King Spawn #33 is written by Todd McFarlane and published by Image Comics. Artwork is by Javi Fernandez, colours by Ivan Nunes and letters by Andworld Design. Cover art is by Puppeteer Lee and Paul Renaud.
King Spawn #33 is available now, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
While learning to cope with the new status quo, Al receives a message from someone he’d long thought dead—a message that shakes him to his core.
Review
Just who was the one to kidnap Granny Blake? That’s the sole motivator for Al’s gruesome and stylistically enthralling attacks in this week’s King Spawn #33. The gloves are off as McFarlane plays with conventional storytelling in an issue which is a complex as it is gory.
Last issue we learned that it wasn’t Kruger who had kidnapped Granny. For now at least, Al isn’t aware that he’s being manipulated by a rival gang and so we find him hell bent on finding his target. But in a twist inspired by Chris Nolan’s Memento, the story plays out in reverse. Beginning at the end and working backwards through a series of increasingly bloody interactions featuring a melee of different weapons.
McFarlane leans in to Al’s roots to expose just how dedicated and dangerous he can be. It’s been a while since we’ve seen King Spawn action quite so single-minded and violent. Between pulling teeth with pliers and puncturing holes with a corkscrew there’s never a missed beat. Working backwards gives added insight such as seeing Al grabbing the corkscrew after seeing the damage he does with it.
Starting “moments earlier” and ending “two days earlier” really pays off. Particularly with as we work in reverse to go from Spawn getting his man before tracking back to the origin of the mission. The reverse approach feels fresh and exciting rather than gimmicky, adding a different layer of intrigue to the story. Adding to that is our knowledge that Spawn’s mission is misguided. This overlays a real sense of doom for the reader. Knowing there’s a full story ahead without the other shoe dropping, leaving us hostage to witnessing events unfold.
Artist Javi Fernandez gets to have some real fun this month. Not only with the various moments of gore, though those are definitely a highlight. There are also a number of visually enticing set pieces littered throughout the issue. A single page of Al climbing the stairs at Kruger’s building, dispatching security as he goes is a cool use of real-time style imagery. Whilst the book’s focus on vampire characters also breaks new ground outside of its more typical demonic style.
Verdict
A cool, unconventional issue which plays with linear storytelling. Whilst McFarlane plays with convention, artist Javi Fernandez is revelling in one of the goriest Spawn issues in recent memory.
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