Been out of the loop, in need of some help :)

[lasraik]

I stopped reading comics way back, probably around issue 20 or so.

I'm wanting to get back into reading Spawn and catching up on all of the spinoffs and all of the other storylines that have been published. But I'm confused now that I'm looking everything up.

I see so many different storylines going, is there an order I should read everything in, or any recommendations of what to get first? I'm in the process of getting all of the past issues I've missed and back to current, then branching off and buying the others like Blood Feud and God Slayer.

Any help would be really appreciated!

[BlackToe]

All you gotta know is *spoilers!!!!*





Angela is dead, Malebolgia is dead, Cog is a hell lord, Earth is a plane of existance of itself, Satan and God are brothers, Judas is the most powerful of the 13, God and Satan are gone and banished and Spawn has teeth now...and more spikes.

[Red Spawn]

I stopped reading comics way back, probably around issue 20 or so.

I'm wanting to get back into reading Spawn and catching up on all of the spinoffs and all of the other storylines that have been published. But I'm confused now that I'm looking everything up.

I see so many different storylines going, is there an order I should read everything in, or any recommendations of what to get first? I'm in the process of getting all of the past issues I've missed and back to current, then branching off and buying the others like Blood Feud and God Slayer.

Any help would be really appreciated!

The TPB would be a great start for the regular series and there are not really that many spin-offs.

The Adventures of Spawn can be read online and there is only 1 hardcopy issue.

Spawn Godslayer is an ABSOLUTE must but don't judge it by issue #1.

And you have to be very patient with reading Spawn and the many spinoffs of TWO; waiting for new issues is akin to watching spiders spinning their webs. You would be better off reading Ulysses.

There is always Spawn: A of Fear and the third crossover between Spawn and Batman but they are essentially independent graphic novels and I believe, not part of the continuity. I stand to be corrected of course.

[lasraik]

Is there a TPB for Godslayer?

I picked up the first two TPBs for the original series, reading those again :) Also, how important is reading the Violator and Angela series? I think I had those someplace, but after so many years I can't seem to find 'em. So Godslayer, The Dark Ages, Shadows ect. aren't spin-offs?

Thanks :)

[carnival19]

I agree with Red Spawn, Godslayer is a MUST!!!

[XionSpawn]

I stopped reading comics way back, probably around issue 20 or so.

I'm wanting to get back into reading Spawn and catching up on all of the spinoffs and all of the other storylines that have been published. But I'm confused now that I'm looking everything up.

I see so many different storylines going, is there an order I should read everything in, or any recommendations of what to get first? I'm in the process of getting all of the past issues I've missed and back to current, then branching off and buying the others like Blood Feud and God Slayer.

Any help would be really appreciated!

I suggest that you read Wiki, unless it has been contaminated with user filth. Atleast then you'll understand somewhat of what occured. Oh and look at the main site's section to get the plot down of each comic.

[lasraik]

Been weary of reading Wiki for it, because I don't want any spoilers. Already read a few, then decided to stop so I don't spoil all the reading I have coming :)

[Nines]

I'm in the same boat as lasraik here. From reading this and the summaries of the different series on the main site I drew this out:

***No Spoilers Please***

-Spawn -- The core series. Can be read straight through without spin offs if you like without losing anything essential.

-Spawn: The Dark Ages -- A series in the same universe but not directly linked to the original series.

-Curse of the Spawn -- Similar to TDA in relation to the core, but set in the future with a different Hellspawn.

-Hellspawn -- A reimagining of the original series with a different art style and modified mythos.

-Shadows of Spawn -- A manga style series related like TDA and CotS to the original series. Features different hellspawn and plot.

-Spawn: Godslayer -- A high fantasy series in perhaps the same universe, but a very different and distant world to the core.

-The Adventures of Spawn -- A web based series. Involves Al Simmons Spawn and a number of other core series character in a different lighter universe reflected by the Tenn Titans-esque art style.

