Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Spawnometer 0:0:2:4: Bloodstrike

Spawn #24
& Bloodstrike #1-3 (1993)
& Brigade #1-3 (1993)
& Bloodstrike: Brutalists #0 (2018)

Listener Discretion Advised

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Spawn #24

by Todd McFarlane

"The Hunt" Part 4
Dedicated To: Joe Sinnot

It looks like someone burned his face off. God... what's this guy been through?

Jason Wynn has become consumed with this case... He knows Fitzgerald is no traitor, but circumstances made him the logical suspect. Rather than admit his error, Wynn continues to conduct a brutal investigation.

And... if he so much as looks at you cross-eyed, make sure his death looks like an accident. Do you read me?

Bloodstrike: Brutalists #0 (2018)

by Michel Fiffe

Project: Born Again.

We're... reanimating a civilian?

Bodyslide's finally patched through-- we'll have to come back for Deadlock. Aw, he was just a pity recruit anyway.

Bloodstrike #1-3 (1993)

by Rob Liefeld & Dan Fraga & Eric Stephenson & & various

It's been a long time coming, Battlestone, but it looks like we're finally gonna get the chance to settle our differences once and for all-- brother to brother!

Brigade #1-3 (1993)

by Rob Liefeld & Marat Mychaels & Norm Rapmund & Eric Stephenson

It's been three months since the members of Brigade last set foot on their native earth, although as their ship silently arcs toward their base of operations in Malibu, California, it seems more like a lifetime.

Nice shooting, Cabbot, you nailed the little bimbo right between the eyes! Precision like that almost makes me wonder why they even bother sending the rest of us on these little road trips! I mean, in these recession-stricken times, a solo act of your caliber would definitely be more cost-effective, no?

Image is Everything

Promotional Material

Van Damme It's Jean Claude: A monthly Jean Claude Van Damme movie breakdown with Paul Shroyer, starting with JCVD's first movie and working his way until the last one, and counts the number of splits.
"I Must Break" This Podcast: A fan podcast celebrating the cinematic career of action legend Dolph Lundgren! Join host Sean Malloy and a special guest as they go in chronological order discussing, reviewing, and analyzing every film in the impressive canon. It's sure to be an action-packed time!
Night of the Living Podcast: We talk about more than just horror films through our unique staff of contributors

Spawning Ground

Al Simmons, Battlestone, Bloodstrike, Brian Murray, Brigade, Cyan, Eric Stephenson, Extreme, Jason Wynn, Marat Mychaels, Michel Fiffe, Overt-Kill, Rob Liefeld, Sam and Twitch, Spawn, Spawn Podcast, Terry Fitzgerald, Todd McFarlane, Tony Twist, Wanda Blake, Youngblood,

Monday, June 1, 2020

2017 Heroes Convention Spawn Jam Figure Layout by Joseph Michael Linsner

Frank attempted his first artist jams in 2014. Yes plural, because Frank. The results were mostly successful to varying degrees, but literally, some of these things are still unfinished six years later. Trying to get a jam done in one weekend was the height of hubris, but in his defense, Frank did get a beauty of an opener from Joe Linsner overnight. Artists can be both a competitive and conscientious lot, so it's always wise to put the very best foot forward. Nobody wants to be the goat who ruins everyone else's work.

JML's bona fides for the piece are clear. Small press comix weren't really viable after the scene around the undergrounds faded. Then there was a huge boom in black & white books fueled by the enormous success of the Teenage Mutant Ninjas Turtles that led to an equally huge bust in 1987. Variety wrote about it. Most of the publishers and talent were finished forever, their books lined quarter bins, and retailers once burned were twice shy about ever giving black & whites the time of day. Then Joes Linsner and Monks founded Cry for Dawn in 1989. Between the best twist-ending horror stories since EC folded, the glorious gray-tone interior art, and the sensual cheesecake covers featuring the scarlet-haired quasi-hostess Dawn, CFD sparked a Turtles-like demand for multiple printings on every issue and skyrocketing back issue prices. There was even a plague of counterfeit #1s that forced buyers to scrutinize potential purchases for reproduction flaws.

After a bitter falling out with Joe Monks, Linsner started his own Sirius Entertainment to publish a slew of color and B&W titles, including the first actual stories for Dawn. The company survived the bust, at least for a few years, but Linsner eventually gravitated toward his former competition at Image to continue his tales. He's still an in-demand creator, now mostly occupied with work for Dynamite Entertainment, but he still occasionally contributes to Image (including a cover for Witchblade #100.)

As much as we love Linsner's ladies, we really wanted to take advantage of his goth and metal roots for the preeminent Image icon, Spawn. The artist was game, and though the intention was to get everything in black & white, who could resist the opportunity to get color work from him? However, color takes time, which was deeply deficit for a jam this ambitious. Eventually, Frank stole away with the line art to seek out further contributions, like Beto's Supreme. The photo above was the only opportunity he had to record Linsner's excellent linework before the coloring took place...