Spawnometer 0:0:3:2: Blood Feud

Spawn #32
& Spawn: Blood Feud (1995)

Listener Discretion Advised

ShoutEngine ⚬ Internet Archive ⚬ iTunes ⚬ Spotify ⚬ MP3

Spawn #32

by Todd McFarlane & Greg Capullo

"Appearances"
Dedicated To: My - Wanda Kolomyjec

Composed of necro-plasm, this new warrior of the damned comes bound to a body-sheathing, red and black neural parasite.

Having been in "The Service" now for well over two millennia, she understands... Upper management's business plan must be fully understood... particularly in light of Gabrielle's fiasco. Like any successful employee, Rafael knows one's appearance is important at these sessions.

Our goal is to listen. To learn. We guide only those who ask, and even then they mustn't know it's us... for the human soul is salvation for all of us.

Spawn Blood Feud #1-4 (1995)

by Alan Moore & Tony Daniel & Kevin Conrad

Dedicated To: Leah Moore, Amber Moore and all Young Urban Monsters Everywhere.
Dedicated To: Linda Gebbie: The Champ Vamp.
Dedicated To: Sylvia Moore (1927-1995)
Dedicated To: Jake and Joseph Moore: The Men of Tomorrow

I think today's our ninth anniversary, sir.

I feel you creeping against my flesh. I know how your chains move and I saw how you reacted in Heaven. Is that what's causing my blackouts? Some contra-reaction to paradise?

We all know why I'm here tonight. You have a problem, and that problem is super-natural beings. You may think of them in different terms: Youngbloods, Superfreaks... whatever. Personally, I prefer older labels... Wurdalak. Nosferatu. Vampire.

Image is Everything

• Episode Art Gallery

Promotional Material

• The Death-Defying Human FlyCast: Join your host Max Romero as he and a rotating roster of guests explore one of the weirder corners of the Marvel Universe in this limited-episode show!
• Right Between The Eyes Podcast: A podcast about the rock band KISS. Hosted by 3 generations of KISS fans telling you why we love it LOUD. Covering all eras of the band, plus much much more!
• The Monsters That Made Us Podcast: Join “The Invisible Dan” Colón and “Monster Mike” Manzi as they celebrate all of the SPOOKTACULAR characters and films in the Universal Studios Classic Monster series.

Spawning Ground

• Twitter
• Facebook
• tumblr
• rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.com
• #Spawnometer
• Spawnometer on Blogspot
• Rolled Spine Podcasts on Wordpress

Al Simmons, Alan Moore, Angela, Cogliostro, Greg Capullo, The Curse, Tony Daniel, Rafael, Redeemer, Sam and Twitch, Spawn, Spawn Podcast, Terry Fitzgerald, Todd McFarlane, The Violator, Wanda Blake, Jason Wynn,

2019 Fan Expo Boston Invincible colors by Sid Ven Blu

It's funny, because I'd read the first trade of Invincible and a few odd issues besides, but it wasn't my bag, so he was the character of least personal interest at the time of commissioning Tom Yeates. Since then, I've watched the first season of an animated show that probably wasn't in production in 2017, and am now much more informed and enthused about that property. Anyway, the core art for the jam was done during a weekend stay in North Carolina, and finished out of state. Once I got the original art back, I wanted to try to maintain a non-Texas approach and get the colors done on a road trip. The first new color job ran into problems, so I was apprehensive about the second, but how could I just have two characters done and stop?

So at the piece's third show, I was on the lookout for a color artist, and stumbled upon Sid Ven Blu. To my knowledge, she was an unknown at the time, so I only had her color originals at the table to judge from, but was impressed. It's also a really unusual request in my experience to have one artist color another's, at least in the realm of commissions. As I recall, Ven Blu generally worked in water colors, but that would have warped the paper and possibly interacted with the ink. I think she had some markers, or got some on loan, but still approached the project with trepidation. Thankfully, everything worked out swell, and she has since gone on to professional coloring work on IDW's Transformers (with the accompanying fan wiki stub.

"Isadora Venturini Blu, alias Sid Ven Blu, (born 1992) is a Chilean artist. Born in La Serena, Sid Ven Blu initially graduated from la Universidad del Desarrollo in Santiago to study digital illustration. She later attended The Kubert School of art in New Jersey, USA, to focus on coloring by hand. Sid Ven Blu enjoys drawing mechanical designs both traditionally and digitally." My girlfriend was especially pleased to see a fellow Latina done good, and I really enjoy the subtle colors with cool lighting effects (the scan doesn't do it justice.) This pass made me much more confident that the coloring would turn out in the long run, but like the Butthole Surfers, we'd be doing it in Texas (with Daniel Dahl!)

