Spawnography

This arc has been a rollercoaster. While the early issues showed some promise, there seem to be factors outside the story (staffing, deadlines etc.) that are affecting the book itself. Jim Downing is struggling to gain a foothold. The creative team is struggling to do more than retrace Al Simmon's steps in so many ways. And the art is a bit of a mess despite bringing Greg Capullo back into the fold. That isn't to say it's all bad. there are still some great moments but "Endgame" is continuing to be a frustrating reading experience.

This week's recommendations are a couple of comic book stores in Washington DC, Fantom Comics and Big Planet Comics - definitely check them out if you're in the area - and Caroline Cash's excellent Nancy comics.

You can always check out George's music - La Cigarette at coolbutrude.com and Witch Crisis.

If you are looking to engage even more with the Spawnmunity, check out the always wonderful RE: Spawn podcast and TinySpawny's Let's Talk Spawn.

Thanks to Freesound for being a great resource for our intro atmosphere and sound effects. Thanks to Blake Whitlow for the always useful Spawn Reading Order. Thank YOU for listening!

The Freak is back! In any really meaningful way? Not quite but it's always fun to see Jim interact with another one of Al's rogue's gallery. but therein lies the problem, this arc hasn't introduced much for Jim that isn't already Al's outside of a secret, seemingly government experiment and a new crime boss. There are a lot of interesting ideas being thrown around overall but it's tough to see the forest for the trees as it all comes fairly scattershot, the art has some inconsistencies and this new era is still struggling to carve it's own path forward.

This week's recommendations are to go make some art, (good, bad, whatever - just make some!) and Something Wild, Jonathan Demme's masterful comedy/thriller about how taking a chance can lead you on an adventure you may have never expected.

You can always check out George's music - La Cigarette at coolbutrude.com and Witch Crisis.

If you are looking to engage even more with the Spawnmunity, check out the always wonderful RE: Spawn podcast and TinySpawny's Let's Talk Spawn.

Thanks to Freesound for being a great resource for our intro atmosphere and sound effects. Thanks to Blake Whitlow for the always useful Spawn Reading Order. Thank YOU for listening!

"Endgame" trudges on and your humble hosts are starting to lose a little bit of faith in the direction that Spawn and its creative team are taking. It's hard not to be a little bit frustrated with a book that is clearly struggling with finding a new identity in the wake of handing the book over to a new main character. But it's not all bad! And it can't get worse... can it?

This week's recommendations are the incredible new-ish Apple+ show from creator Kate Dippold, Widow's Bay, and the book Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates - "A comprehensive investigation into extreme misogyny, exploring toxic masculinity, online harassment, and systemic sexism through interviews and research."

You can always check out George's music - La Cigarette at coolbutrude.com and Witch Crisis.

If you are looking to engage even more with the Spawnmunity, check out the always wonderful RE: Spawn podcast and TinySpawny's Let's Talk Spawn.

Thanks to Freesound for being a great resource for our intro atmosphere and sound effects. Thanks to Blake Whitlow for the always useful Spawn Reading Order. Thank YOU for listening!

Todd and the gang continue to go back to basics as the mystery of Jim Downing continues! We've got talking head newscasters! We've got questions! We've got no answers (yet)! And we've got the power meter! We've also got some pretty impressive work by Whilce Portacio. You could accuse of of "bageling" a bit here but we take the time to really diginto what work's about these issues as the questions continue to mount.

This week's recommendations are the latest film by Curry Barker, Obsession, and the artwork of Hajime Sorayama.

You can always check out George's music - La Cigarette at coolbutrude.com and Witch Crisis.

If you are looking to engage even more with the Spawnmunity, check out the always wonderful RE: Spawn podcast and TinySpawny's Let's Talk Spawn.

Thanks to Freesound for being a great resource for our intro atmosphere and sound effects. Thanks to Blake Whitlow for the always useful Spawn Reading Order. Thank YOU for listening!

Al Simmons is dead! Long live Al Simmons! Todd is back in the saddle and there's a new Hellspawn in town - Jim Downing. We're also seeing some familiar faces back on the creative team as well as newcomer to the title, Whilce Portacio. But can this title handle a major change to the status quo given the awkward handoff from the last writer? George and Pierce will get into it.

This week's recommendations are a couple of flicks that were recently in theaters, Mortal Kombat 2 and Boots Riley's I Love Boosters. MK2 needs no introduction but if you have enjoyed Riley's previous work such as Sorry to Both You, then his latest will astound you. It is not a subtle treatise on the harmful nature of capitalism but instead it is a loud, colorful takedown of it. Highly recommend.

You can always check out George's music - La Cigarette at coolbutrude.com and Witch Crisis.