-Spawn/Batman, Violator, Angela -- All mini-off mini series that have a little effect on the core series plot. Mostly used as side plot and nonessential.

-Spawn: Ar****ects of Fear -- I'm pretty clueless about this one. It seems to be a spin off plot. Or something related in the way Hellspawn is.

Any feel free to add to or correct what I have here.

***Once again, no spoilers on any of the series please.***

[Red Spawn]

Is there a TPB for Godslayer?

I picked up the first two TPBs for the original series, reading those again :) Also, how important is reading the Violator and Angela series? I think I had those someplace, but after so many years I can't seem to find 'em. So Godslayer, The Dark Ages, Shadows ect. aren't spin-offs?

Thanks :)

The Violator mini-series is a 3-issue series and Spawn appeared only in the very last page of #2 before getting a butt-kicking in #3. In Angela, he is more involved, literally and figuratively. Again I stand to be corrected but I don't believe that the mini-series are meant to be part of the continuity.

You can check out the chronology in http://spawndom.blogspot.com/search/label/6.%20Checklist%20of%20Spawn%20Comics

It would show you every appearance of Spawns, not only Al Simmons but you can jot down every appearance of Spawn in your attempt to read everything about him. It is not exactly Wiki standard and continue to be a WIP, so please be kind. :D

[Red Spawn]

I'm in the same boat as lasraik here. From reading this and the summaries of the different series on the main site I drew this out:

***No Spoilers Please***

-Spawn -- The core series. Can be read straight through without spin offs if you like without losing anything essential.

-Spawn: The Dark Ages -- A series in the same universe but not directly linked to the original series.

-Curse of the Spawn -- Similar to TDA in relation to the core, but set in the future with a different Hellspawn.

-Hellspawn -- A reimagining of the original series with a different art style and modified mythos.

-Shadows of Spawn -- A manga style series related like TDA and CotS to the original series. Features different hellspawn and plot.

-Spawn: Godslayer -- A high fantasy series in perhaps the same universe, but a very different and distant world to the core.

-The Adventures of Spawn -- A web based series. Involves Al Simmons Spawn and a number of other core series character in a different lighter universe reflected by the Tenn Titans-esque art style.

-Spawn/Batman, Violator, Angela -- All mini-off mini series that have a little effect on the core series plot. Mostly used as side plot and nonessential.

-Spawn: Ar****ects of Fear -- I'm pretty clueless about this one. It seems to be a spin off plot. Or something related in the way Hellspawn is.

Any feel free to add to or correct what I have here.

***Once again, no spoilers on any of the series please.***


And of course three are the many guest appearances of Spawn. Supreme, Youngblood etc.

Notice you aren't able to type out the word "Ar****ects". Same problem here too!

[Nines]

I'm pretty much right with those descriptions and such though right? All those series include Heaven, Hell, or the denizens there of, right?

[lasraik]

The Violator mini-series is a 3-issue series and Spawn appeared only in the very last page of #2 before getting a butt-kicking in #3. In Angela, he is more involved, literally and figuratively. Again I stand to be corrected but I don't believe that the mini-series are meant to be part of the continuity.

You can check out the chronology in http://spawndom.blogspot.com/search/label/6.%20Checklist%20of%20Spawn%20Comics

It would show you every appearance of Spawns, not only Al Simmons but you can jot down every appearance of Spawn in your attempt to read everything about him. It is not exactly Wiki standard and continue to be a WIP, so please be kind. :D


Wow, that's an awesome list, thank you!

[Red Spawn]

Wow, that's an awesome list, thank you!

Thank you

[lasraik]

I had picked up the first two Spawn TPBs, and last night I noticed there are issues missing in it :mad:

It's issues 1-8, 11, 12. It skips over 9 and 10

[Nines]

9 is skipped over because of the Neil Gaiman legal BS.

