Spawn #295
Image Comics
Written by Todd McFarlane
Art by Jason Shawn Alexander
Letters by Tom Orzechowski
Colors by FCO Plascencia
Everyone is going to learn too late that underestimating Al Simmons is a mistake they will only make once.
Impaled on a wooden cross in the burning heat and light of the desert, Clown is reveling in his victory over Spawn. Al’s decision to go public has turned him from an annoyance that needs to brought to heel to a real threat that needs to be ended. The forces of Hell have decided to end this Spawn and Clown tells Al about his hand in the creation of all Spawns and why none of them can ever beat him.
At the same time, the mystery of Al Simmons’ resurrection continues to grip the world and the media. Everyone has their own take on what happened, but the fact that all of Al’s military and medical records have gone missing heats up the investigation. Marc continues to keep his involvement with Spawn under wraps as he goes back to his job, but a visit from an old friend of Al’s will leave the reporter with the evidence everyone is looking for.
As Clown continues to gloat over his victory, the shadows on the ground reveal that Al is not as powerless as he would have the demon believe and the war he’s about to bring to Hell is just getting started.
Todd McFarlane is doing an amazing job of keeping readers on their toes about both Al’s plans and whether or not he can pull them off. Letting all the darkness and evil seek Spawn out instead of the other way around has been a masterful move by the writer to create suspense and drama for the character and it all works in both the plotting and dialogue.
The art by Jason Shawn Alexander is fantastic and perfectly matches the dark, twisted tone of the story.