Sid Ven Blu

• sidvenblu-art.com
• Deviant Art
• Twitter

Image Comics 25th Anniversary Jam Julie Winters & Friends process detail by Evan Dorkin

"Hey, just wanted to let you know I've been working on the piece. I wanted to know if there were any Image characters you might have wanted thrown into dead spaces as I fill things up. I can find reference online, but if there's a specific look/era/costume for a character, I'll need to be pointed in the right direction."

"I can connect the lines where needed on other stuff, no problem. We can talk about coloring when the inks are done so you can make decisions based on that."

"I wanted to check up on characters to fill it out with, because I have some space. As you can see so far I've included The Jungle Queen/Julie, She-Dragon, Boof and two Bruise Crew members, Bomb Queen and Trencher."

2019 Fandemic Tour Supreme colors by Daniel Dahl

As previously mentioned, Gilbert “Beto” Hernandez's sketch for the jam had a light touch, so Evan Dorkin helped to fill out some of the details. I still wanted Supreme to be a bit meatier, especially standing next to Linsner's Spawn, and that effort would ultimately fall on the shoulders of the colorist. I attended the last Fandemic convention in Houston before COVID, but I was out of pocket from a trip a couple months earlier. I don't recall if I had a specific reason for going, or if I even went both days, but I wasn't rolling heavy into this particular show. While browsing tables, I came across the work of Daniel Dahl, visiting from Minnesota and seeming to specialize in sketch cover variants. I liked his line work, but wasn't really in the market to start new pieces while I still had lingering jams to finish. However, he was particular good with the color work, using it to add depth and weight to his pieces. He felt like a perfect fit for what I was looking for in Supreme, and while Xerox scans are notoriously bad at capturing subtlety of color, I think you can still see that he knocked it out of the park. I loved his work so much, I got him to do a couple characters, as you'll see in the future...

Daniel Dahl

• tumblr
• Instagram
• Deviant Art
• Twitter

2017 Heroes Convention Image Comics 25th Anniversary Jam Background Rough Layout by Evan Dorkin

As previously discussed, I knew that I wanted Evan Dorkin to be part of the jam, both for his being an independent comics creator that predated Image Comics, but also because he'd successfully transitioned between indie projects and work-for-hire at Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and even Bongo Comics. It's a bonus when the artists didn't have any particular association with Image, even though the whole thing started with Linsner, and Alan Davis did a fair amount of Wildstorm work. Anyway, I was introduced to Milk & Cheese through one of their hilarious Slave Labor Graphics specials, then moved on to Instant Piano and DORK!, though today he's probably best known for The Eltingville Club, Beasts of Burden, and his TV work for shows like Space Ghost Coast to Coast. He's a long time favorite with a cult following and a shelf full of Eisners, Harveys, and Ignatzs. Ignatzes? Is Ignatz already the plural of Ignatz? I know it's a z, but it has an s-ish sound, right?

My buddy Fix has had a massive Milk & Cheese piece for decades that I've always been envious of, so even without the jam, I'd have wanted to get something from the artist. As with Howard Chaykin, I was intimidated on approaching Dorkin, known for an acerbic, withering wit. Also like Chaykin, he turned out to be a delight, so I needn't have worried. My girlfriend and I talked comics, movies, et cetera with Dorkin, and he put up with all my comings and going to navigate the piece and determine his role in it. After passing on Shadowhawk and debating options, we settled on the Savage Dragon as the best fit. However, with all of the Heroes Con elements finished, I went back to Dorkin and asked "How would you like to ink Neal Adams?"

In truth, he wasn't exactly enthused, but the Pitt layout was exceptionally loose. After some discussion, it was decided that Dorkin would "finish" the piece, providing needed embellishments, extensions, and background elements to round out the art in total. Besides doing Dragon and tightening Pitt, we primarily talked about adding a bunch of Isz from Sam Keith's The Maxx and random EXTREME! '90s elements. Despite his self-deprication, Dorkin never does anything halfway, so before long we were both researching additional characters to squeeze into the margins. Above is a heavily contrasted scan the artist used to show me his general course before we'd really gotten to talking. You can see that even at this early stage, there's a huge improvement in making everything feel interconnected, rather than a collection of toys bunched together in negative space...

2017 Heroes Convention Image Comics 25th Anniversary Jam WIP

While never the most reliable show in our stable (are any of them?) Spawnometer really derailed in May. Blame falls on both co-hosts getting swallowed up at different times so that we could never align long enough to knock the next one out. That said, Frank does all the art posts, and has had plenty of opportunities to maintain the blog on that front. But hey, it wouldn't be an Image Comics project without interminable, unexplained delays, right? I had a kid and moved back to the Philippines after proposing to my girlfriend via a three page comic strip while building a recording studio for my band! What do you want from me?

