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we CAN..IUST MOVE. WOtll .. DN'f BE 11-1 E FfRST TIME ... !

.sI'HK7Y~ 1.1!Af?TO SAFETY GOES NOWHEIfEAS OVERT-KILL -s HANODARTS OUT!

rr FElT SO NArulMt TO BE HOLDING A GUN A6AfN THAT HE HAf..F-FOR6<9T HIS NEW SITUATION.

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Hey welcome back! As promised, here is the info on the upcoming Critic's Choice Writer's Series debuting in the next Issue of ~pawr:l'. All tour issues will be penG1illed and inked by Todd McFarlane! Issue 8 features writer Alan Moore from Watchman and Swamp Thing fame. Look below for s1ary into. Also included is a Spawn pin-up poster by Frank Miller, Sin City style! It's powerfut tssue 9 features Sandman writer Neil Gaiman ~ Spawn battles a "bunter" that has killed a Spawn 800 years ago and now wants him killed! The first nine pages of the book take piace 800 years ago, so you"11 be there to witness that Spawn's death and the "hunter's" travels to the 20th century!" Poster insert of Deathblow by Jim Lee! ISS'U9 10

Shadowhawk #4

Great big battle rO)lale as Savage Dragon comes 10 New York to arrest Sl:ladowhawk. villain

~

...

CD > o U

Cerebus today! II's the coo'lest! Spawn #10 features a reverse Wizard olOz theme. The book turns from color into b'ao!< and w~ite, when Spawn travels to the Erebus world where he runs into Cerebus! Huh!?! Is that possible? Poster insert of BloodwLllf by RollioKing Rob Liefeld! Spawn #11 is being written by Dark Knight and Sin City writer Frank Miller .. Spawn and his newly found Ihobo friends are caught in between rival gangs who use Youngblood as their role models. How far will Spawn go to protect his buds? Special poster by Geof Darrow! A new, truly amazing series from some truly amazing writers! Nlext Issue 1"11 be talking about the upcoming Spawn Tour '93 and how you might be seeing Todd in your town come Spring!

Terry Fitzgerald

tsatures Cerebus writer Dave SimI For any of you who don't know Dave's great work,run out andi pick up a copy of

The story is set in Sail FranciscQ ,and the book opens to an intense, blowout, figi1t scene as Witdstar takes on a group of

, thlJgs' new2~-

Willi get ,all the behind-the-scenes inlo on all 'their weapons, from guns to helicopters. This book wilt answer aU of your questiorls,

lik:e wby Shalt's bow have no striJlg?

. Yeah~ .

Dear Todd,

Spawn #5 was feally chillflng; I had no tcsayou could write such terdlying horror stones. The aut and coloring that . ~olJ've been using in the hoek so far were perfectly suited to the dark, unseltling atmosphere of "Justice" (although I think that "You Are Cured, Billy Kincaidl" would have been a more fitting! title). Forget about Jason, Freddy, Ghucky, Dr. Giggles, or the Candyrnan=-me Ice Cream Man would make a truly horrilying suspense film! The cover was great (yours always are), although I would have liked to see it ties in to tile story somehow (at the very least with a little blurb that says "Beware the lee Cream Man!" or something). This is, of course, a minor complaint: the art this issue was some of your best (it was extremely detailed, right down to the fading word balloon letters). Speaking of which, I never noticed how much the lenering adds to the overall eft,ect Tom Orzechowski makes the lettering seem like an extension of your artwork; they go very weill togetiher (and have the same "mood", so to speak). It's a small point, but it means a lot

One more thing belore I go; thank you for making "Justice" a self-contained story, I loved your first four-parter, but if you fell into the rut 01 trying to stretch every story out over too many issues, your writing would suffer. (Oooh, oooh ... Moore, Miller, Sim and Gaiman are all 011 deck to write? Wow! That's one hell of a talent Iline-up!' But if you keep up the level of writing you displayed lin #5, you'll be missed! You aren't planning to completely relinquish the writing chores, are you?) In any case, thanks for listening, and keep up the spectacular work. You're doilng great.

