KING SPAWN #23, from Image Comics on 6/21/23, pits Spawn and Sam against a powered-up Yoko, imbued with the power of pain and anger from dozens of ghosts.
The Details
- Written by: Sean Lewis, Todd McFarlane
- Art by: Kevin Keane
- Colors by: Ivan Nunes
- Letters by: AndWorld Design
- Cover art by: Chris Stevens (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Teen+
- Cover price: $2.99
- Release date: June 21, 2023
Is It Good?
KING SPAWN #23 doesn’t pull any punches in the pain department. As Sean Lewis and Todd McFarlane’s narration points out, Spawn is a soldier and a fighter who does best when dealing with physical attacks. Yoko deals with the pain of the mind and the heart, turning her into one of Spawn’s toughest challenges yet.
Lewis and McFaralne’s script picks up where issue #22 left off as Spawn confronts Yoko to either save her or stop her for good after Exodus’s experiments subverted her powers far beyond their limits. Through a brief flashback, we see the sisterly bond Yoko developed with Cyan and how (irrationally) Yoko blames Spawn for their separation. Now, Spawn is assaulted by the ghosts of dozens of minds living within Yoko. Sam tries to intervene, but Yoko forces him to confront his own pain through memories of an abusive childhood at the hands of his father.
When you have a hero who relies on strength and physical force to get the job done, how does he win against an enemy who invades his mind? That’s the question Lewis and McFarlane ask the reader in this issue, and the answers don’t come easy. Yoko’s presence as a villain is brutal and relentless, the pacing moves briskly, and the cliffhanger ups the severity of Spawn’s predicament significantly.
The minor down point of the issue is the oddly chatty narration that sometimes dips into describing the panels as they happen instead of letting the art and the dialog do the work. A disembodied narrator can help fill the in-between moments to inform the reader what’s happening, but this is a case where less is more.
How’s the art? It’s fantastic, as you would expect from any comic with the name ‘Spawn’ on the title. Kevin Keane’s inks/pencils are fluid, dynamic, and dramatic. Ivan Nunes’s coloring execution is the best in the business. Even AndWorld Design’s lettering packs a punch with bold color choices for the captions.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with Sawn facing off against Yoko in the laboratory where Exodus has been feeding her intelligent minds to boost her power. In a single shot, Yoko unleashes the ghosts of those minds in a torrent of rage and pain like a storm of shattered glass into Spawn’s body.
Sam sees what’s happening from his hiding place, so he does the only two things he can do – call Twitch for help and cock his pistol. Twitch receives the call for help and races to Sam’s location while Sam opens fire on Yoko. The bullets hit their mark, but Yoko’s powers now transcend physical damage. The ghosts pull Sam close to Yoko so she can unlock Sam’s mind with the trauma of his abuse as a child.
We conclude the issue with a hitchhiker, a recovery, and new arrivals.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
(Click this link 👇 to order this comic)
KING SPAWN #23 confronts Spawn with his greatest adversary yet in the form of a woman who can unleash ghosts to inflict torment on Spawn’s mind and spirit. The conflict is as thought-provoking as it is dramatic, and the art is stupendous.
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.