SPAWN! A look back at an award-winning collection of graded slabs. 10 10

[newshane]

SPAWN 47 - CGC 9.8

I love 45 and 47. 

Digging those blazing colors! 

Something about Tremor reminds me of Doom (the videogame). 

Tomorrow, I'll talk about the first major move I made to start this party in the first place. 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 48 - CGC 9.8 

Spawn and...you guessed it...bats. 

So...

The details are rather fuzzy as it happened long ago, but I kicked off this journey when I reached out to a fellow boardie about some Spawn issues in his registry set. At the time, @Doc Joe had the top Spawn set. We talked it over, and he offered me a price for a particular graded run, and we went from there. I ended up acquiring nearly all of his books. I can't remember for sure, but many of the early Spawn issues, like the ones you've seen so far, were culled from his original collection. 

The good doctor was amazing to work with. I remember how pumped up I'd be after each acquisition. He packed the books like a dream. I'm sure it was no small task. I'd get gigantic boxes with several dozen slabs at a time. At that point, I was addicted. Doc Joe was backing out of moderns altogether. He passed the torch to me, and I took it as far as possible. 

I don't think he posts a lot these days, but I hope Doc Joe realizes how much he inspired this collection. Every transaction was a dream, and he is a top notch guy with exquisite tastes when it comes to comics. I hope the years have been kind to you, Doc! Happy hunting! 

 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 49 - CGC 9.8 

OUCH! 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 50 - CGC 9.8 

Are we at fifty already? 

The first of many milestone issues, but a rather unimaginative cover swipe of issue one. 

Granted, even in 1996, the image was well on its way to icon status, as were several other McFarlane covers (ASM 300, Spider-man 1, etc.) 

This was a double-sized issue. 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 51 - CGC 9.8

 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by newshane

[newshane]

SPAWN 52 - CGC 9.8 

Savage Dragon appearance in this crossover story. 

Not to offend Erik Larsen fans, but I'm glad he didn't draw the cover. Larsen would take over duties from issues 258–266, and I think by far that is the most horrendous and embarrassing run of art in the entire series. The Savage Dragon was great, but Larsen's style was a horrible match for Spawn. 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 53 - CGC 9.8 

Malebolgia! 

Male-bulge-e-yeah? 

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 2/16/2023 at 12:16 PM, newshane said:

Larsen would take over duties from issues 258–266, and I think by far that is the most horrendous and embarrassing run of art in the entire series.

Made me look....

[newshane]

On 2/17/2023 at 6:58 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

Made me look....

Tell me if that isn't a total embarrassment? The art on the inside is even worse, if you can imagine. 

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 2/17/2023 at 8:01 PM, newshane said:

Tell me if that isn't a total embarrassment? The art on the inside is even worse, if you can imagine. 

I can’t think of any character outside  of Savage Dragon that Larsen should be allowed to pencil.  
 

He’s the modern day Frank Robbins...

Edited February 18, 2023 by THE_BEYONDER

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

On 2/17/2023 at 8:43 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

I can’t think of any character outside  of Savage Dragon that Larsen should be allowed to pencil.  
 

He’s the modern day Frank Robbins...

The first comic series for me that was top of the pile on new comic day was the Outsiders. I had picked up a set of the first 7 or eight issues at the comic shop where I bought all of my Doctor Who stuff back in the '80s. I loved Jim Aparo's art, so much so that it felt off when Alan Davis replaced him on Batman & the Outsiders. So you can imagine the shock when Erik Larsen filled in for the last two issues of the Outsiders.

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 2/18/2023 at 9:08 AM, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

The first comic series for me that was top of the pile on new comic day was the Outsiders. I had picked up a set of the first 7 or eight issues at the comic shop where I bought all of my Doctor Who stuff back in the '80s. I loved Jim Aparo's art, so much so that it felt off when Alan Davis replaced him on Batman & the Outsiders. So you can imagine the shock when Erik Larsen filled in for the last two issues of the Outsiders.

Love Aparo.  Grew up on his Batman & Aquaman.  I never heard of Davis until I got some Tecs in a collection (TEC 569/70).  I enjoy his art.   Can’t imagine Larsen all of a sudden taking over.  Ugh 

[newshane]

SPAWN 54 - CGC 9.8 

Ugly scan. Crisp book! My apologies. 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 55 - CGC 9.8 

I think one of the most interesting characteristics of Spawn as a character is his limited gas tank. Like a battery, he will one day wear out completely. As a result, he really has to be careful when expending his other worldly powers. That's why we see the use of traditional weaponry and one of the reasons we've seen him properly thrashed on occasion. There was even a "power meter" included in many of the earlier issues which tracked his usage of necroplasm. Pretty nifty! 

screenrant.com does a good job of explaining it succinctly, so I will quote them here: 

"In Spawn #1 by Todd McFarlane, fans are introduced to what is seemingly a timer which reads 9:9:9:9, and for many subsequent, the numbers steadily decrease. That timer is eventually revealed to be Spawn’s remaining necroplasm supply, and every time he uses his suit there is less power available to him. Once the number reaches zero, his soul would be forever lost to hell, engulfed in flames for all eternity. So once Spawn learned of the finality of his superhuman abilities, he began using the skill set he acquired in his human life as Al Simmons." 