As an apology, let me finally offer the incomplete jam where it was left at the end of Heroes Con. This is far from the finished piece, as you'll begin to see next week, but so far as what got done at the con, this is fully representative. It's a shoddy photo though. I'm going to try to pin Fix down and do a few episodes in coming weeks to hopefully return to a regular schedule in August. So, from one "A" month to another?

Spawnometer 0:0:3:1: Violator vs. Badrock featuring Celestine

Spawn #31
& Violator vs. Badrock (1995)
& Celestine (1996)

Listener Discretion Advised

ShoutEngine ⚬ Internet Archive ⚬ iTunes ⚬ Spotify ⚬ MP3

Spawn #31

by Todd McFarlane & Greg Capullo

"The Homecoming"
Dedicated To: Tom Palmer

Filled with an anxiety he didn't expect, Spawn breaks into a sprint. Adrenalin pumps harder. He needs his alleys. Moreso, he wants them.

Gentlemen, let this serve as a formal introduction. I am Rafael. I am taking over for Gabrielle, who has been removed as Commander of Terran Affairs.

Earlier today in New York City's Bowery, a "mysterious light" was at the center of the unexpected disappearance of one of the area's leading citizens. Phil Timper had worked with the homeless through various charities and shelters for eleven years, and was honored last year...

Violator vs. Badrock #1-4 (1995)

by Alan Moore & Brian Denham & Jonathan Sibal & Danny Miki

Through here we have video records of the shopping mall incident last year in New York that inspired Project Dante... A group of extra-terrestrial beings, strikingly similar to the medieval concept of demons, appeared from thin air...

Celestine #1-2 (1996)

by Warren Ellis & Patrick Lee & various

Where do angels go when they die?

There is an angel who has killed angels. There was a rebellion in heaven once, and she wore the teeth of the rebels as jewelry. She struck them down, and thought nothing of where she was sending them...

I fought a demon on Earth, and he tricked me. He tore out my heart and threw it on the floor.

Image is Everything

• Episode Art Gallery

Promotional Material

• Days of High Adventure a podcast focusing on comic books in the fantasy/sword & sorcery genre. Any title from any publisher, so long as it fits the fantasy theme.
• Citizen Kane Minute: The greatest film of all time, five minutes at a time.
• Merry Marvel MARCHing Society 2021: A multi-podcast crossover covering 1989's Acts of Vengeance

Spawning Ground

• Twitter
• Facebook
• tumblr
• rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.com
• #Spawnometer
• Spawnometer on Blogspot
• Rolled Spine Podcasts on Wordpress

Terry Fitzgerald,Spawn,Todd McFarlane,Greg Capullo,Al Simmons,Spawn Podcast,Sam and Twitch,Rafael,The Violator,Phlebiac Brothers,Youngblood,Rob Liefeld,Alan Moore,Bobby,Boots,

2017 Heroes Convention Spawn Color Jam Figure by Joseph Michael Linsner

A mere four years after the fact, we can finally double back to look at the alpha and omega of the Heroes Con jam, Spawn. Dawn creator Joe Linsner produced this first figure's line art, then I borrowed the piece from him for further additions. I was still moving the piece around the floor when he flagged me down to apply the color while he had time in his schedule. To be honest, I was so happy with the basic figure that it was worth the expensive I'd paid up front for color, and I'd considered kicking out more money to see if he could color other figures. My grand ambition to complete the piece on the floor of the con that weekend was looking dimmer all the time though, and it seemed best to just get Spaen completed and worry about the rest later. The colors are as gorgeous as I'd expected, and my one regret is that I only have a few blurry photographs at this stage of the jam, pre-&-post Pitt, taken on the floor. For the instance of showing off Linsner's colors, I've taken this image from a later scan and tried to clear away elements that might distract from the core Spawn image.

2017 Heroes Convention Pitt Jam Sketch by Neal Adams

I believe that by this point, it had already been determined that Evan Dorkin's contribution to the jam would be provided after the convention. I still tried to get in a few quickies like WildStar before turning the piece over, because I still wanted it to be a HeroesCon 2017 piece mearly "finished" after the fact. Despite not being an official Image founder, I felt that Dale Keown came in early and was important enough to rate inclusion. I'd already been refused by indie/self-publishing legends like Jim Steranko and Frank Brunner, so I figured Neal Adams of all people was a huge longshot. No creator came closer to creating an Image Comics before the Marvel Exodus than Adams, one of the most important figures in the history of comics, and easily one of its greatest and most influential artists. Also, while Bernie Wrightson is his most obvious antecedent, Keown's style seemingly owed no small debt to Adams.

