Spawn: Origins Book 2 Hardcover – Illustrated, November 2, 2010

Before purchasing this beautifully packaged, aesthetically pleasing oversized hardcover, I had owned and read the "Spawn: Origins vol.1" tpb. Upon completing it, I was converted to the Church of Spawn. The character had skyrocketed from being a guy I had very limited knowledge of(save the brief glances at covers from the issues of my friend's "Spawn" collection of comics, the theatrical film, and a few episodes of the HBO series)to one of my very favorite characters. And it wasn't just the character, Spawn, that had reached out through the pages and sucked me in. I was enamoured by all of the characters. The sadistic and nasty Clown/Violator, and the uniquely paired, humorous detective team of Sam and Twitch are excellent examples of what makes for a fun supporting cast. Not to mention the New York City backdrop. Those dark, shadow-filled, filthy, trash-ridden alleys set the perfect stage for the brooding, disturbing, horror/action drama that plays out within the pages of that tpb. The powerful way in which McFarlane crafts the story with his words and art is second to none. That book is pure gold. But this book..."Spawn: Origins Collection Book 1" is everything that tpb was times 10! Not only is it twice the length of the tpb - treating the reader to more of the ultra-cool Spawniverse(including the popular Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Dave Sim, and Frank Miller issues), but it's packaged better. The pages are bigger, and it's a hardcover with a very sturdy spine. The wraparound cover art by Greg Capullo is gorgeous. And finally, there is a magnificent art gallery at the back.I have to say a little bit about how much I enjoyed the issues written by the 4 esteemed gentlemen I mentioned above. Moore's take on the Circles of Hell is utterly creepy and somewhat trippy. It's really wild. Gaimen's story gives a little more insight into Hellspawns and introduces the reader to those who hunt them(in this case, the ruthless angel, Angela). Sim's piece is definitely the strangest of the bunch. It's a little difficult to describe, but it's basically a commentary on the relationship between a comic book creator and his creation. I loved it. And then there's Miller. His story is extremely visceral. And would you expect anything less?If you want to hear more of what I think about "Spawn", you can check out my review of the volume 1 tpb. The only other thing I'd like to add is that after having poured over the pages of the hardcover, I noticed a few elements of other artists' styles in the art of McFarlane. I believe that in my review of the tpb, I described his style as having a bit of Frank Miller, John Romita, Jr., and Marc Silvestri. Now, I can also see some Joe Quesada and Mark Bagley in there as well. But as I stated in the tpb review, Todd's style really is all his own. All I'm saying is that I can see a little bit of these other artists in his work. But to be perfectly clear, McFarlane's style is unique and could easily be picked out in a lineup of these 6 distinguished artists.I will be reading future volumes as soon as I am able to get them. If you're debating on whether to purchase the tpb's or the hardcovers, I 100% recommend the hardcovers! No question. A must-have.

Luckily for me, the book was in perfect condition when I received it. I have no idea how, because the packing was terrible. It was literally a book in a box. There was no bubble wrap, air bags, paper, peanuts, nothing. The box was oversized as well, so the book was just floating around loosely in it. A miracle there was no damage. So 5 stars for the book itself...1 star for Amazon's terrible packing, which I guess will always be a problem.

I honestly don't know where to begin. That being said I will try and give an accurate description of this book. The first thing you notice is the color and detail of the hardcover. It is absolutely beautiful. Secondly is the layout of the book. Vol. 1 is comics 1-12 all together and give you a very great start and end. I never at any point thought I wasn't learning something new about a character I grew up loving! This is coming for someone who loved the character based off of just the movie and action figures! One of my personal favorite about this book was the Q&A comments written inside as well as the black and white sketches in the back. Those alone in a book would have made me happy. To add to this amazing product the comics inside are full of so much color but don't take the focus off of the text. The only small complaint I had if I have to name one is that I didn't like how just about every other chapter (comic) retold spawn's story. Obviously comics were and are done different from a book and they are not going to just cut parts out of an original piece. I give this book an easy 5/5 because of how well put together the book is with its sturdy, shiny, colorful cover, to it's in depth and  suspenseful hero/thriller story! I can honestly say I love this character and series more now than ever before!