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by newshane

[newshane]

SPAWN 56 - CGC 9.8

 

[pmpknface]

On 2/19/2023 at 11:59 AM, newshane said:

SPAWN 55 - CGC 9.8 

I think one of the most interesting characteristics of Spawn as a character is his limited gas tank. Like a battery, he will one day wear out completely. As a result, he really has to be careful when expending his other worldly powers. That's why we see the use of traditional weaponry and one of the reasons we've seen him properly thrashed on occasion. There was even a "power meter" included in many of the earlier issues which tracked his usage of necroplasm. Pretty nifty! 

screenrant.com does a good job of explaining it succinctly, so I will quote them here: 

"In Spawn #1 by Todd McFarlane, fans are introduced to what is seemingly a timer which reads 9:9:9:9, and for many subsequent, the numbers steadily decrease. That timer is eventually revealed to be Spawn’s remaining necroplasm supply, and every time he uses his suit there is less power available to him. Once the number reaches zero, his soul would be forever lost to hell, engulfed in flames for all eternity. So once Spawn learned of the finality of his superhuman abilities, he began using the skill set he acquired in his human life as Al Simmons." 

 

I often wondered about the power meter.  I recall that it was there in the earlier issues and I stopped reading around #115 but after a while it just disappeared.  Did it ever come back or did they do anything with it?  I loved that aspect of the character and was always hoping it would be addressed.  

Also, I was wondering if after you sold off your collection did you keep / purchase under copies or have the run in HC / TPB format just to have?  Maybe it's in your 1st post, I forget but thought I'd ask.  Thanks!

 

[newshane]

On 2/21/2023 at 10:29 AM, pmpknface said:

I often wondered about the power meter.  I recall that it was there in the earlier issues and I stopped reading around #115 but after a while it just disappeared.  Did it ever come back or did they do anything with it?  I loved that aspect of the character and was always hoping it would be addressed.  

Also, I was wondering if after you sold off your collection did you keep / purchase under copies or have the run in HC / TPB format just to have?  Maybe it's in your 1st post, I forget but thought I'd ask.  Thanks!

 

McFarlane has brought back the power meter for the Gunslinger series. It was used inconsistently during the regular series. It did go away, but it came back. I just can't recall the specifics. I think most of that is addressed in the link I posted. 

When I sold the collection, I was done. I sold all under copies. I don't have any of the HC TPBs, but I'll get around to buying the fancy set one day. I was pretty obsessed with my collecting goals for a long time, so I needed a clean break to rebuild my sanity. As I'm sure you can imagine, building a set like this is a huge challenge. It ate up a bunch of time, space, and money! 

Thanks for being a faithful reader! 

Edited February 22, 2023 by newshane

[newshane]

SPAWN 57 - CGC 9.8 

GET YOUR PAWS OFF OF ME YOU D*** DIRTY APE! 

Note the logo position. First time straying from the original design. 

Edited February 22, 2023 by newshane

[captainzombie]

On 2/21/2023 at 7:55 PM, newshane said:

McFarlane has brought back the power meter for the Gunslinger series. It was used inconsistently during the regular series. It did go away, but it came back. I just can't recall the specifics. I think most of that is addressed in the link I posted. 

When I sold the collection, I was done. I sold all under copies. I don't have any of the HC TPBs, but I'll get around to buying the fancy set one day. I was pretty obsessed with my collecting goals for a long time, so I needed a clean break to rebuild my sanity. As I'm sure you can imagine, building a set like this is a huge challenge. It ate up a bunch of time, space, and money! 

Thanks for being a faithful reader! 

That is how I have felt with Gunslinger Spawn. Right now out of all the Spawn books, including Scorched, Gunslinger has been the best and most refreshing Spawn title. They are doing something new with GS when compared to the other titles. The last 2 years the only reason I have been collecting Spawn and even King Spawn has been due to the covers and art work.

If you were to try and collect some Spawn, I highly suggest checking it out GS.

[pmpknface]

On 2/21/2023 at 8:55 PM, newshane said:

McFarlane has brought back the power meter for the Gunslinger series. It was used inconsistently during the regular series. It did go away, but it came back. I just can't recall the specifics. I think most of that is addressed in the link I posted. 

When I sold the collection, I was done. I sold all under copies. I don't have any of the HC TPBs, but I'll get around to buying the fancy set one day. I was pretty obsessed with my collecting goals for a long time, so I needed a clean break to rebuild my sanity. As I'm sure you can imagine, building a set like this is a huge challenge. It ate up a bunch of time, space, and money! 

Thanks for being a faithful reader! 

That link was helpful, thanks.  Very interesting...

Oh I totally get it.  I spent much of the weekend scanning comics into my ComicBase database and I'm up to over 27K books.  Talk about time, space, & $!