Again, we're in the last hour of the show, I see Adams on Pitt as a total Hail Mary, and was frankly shocked when he said yes. Adams drew some of my earliest favorites as a comic book fan, so it was a big deal to get original work from him on short notice at a reasonable rate. He knocked it out while I watched, and admittedly this is a layout at best, but it still pleased me immensely to get something I specifically asked for (and will unlikely ever be replicated) by someone of Adams' stature. Also, frankly, Neal Adams is an intimidating guy with an imposing reputation, so the fact that I also own a Martian Manhunter head sketch and got Adams to agree to a very brief (by design) interview is a source of pride to me. I've had nothing but entertaining experiences with Neal Adams.

Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Spawn #30
& Tribe
& Valeria the She-Bat

Listener Discretion Advised

ShoutEngine ⚬ Internet Archive ⚬ iTunes ⚬ Spotify ⚬ MP3

Spawn #30

by Todd McFarlane & Greg Capullo & thanks to Kevin Conrad

"The Clan"
Dedicated To: Little Katie and Cyan

Those white-trash maggots! I swear they'll pay for this! If it's the last thing I do, they'll pay!

So believe me, I understand your anger... but they've only torched your fields. When they had all they could stomache of me, they torched something far more precious. That's why I wear the mask. Because of them.

WHAT?! It's a friggin' colored! How dare you desecrate the sacred robe?! NO darkie is worthy of its touch! How dare you mess with us?!

Valeria the She-Bat (1993)

by Neal Adams with Peter Stone

Tribe (1993)

by Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

Image is Everything

• Episode Art Gallery
• Blindspot
• Ditto
• Europan
• Fly Girl
• The Front
• Hannibal & Elias
• Lord Deus
• Out Cold
• Rosalyn
• Shift
• Steel Pulse
• Victor Von Grock

Promotional Material

• Praire Justice: The Greg Sanders Vigilante Podcast by Gord Tolton.
• X Is For Podcast: An X-Men Reading Experience where Nico, Jonah, Kevo, Kyle, and more wade through the waters of Marvel’s Merry Mutants.
• The Superheroes In Color Podcast: Podcast conversations about the Black comicverse facilitated by Wesley Hall and The Auburn Ave Research Library.

Spawning Ground

• Twitter
• Facebook
• tumblr
• rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.com
• #Spawnometer
• Spawnometer on Blogspot
• Rolled Spine Podcasts on Wordpress

WildC.A.T.s,Cyberforce,Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson,Tribe,Shadowhawk,Youngblood,Wetworks,Savage Dragon,Terry Fitzgerald,Spawn,Todd McFarlane,Greg Capullo,Al Simmons,Spawn Podcast,Sam and Twitch,Valeria the She-Bat,Chapel,

Image Sourcebook: Blindspot

Real Name: Murdock Ellison
Occupation: Scientist and inventor
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Unknown
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Tribe
Base of Operations: Brooklyn, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)

History: Europan destroyed Murdock Ellison's company, taking most of his money, and plunging his world into darkness. After existing past this defeat, Ellison gathered others who shared his circumstance, banding together to stop Victor Von Grock and his technology-thieving company.

Ellison retained a connection to Rumble Wear, the fashion house and costume designer for the enhanced being in your life, whose owner Michelle Byrd always worked overtime. Byrd assisted in Ellison's ongoing conflict with Europan, including providing his Rumble G.E.A.R. and alerting Blindspot of a Diamond low security switching station in Brooklyn that was part of its G.E.M. (Global Emergency Mainframe) that would allow access to the enemy corporation, who were Diamond subscribers. Elias Banneker drove a van with Blindspot, Rosalyn, Shift, & Hannibal to break into the G.E.M., but they were immediately detected by Diamond Headquarters. Control teleported in a strike team, but they were repelled by a car thrown by Rosalyn, prompting an emergency reorder back to base.

Ellison's group escaped with valuable information, passing Ditto along the way. The breach was reported up to the Pentagon's Office of Sanctions, but wishing to handle the matter externally to avoid involving I/O (International Operations), communications were scrambled and a file with the D.L. Group was authorized to be opened. They presumably outsourced to Shelter, whose Dreux Baker recognized his former associate Ellison from security footage.

Not wishing for another debacle, Blindspot alone entered Europan's New York headquarters to hack their main data base, but was soon detected and attacked by Lord Deus. Ellison fared slightly better against Victor Von Grock, but still had his mind partially read before jumping out a window to escape. Recognizing that he would need still more associates to confront this level of power, Ellison set about recruiting The Front and Steel Pulse. Besides Europan, Tribe faced figures associated with organized crime, such as Out Cold. Tribe eventually faced Europan Manji and Lord Deus himself, but Blindspot devised an attack that prompted their retreat.

In an revealed later episode, Blindspot would have met Fly Girl.