[lasraik]

One more question, is this a TPB of the series or another storyline:

http://www.amazon.com/Spawn-Book-Beginnings-Todd-McFarlane/dp/1887279504/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-0257957-7619023?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194382178&sr=8-1

[Red Spawn]

One more question, is this a TPB of the series or another storyline:

http://www.amazon.com/Spawn-Book-Beginnings-Todd-McFarlane/dp/1887279504/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-0257957-7619023?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194382178&sr=8-1

That's the original TPB versions. The first TPB ran for 12 Books before disappearing into publishing void. The last issue at Book 12 is #54. The original run has the Neil Gaiman's #9 in Book 2 but not #10 written by Dave Sim, cf. Cerebus.

The second run of TPB occured recently and is called Spawn Collection. Thus far there are 4 volumes: Volume 1 to Volume 4 republished #1 to #75.

A separate run is Spawn Armaggeddon TPB collecting #150 to #163. You can either get it as a 2-volume collection or single volume collection.

[lasraik]

Okay that made sense. I have the Spawn Collection volumes 1 and 2, and didn't know what those other TPBs were.

Thanks again for your help and info, I'm trying to get all the issues/tpbs I've missed and it can get confusing for someone who's been gone so long :)

[Red Spawn]

Glad to be of help and remember to check out Spawn II from #164. I am going to ruffle a few feathers here but I like this new series better. :)

[lasraik]

Glad to be of help and remember to check out Spawn II from #164. I am going to ruffle a few feathers here but I like this new series better. :)

By the new series you mean after 150? What do you like about it and why would you ruffle feathers?

[Red Spawn]

By the new series you mean after 150? What do you like about it and why would you ruffle feathers?

Spawn has entered into a new phase, starting from #164. You mentioned that you bought Spawn Collection TPB right? Well, you would know what I mean when you reach the appropriate issue. It would spoil the joy of your reading if you know too much in advance :) . Unfortunately, you would only be at #75 when you are done with Spawn Collection Vol 4, so if you don't regard patience as a virtue, jump to Spawn Armaggeddon Collection (#150 to #163) which complete the first phase of the Spawn mythos.

By ruffling a few feathers, I simply meant that I prefer this new direction but on the other hand, I am sure that there would definitely be many who disagreed, that's all. Nothing sinister, my friend.

[lasraik]

:)

I'm about halfway through TPB #2, and I was thinking of getting the next TPB due for release soon or just getting the issues between that and the Amaggeddom Collection. I am tempted, but I'll wait it out.

[David Hine]

Lasraik. Welcome back to Spawn! I had a similar experience to you when I started writing Spawn, except in my case I had to read all 150 issues in about a week to bring myself up to scratch.

It would be cool to read the whole series from the beginning but it may be tough to track down all those issues. You could easily jump on at 166. I hope that the background info on the inside cover will tell you enough to follow what's happening. Then as you catch up on the back issues, all kinds of things will make more sense.

The monthly series is the official continuity and you don't have to read any of the other series. (In the sense that they aren't vital to understanding the plot.) Some of them like Curse of Spawn are completely outside continuity and I haven't read all that extra material myself.

The series I would wholeheartedly recommend (even though Spawn himself doesn't appear) are the early Sam and Twitch, which have been recently collected in two volumes. These are written by Brian Bendis and have some of the best dialogue ever seen in comics.

Then there's the trade paperback: "Hellspawn: The Ashley Wood collection." Again this is out of continuity but they are great stories, written by Bendis and Steve '30 Days of Night' Niles. Beautiful art by Wood.

I hope that's of some help to you.

[metal_hellspawn]

I think David puts it best.

If you can afford it and not want to hunt down every single issue, I'd look into the Spawn Collections managed by Brian Haberlin, their great, up to issue 75.
I had the same problem you had when I first came back to comics, so no worries there, you'll be caught up before you know it! :D

[lasraik]

Thanks again for the replies :)

The TPBs only go up to issue 75? I was hoping to get TPBs all the way to 166, gonna go out and pick up 166 and the rest this weekend.

I was trying to get my hands on the whole series on ebay, but I suck at winning auctions at the very last minute :(