If you are looking to engage even more with the Spawnmunity, check out the always wonderful RE: Spawn podcast and TinySpawny's Let's Talk Spawn.

Thanks to Freesound for being a great resource for our intro atmosphere and sound effects. Thanks to Blake Whitlow for the always useful Spawn Reading Order.

Thank YOU for listening!

This is it! The end of Spawn.... until the next issue! But at the very least, David Hine's run is over and we have some feelings. This was, overall, a pretty interesting era and Hine is a writer who definitely had a different take on our hellish hero than folks in the past. There is an argument to be made that this is the second best era of the book to this point due to how it expands the mythos but we'll get into it!

This week's recommendations are to watch some old Ray Harry hausen movies and the old Toho era Godzilla flicks! Monster movies rule and these are two of the best times for those films before we were inundated with CGI.

You can always check out George's music - La Cigarette at coolbutrude.com and Witch Crisis.

If you are looking to engage even more with the Spawnmunity, check out the always wonderful RE: Spawn podcast and TinySpawny's Let's Talk Spawn.

Thanks to Freesound for being a great resource for our intro atmosphere and sound effects. Thanks to Blake Whitlow for the always useful Spawn Reading Order.

Thank YOU for listening!

More and more secrets are revealed! Who is Morana and what is her connection to Al? What's up with Cyan's connection to something super natural? Is Al a good person as his run winds down? We'll get into all of it and more!

This week's recommendations are the Amazon adaptaion of Lord of the Flies as well as 2000s indie rock band, Gatsby's American Dream's record Volcano, which weirdly enough has a bunch of references to Lord of the Flies.

You can always checkout George's music - La Cigarette at coolbutrude.com and Witch Crisis.

If you are looking to engage even more with the Spawnmunity, check out the always wonderful RE: Spawn podcast and TinySpawny's Let's Talk Spawn.

Thanks to Freesound for being a great resource for our intro atmosphere and sound effects. Thanks to Blake Whitlow for the always useful Spawn Reading Order.

Thank YOU for listening!

Things are getting dicey as Al Simmons winds down his initial run! Can he reconcile with Wanda? How does Cyan play into this? Was Mammon behind everything? What's up with Morana? We'll get into it!

This week's recommendations are to be kinder to yourself but also to check out one of Geroge's favorite podcasts "The Worst of All Possible Words." Meanwhile, Pierce recommends the incredible tunes of Josaleigh Pollett and their latest singles "Radio Player" and "The Witness."

You can always checkout George's music - La Cigarette at coolbutrude.com and Witch Crisis.

If you are looking to engage even more with the Spawnmunity, check out the always wonderful RE: Spawn podcast and TinySpawny's Let's Talk Spawn.

Thanks to Freesound for being a great resource for our intro atmosphere and sound effects. Thanks to Blake Whitlow for the always useful Spawn Reading Order.

Thank YOU for listening!

Welcome to George's niche interests explored episode! We're getting into vampiric lore and World War I history as David Hine, Brian Haberlin and company push the mystery at the center of this run forward while backfilling some interesting details along the way. What does all of this mean for Spawn and Al Simmons? How is Mammon really involved? How deep does this all go? We'll get into it.

This week's recommendations are Dan Carlin's Blueprint for Armageddon and Hardcore History podcast series' for the history buffs among you, Laura Spinney's Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global for the language nerds among you and Texas is the Reason's excellent album "Do You Know Who You Are?" on it's 30th birthday for the 90s emo and JFK conspiracy nerds among you.

You can always checkout George's music - La Cigarette at coolbutrude.com and Witch Crisis.

If you are looking to engage even more with the Spawnmunity, check out the always wonderful RE: Spawn podcast and TinySpawny's Let's Talk Spawn.

Thanks to Freesound for being a great resource for our intro atmosphere and sound effects. Thanks to Blake Whitlow for the always useful Spawn Reading Order.

Thank YOU for listening!

How is a manga contest tied to a series of murders spread across the United States? How is the number one suspect a boy who can't leave the safety of his hermetically sealed room? What lasting effects did the four horsemen of "Armageddon" have on the world despite Al Simmons remaking it? Well, it all goes back to Mammon! But that just means George and Pierce will have to dig into what that means for Spawn and Nyx.

This week's recommendation is to get into the greatest rock band of all-time, The Ramones. 'Nuff said.

You can always checkout George's music - La Cigarette at coolbutrude.com and Witch Crisis.

If you are looking to engage even more with the Spawnmunity, check out the always wonderful RE: Spawn podcast and TinySpawny's Let's Talk Spawn.

Thanks to Freesound for being a great resource for our intro atmosphere and sound effects. Thanks to Blake Whitlow for the always useful Spawn Reading Order.

Thank YOU for listening!