Height: Tall
Build: Athletic
Eyes: Dark
Hair: Black
Strength level: Normal.
Known superhuman powers: Murdock Ellison is a genius innovator. Upon seeing similarities between the android Hannibal and Eurpan's Manji armored troopers, Blindspot whipped together a device that could shut down the units remotely in a matter of moments. This may have been a Dilithium Q 36 Spacial Modulator, as he handed such a device off to Shift to use against Lord Deus, though it proved ineffective. Blindspot's $50,000 state of the art Rumble G.E.A.R (General Energy Absorbing Rags) includes D.S.R. (Dynamic Spatial Reconstruction). This stealth garb cloaks Blindspot from all sensory apparatuses. With the help of Slate and Desmond Negril, the stealth unit also includes a Stromium alloy with 94% energy dispersion, defending Blindspot against kinetic impact as well as absorbing and redirecting energy attacks through discharge circuits. Lord Deus was able to see through Blindspot's invisibility and fry his stealth circuits. It also contains a communication headset and scatter scan technology for monitoring other people's communications.

© & ™ 1996 Todd Johnson & Larry Stroman

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Rosalyn

Real Name: Yaarashea
Occupation: Unknown
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Unknown
Place of Birth: Unknown
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Tribe
Base of Operations: Brooklyn, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: Little is known about the mysterious and powerful Yaarashea, except that one thousand years ago, she opposed Lord Deus. The price was to lose her identity and to be confined in a more mortal form. The exact time frame between her earliest clashes with Deus and her being striken with amnesia is unclear. What became of her in the gap has not been recorded, but she turned up in modern times using the name Rosalyn.

Murdock Ellison met Rosalyn seemingly by chance one day on the street in New York. Despite a bungled pick-up attempt, they eventually became close friends, and Rosalyn joined his crusade against Europan looks for answers about her own life. She was the back-up muscle in the G.E.M. switching station break-in, tossing a car through an exterior wall to provide cover for the exit of Ellison and his associates. In her downtime, she trained in the ring with Short Order, and traveled with her assoaciate Elias Banneker to the Hype club to confront Europan Manji. Lord Deus himself appeared following their destruction, and while he made short work of the rest of Tribe, only Rosalyn gave him pause. Not recognizing her at first, Deus placed Rosalyn in a stasis envelope and intended to kill her through a massive dispersal of thermal energy. Instead, its power restored her aura, freeing her from a years long imprisonment in a "shell of flesh... left powerless and with no memory of the past." Manifesting new battle armor, Yaarashea acknowledged that she never actual lost her power, "only the memory to regain it." Though mostly continuing to fight on her own, Lord Deus was ultimately driven away through a team effort, leaving Ellison and Tribe to reevaluate their relationship with Rosalyn in the wake of these revelations.

Height: Short
Build: Thick
Eyes: Dark
Hair: Black
Strength level: Lots.
Known superhuman powers: Rosalyn is regarded as the most powerful member of Tribe, even when that was defined by her exceptional physical strength and fighting proficiency. She is capable of withstanding great physical punishment, lethal projectiles, and even mental barrages while remaining calm and cool under pressure. With her restored demigoddess powers, her strength appeared to increase, she could directly absorb energy blasts from Lord Deus, gained powers of telepathy, and may have been able to see through the illusions of The Front. Her new battle armor included four prehensile tendrils, which she used to briefly restrain Lord Deus. When accessing her uppermost mortal abilities, Rosalyn would manifest a glow, particularly from one of her eyes. This may have been an indication of her reaching for her demigoddess abilities.
Notes: The creators explicitly reference Rosalyn as being the most popular Tribe character among fans in trading cards and other promotional materials. She is the most often referenced, even appearing in frontpieces of issues in which she otherwise isn't featured, and despite having a relatively minor role in all but the concluding chapter of the only published Tribe story arc.
© & ™ 1996 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Lord Deus

Real Name: Unknown; surname alternately offered as Deivirile or Devirelle
Base of Operations: SoHo, Manhattan, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: The sinister Lord Deus Devirelle is a self-proclaimed demigod, though there are no living witnesses to dispute this allegation. Eons old, Lord Deus' body defies the natural order of aging, requiring a month long slumber in an automated pod filled with life prolonging fluids. Afterward, he is attended to by robotic drones, which attach his metallic wardrobe. Mysterious in origin, Lord Deus has faced foes for over a thousand years, and sees himself as apart from humanity. Lord Deus is unknown to the public, but as the true power behind Europan, he remains a menace to the world. While typically content with allowing Victor Von Grock to handle the business, when displeased, Deus does not hesitate to threaten and batter the executive.

Lord Deus will gleefully slaughter a room full of superhumans, if he can find one who survives with something to offer his organization. Following a few modest defeats at the hands of Murdock Ellison's Tribe, Lord Deus chose to openly attack the team without warning, and made short work of most of the team. He was perhaps provoked by the reemergence of his ancient opponent Yaarashea, who had had stripped of most power and identity a millennium prior. Regardless, it was ultimately the teamwork of Tribe and their attack on his seemingly essential chair of power that ended direct hostilities, inducing Lord Deus to teleport away. Among his other named enemies are the Offworlders and Paladins.

