the current time period is full of spectacular visuals, but the details of just what exactly is going on remains to be seen. If you want to stay up to date on how everything is turning out after issue #300 though, Spawn #306 and #307 are essential reading.