The one that started it all, god, reading this was a joy. For those of you who've never read Spawn, read Spawn!! This book is great, even if you buy no other Spawn books this one's well worth it. It's packed with famous comic authors contributions and will give you a dark fairytale narrative unlike any other. Todd McFarlane, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Dave Sim, and Frank Miller, you can't go wrong with such a bargain all wrapped together in one convenient package! This morose and melancholy tomb is one of the greatest comic collections you can find and certainly well written. If you have ever been interested in Spawn but have never picked it up, take my word for it, it is a great experience, a wild ride, and by far and away a phenomenal character. Spawn is a great comic character, him and Deadpool are two of the greatest comic characters who in no way do you envy or would ever wish to trade places with them, and that's what makes them so compelling to read, they have nothing to live for but still keep going, no one want's them but they still keep trying. Now that is what makes a hero a hero.

The beginning of it all! Spawn Book 1: The Origins Collection, collects issues 1-12,The artwork is just incredible *Chef kiss* McFarlane is a genius when it comes to his work, and Spawn has never looked so good in these elegant hardcovers.Book is a solid 10/10. Always recommend these books over the compendiums to new readers and so much nicer to read and hold.Hard to purchase in 2022 I know, (as some Spawn hardcovers are out of print) but you wont be disappointed if your lucky enough to find yourselves a copy.----For new buyers interested in collecting Spawn... be very cautious when buying these though.Amazon STILL not labelled these books clearly... half of the books shown when searching for Spawn are either not in English, incorrectly titled, incorrect descriptions with wrong issue numbers listed ect...Even for this book (HC Book 1) the above image shown by Amazon, title and description all need to be changed.

I bought this as I missed out on the original comic series when it started back in the 90's.When it arrived, I was particularly impressed by the size and quality of the book and I thought " yeah,I'm going to collect these ".I personally love the artwork, it's so vibrant and bold when put with a decent story, it makes a really good read.I've just finished book 1 and have ordered up to book 9 which is out the end of August.Seriously good series of books and will look great in your collection.Spawn is a genuine gritty hero that rivals even Superman's greatness in my opinion. Spawn Origins Book 1Spawn Origins Book 1

McFarlane's artwork has been a huge inspiration for me for several years, ironically only now I've had chance to check out the first few issues of his hit title character: Spawn. Honestly these comics weren't what I was expecting, the story is a little dull throughout the twelve issues however some moments do shine; mainly 'Questions, Part 1-4' and the final few issues, I got a little bored during the middle of the book.The final product is presented fantastically! The cover shows the awesome artwork by Greg Capullo with very simple typography which makes it standout; an advantage of owning two copies allows you visualise the whole wraparound cover artwork. My only disappointment with the cover is that is doesn't showcase a re-imagining of the issue #1 cover.Besides containing twelve issues this book also contains a forward by Dave Sim regarding the problems they had with issue #10, at the end you get to see the inking of all twelve covers, a couple of scans of the original art and additional promo artwork.My final verdict on this is it's a visual masterpiece however the story is a little dull, however I don't regret this purchase, having this to look back on and see the outstanding and incredible artwork by McFarlane is very fascinating and doesn’t disappoint for the reasons before reading this book. I’ve been attached to his artwork and this delivered more than I expected from the artistic and visual stand point; not from the story; I’m a little sceptical on purchasing ‘Book 2.’

The reason I bought this book is because I heard about the character and had seen his characteristics. I'm a huge batman fan and just one look at spawn made me interested. First I watched the movie which wasn't great but I some how knew that it wasn't a great representation of spawn. Then I watched the animated series which is amazing! Which in turn maybe me interested in the comic and I have to say it is better than both the movie and the animated it keeps you reading, every page you want to know what happens next and the cliffhanger at the end is amazing I love spawn he is now my second favourite super hero (batman first) and I have already ordered the second book in this amazing series and can't wait to read it,

I am so happy that a bought this book it is absolutely fantastic, the artwork, the story and the characters are amazing. If you haven't been reading Spawn then you have to.