Height: 8'0"
Build: Massive
Hair: Bald
Strength level: Lots.
Known superhuman powers: Deus has displayed extensive use of energy manipulation and projection (specifically concentric plasma discharges,) highly advanced senses, and teleportation. He can easily see through illusions and invisibility technology. Deus is protected by a force shield, and can project a localized stasis envelope to trap enemies. As the fractuals discharge, they disperse massive thermal energy into any object placed in a common center. Lord Deus also possesses extraordinary strength and resilience, enough to easily overcome the likes of Hannibal and the Savage Dragon. How many of these abilities are natural, technological, or the result of the mechanisms in his command chair are undetermined at this time. What is clear is that his chair specifically allows for chrono-displacement, sending subjects through time, either to a specific or random point. Severe disorientation is a common side effect, and Deus has been accused of suppressing or wiping away memories for harrowing lengths of time, not limited to a millennium.

© & ™ 1996 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Victor Von Grock & Europan

Real Name: Victor Von Grock
Occupation: Europan International head of U.S. operations
Identity: Publicly known
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: The international Europan Corporation will stop at nothing to corner the market on new technology and power. When negotiation fails, there is always force. Victor Von Grock is effective with either route, manipulating, strong-arming, and overpowering as needed. To this end, Von Grock has established ties to Cyberdata, a silent partnership with Yamahoshi Tech on Project Deathgrip, and handled the insertion of Alberto Cassini into the Cabal (though he was murdered by Pike under the assumption that he had sold intelligence on Helspont to the Gnome.) Among the operations taken over by Von Grock are Guido Duva's East Coast sporting rackets and Anthony Franco's mob. Von Grock is very hands-on, usually conducting his dirty business in person, and he's not averse to trade punches with the likes of Blindspot.

Europan offers million dollar a year contracts and a new car to Youngbloods who sign on with the company, while neglecting to tell them that they will have to survive a typically fatal battle with Lord Deus to clinch the offer. The business practices of Europan International has earned it many enemies, including Tribe, the Offworlders and Paladins.

Known superhuman powers & weapons: Victor Von Grock's primary ability is to drain the wills of his victims, essentially enslaving them, via energy beams connecting his eyes to a target's. Beyond compelling the victim to do his bidding for an undefined period of time, this act also allows Von Grock to read the subject's mind. On a larger scale, Europan distributes Slaver Units, a headset device which can be applied to any random subject, forcing them to act on encoded directions fed to their brains. These are popular purchases among crime families, as it cuts down on their payroll and provides immediate violence fodder. Among the most effective weapons in the Europan arsenal are high flying ominous armored Manji. Totally obedient to the whims of Victor Von Grock, these humanoid robots can act on their own, or be worn as a suit of armor.

© & ™ 1994 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Out Cold

Real Name: Duane Montgomery-El
Occupation: Mercenary
Identity: Secret
Base of Operations: New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: Out Cold is the pseudonym of choice for a paid killer, taken to avoid police agencies on the lookout for such colorful personalities in the trade. Duane Montgomery-El built a reputation on murder and mayhem, without realizing that his proficiency would cause the acts to lose their appeal. "I have lost the feeling of challenge, now pointed out as someone to avoid. So I mask my bourgeois upbringing by speaking in urban vernacular and hostile tone. And I dress for attention, hoping to inspire conflict... to feed upon this private aggression singing in me." The crime lord Alberto Cassini brought in the outsider when his own men failed to muscle the Hype club away from The Front, so Out Cold murdered his way past bouncers in pursuit of the proprietor. Sarcastic and hypersensitive, he froze the head of one and punched it to ice cubes, complete with Bondian puns for the horrified party-goers. The kid was rescued by Hannibal, and a knock down, drag out battle ensued. Ultimately, the odds appeared not to favor Out Cold, who tossed an explosive that took out part of the club, then bolted.

Known superhuman powers: Out Cold can flash freeze objects in close proximity to his hand, and can project freezing rays through a specialty handgun. He may also have superhuman strength and resilience, based on the scale of his battle with Hannibal. Whether these abilities are inherent or mechanical isn't clear.

Notes: He's basically Simon Phoenix in action and dialogue, but actually predates Demolition Man.

© & ™ 1996 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Hannibal & Elias

First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: Hannibal is a 2,000 lbs. automaton that works with Tribe. Its programming is simple, with defensive and offensive modes that can be remotely applied or locked in manually. It is programmed with cartoon and old movie dialogue, speaking exclusively in quotes. Hannibal is considered the "baby" of Elias Banneker, an older little person who helps manage the Beat Down Gym. While its creator hasn't been revealed, Elias and Sebastion typically maintain Hannibal in its service to Murdock Ellison. Banneker is among the more reluctant associates in Tribe, preferring to serve as wheelman of the team's van, always with the volume cranked to vibrate the neighborhood windows. Elias seeks retribution for an unrevealed slight made by Europan.

Another gym denizen is Short Order, also a little person, who can divide himself into a multitude of tiny duplicates of himself. The total ability to subdivide is unknown, but he has demonstrated the power to become dozens of 6-12 inch copies who appear to act autonomously. His relationship to Elias has not been fully explained.

Despite its immense frame, Hannibal isn't known for its strength, though it is prone to physically blocking attacks made against its teammates. Hannibal was put out of commission for a couple of days when hit by a car thrown by Rosalyn. However, Hannibal has also detached its head as a maneuver, so planned dismemberment is an option. Hannibal can access computerized ports through its fingers to access and download encryption codes and files. Hannibal can also manifest an energy fist that can emit ranged blasts.

© & ™ 1996 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: The Front

Real Name: Alexander Collins
Occupation: Club Owner
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Unknown
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Tribe
Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: A man of many faces, no one knows his real name or true appearance. Alex is the successful but camera-elusive owner of the HYPE club, Manhattan's premiere night spot. What few besides his right-hand man Shannon knows is that the club is an illusion cast by the Front, who also makes himself appear as a posh white man who serves as host. At $25 a head, the "club" built out of pop-ups in disguised hovels easily clear tens of thousands of dollars a night. This likely attracted the attention of crime boss Anthony Franco, who sent muscle over to force the Front to sign a contract with the mafioso. However, between his illusion powers and the timely arrival of Murdock Ellison's Tribe, the Front managed to escape. This further angered Franco, who called in outside muscle Out Cold to attack HYPE the following night. Ellison saw the Front as a recruitment drive prospect, and left him the automaton Hannibal for protection. Out Cold and Hannibal's fight destroyed much of the club's temporary location, drawing a variety of additional combatants into the fray. The Front attempted to aid Tribe against Lord Deus, but proved ineffective when the villain saw through his charade.

Height: Average
Build: Average
Known superhuman powers: Through a yet to be explained process, the Front is a hyperillusion caster, able to alter the visual surroundings with the power of his mind. His mental projections seem to affect the perceptions of all within an undefined radius.

© & ™ 1994 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Steel Pulse

Real Name: Desmond Negril
Occupation: Metallurgist, owner of Allotech
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of Jamaica with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Jamaica
Group Affiliation: Tribe
Base of Operations: Strong Island, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #2 (1993)
History: Desmond Negril is an innovative metallurgist and owner of the research firm Allotech, with a two-million-dollar private research facility. Negril's most well-known discovery is Stromium, a metal alloy with incredible resistance to physical stress and unusual properties of energy dispersal. A dear friend of Murdock Ellison, the Rastafarian contributes to his efforts against Europan, such as providing Stromium alloy for his stealth suit. Negril had been working on personal body armor that avoided the permanence of Dr. Portacio's Wetworks process and have Europan and Cyberdata "eat their hearts out." Due to Europan treachery, while conducting an experiment, Desmond was caught in an otherwise lethal explosion that sent him into a tank of alloy, caused a transformation. Negril's body was converted into a liquid metal alloy that he would soon be able to manipulate at will. As Manji stole what "Steel Pulse" digital files Negril hadn't managed to destroy, the scientist was found by Murdock Ellison and helped into a containment suit. Spirited away to another Europan conflict arena, Negril was blasted through the chest with an energy rifle, and finally recognized the extent of his transformation. Negril was last seen aiding Tribe against Lord Deus, in which his ability to conduct energy into the villain's powered chair was essential to forcing his retreat.

© & ™ 1994 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Fly Girl

Real Name: Nicolena Johnson
Occupation: High-fashion model, co-owner of Rumble Wear
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Base of Operations: New York
First Appearance: TRIBE - THE INTRO (1993)
History: Nicolena Johnson is the face behind the successful ad campaign for the Touch of Velvet cosmetic firm. She runs Rumble Wear, the fashion house responsible for designing most of the costumes of the Image Universe, alongside her partner Todd Innis.

Known superhuman powers: An avid thrill seeker, Nicolena dons a prototype costume called a TUX (Tricot Ultralight Exoskeleton) developed with the aid of friend Murdock Ellison that allows her flight.

Notes: Fly Girl has never appeared in a comic book story. Most information presented here was taken verbatim from the Tribe Press Pass Card Set. Per Ryan Fraser's World of Black Heroes, she was to debut in the unpublished Tribe #5.

© & ™ 1993 Todd Johnson & Larry Stroman

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Ditto

First Appearance: TRIBE - THE INTRO Press Pass Card Set (1993)
History: The Ditto prototype (Digital Imaging Tactical Organism) is a strange new life form created by Digital Chameleon, a subsidiary of Europan. A power surge in his containment chamber causes a computer glitch that gives him sentience. An adaptive and dangerous experimental organism, Ditto's imaging programs simulate enhanced abilities on indirect, short-range contact. For instance, Ditto briefly possessed superhuman speed when the Tribe member Shift passed by in a moving car. Europan internal security attempted to collect the escaped Ditto with extreme prejudice, resulting in the inadvertent injury of a young boy. Ditto absorbed the boy into his body and escaped into the city before collapsing in a back alley, having seemingly healed the boy. When last seen, Europan were dispatching an unnamed, non-powered specialist to retrieve Ditto.

Notes: Most information presented here was taken verbatim from the Tribe Press Pass Card Set.

© & ™ 1993 Todd Johnson & Larry Stroman

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Shift

Real Name: Franklin Sadler
Occupation: Boxer
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Group Affiliation: Tribe
Base of Operations: Brooklyn, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: Former middleweight champion prizefighter Franklin Sadler has fallen on hard times, still operating out of the world famous Beat Down Gym, now a broken down space where only amateurs think there's still magic to be found. Getting by on betting scams in underground matches, Sadler has to be careful not to tip his superhumanly fast hands when using his secret powers to win his fights.

Sadler can still rely on Elias Banneker, an older little person who helps manage the gym, and both work with Murdock Ellison against the Europan Corporation. While the braggart Sadler's specific beef with the company is unrevealed, Ellison has noted that he is motivated by a desire for renewed glory.

Shift was a party to the Diamond G.E.M. switching station break-in, using his speed to disable motion detectors and a laser grid array, as well as work through the 36,000 possible combinations for the security system touchpad entry. Using information gleaned there, Murdock Ellis then broke into Europan directly, but when resistance made him jump out a window, Shift pulled together a mass of trash bags to break his fall. Shift continued to assist Tribe on their earliest missions, including a battle with Lord Deus.

Known superhuman powers: Superhuman speed.

© & ™ 1996 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

2017 Heroes Convention Shadowhawk Jam Figure by Joe Staton

Jim Valentino's Shadowhawk is the last of the core figures of the jam that I'm presenting here, but probably the second or third contribution to the jam. I think I misremembered the process previously, and had Linsner keep the initial Spawn drawing overnight. The next morning, I think he had the linework either in process or done, and that's when I asked to circulate it around the convention. I only have one photo of the black & white Spawn (joined by Beto's Supreme,) and it was either taken back in the hotel room on the first night or on the showroom floor on Saturday. All the other pictures have Spawn in color, and I'm still trying to tease out that reveal, which explains the awkward cropping and late arrival of Paul Johnstone here.

I know that I at least talked to Evan Dorkin first, because I specifically remember him begging off of drawing Shadowhawk because he couldn't understand the helmet. And I mean historically, not just when I offered it as one of several options. Dorkin selected another character, and didn't want the time pressure of a jam in progress, so we discussed my coming around again for his contribution. So most probably, it went Spawn, Supreme, Witchblade, Shadowhawk, Huntsman, Invincible, The Maxx, and Fortress. Both Tim Vigil and Joe Staton are notably fast artists, so they would have been ideal choices to catch-up for lost time on Saturday while my girlfriend held my place in line for Alan Davis.

Joe Staton was one of those inescapable artists when I was growing up in the Bronze Age, and I'd say my favorite work was his collaboration with Steve Englehart on Green Lantern Corps. He earned his creator-ownership pioneer credentials through his co-creation of E-Man with Nicola Cuti in 1973. Initially appearing at Charlton Comics, the energy being starred in one of First Comics' earliest titles, and offered a showcase for numerous other creators' properties. Steve Ditko even did a couple of Killjoy back-ups there. E-Man also made his way through Comico, Digital Webbing Press, and a few Charlton revival publications. E-Man was even part of the War of the Independents, a small press mega-crossover of several hundred indie characters. While Staton was an art director at First for a time, he's probably best remembered by comic book fans as a DC Comics fixture throughout the Bronze Age into the '90s. In the 21st Century, he mostly handled cartoon adaptations like Scooby-Doo for them, but also took over the Dick Tracy newspaper strip.

Staton's a good guy who took on the unenviable task of not only drawing that damned helmet, but also cramming Shadowhawk into a small space between a defined arching horizon line, Supreme's forcing his head down to the height of Al Simmons' ass, and into the curve of Spawn's pose with all the typical accoutrements (huge cape, swinging chain, clawed hands, etc. Most any other artist would rightly have told me to scram or done some low-down half-effort, but Staton is such a masterful pro that he made everything work perfectly in scale. These jams can be a nightmare and easily fall apart, so you don't know what a lifesaver a talent like Joe Staton can be, delivering under these circumstances.