Name Illegible Layfayette, IN

If you liked the Billy Kincaid story, it's not over yet. In issue #8, we tollow Mr. Kincaid in the after life and see what his true punishment is .. This is the issue written by Alan Moore which deals with Spawn's costume and the final fate of Billy Kincaid.

Dear Mr. McFarlane:

I am IEXTAEMEL Y disappointed with you Todd! Whiie I do love your new book and art, I resent the slanderous remark you mad'e about my comic store in your letters page in Spawn #5, namely Atomic Comics. You had no right to nationally broadcast that the owners were liars and that you refuse to appear there! I will have you know thai Atomic Comics is one of the most prestigi:ous comic book retailers in the nation and they do not need a bad rap from someone of your caliber. Your appearance has been greatly advertised lor the past four or five months and has been met with all outrageously positive response among us consumers. Myself, along with all ot the comic collectors that I know, have been gearing up 10 meet you and obtain your signature however, with this present tUM of events, I guess we will never have a chance! I truly hope tihat you are happy, you have let down all of your tans in Arizona and' given our greatest comic store-a bad reputation for "lying" to the public about guest appearances.

By the way, I thoughl I would mention that Mr.

Silveslri appeared here tess than a month ago, and he was absolutely fantasticl He came to see his tans and sign everything they had with no ;>trings attached. He did it because he has pride in his work and wished to give s·omething back 10 Ihose who have caused his recent success. He had a friendly and very considerate attitude toward all of us who showed up and because of that, II will continue to support his work. I am not sure that I can

do the sa.me for you. No! only have you let me, a sale fan, down, you have al.ienated yourself from a majority ot ths collectors here. I' am sorry to hear this new "Image" ego .votJ, have obtained will prevent you tram coniing to our stale, out even il you did c,hange your mind and appear here I wouldn't come for Ihe world!!!!

An ex-fan,

Jay Prendergasl Gilbert, AZ

Okay, Jay. Let's solve this problem fight now .. Just because a store owner says an artist is coming to hIs store or convention does not make it so. This is how it works. In order 'to advertise an appearance by a particular person, the store owner needs the consent of that person. If this wasn " true, then every card store GOuld advertise that Jose Canseco was coming in to sign. if anybody should be mad it should be me and I was. After 7 years in this business, I've never missed an appearance in which .I personally promised to attend. I have a 100% track record. When somebody uses a creator's name wi/houllhe;r permission, they are dishonoring that person's reputation. Since I don " wish (0 have my reputation tarnished, all / can do is ask certa'in stores not to use my name when they have no rig'ht to use it. When this fails, and they've ignored my Wishes, what else can I do but go public? When J go to conven.tlons I always stay longer than is required. Ask the people in Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, etc. Just to name a few I've done in the last year. I take great pride in my relationship with

the people who buy my comic books and take great offense when I think somebody is trying to tarnish that. i think that y;ou would do the same in a simiJar circumstance. Thanks for yo,vr comments. Hem is a rule of thumb-at the present time, I personally do not make store appearances.

Dear Todd:

I could start this letter by showannq )'ou with praise for the job tll~at you, and the rest of the creative team, do so well each month, but then I'd just be joining the legions of fans you have garnered over the last 5 issues, and also your lime with Spider-Man. I will say though that you produce one of the most complete comics I have ever seen. Every aspecf--pencits, inks, lettering, layouts, etc=-reflects the story, and complliment each other, cmating the most evocative, thought-provoking and above all 2fiQ:i.nal comics! have come across in a long time. lhe mere tact that you have attracted such a talented array of gLUlsts-Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Dave Sim and Alan Moore, all producers of high quality books themselves-speaks volumes for your own books.

Well, with that httle piece of understated praise out of the way, lei's get down to business, I have never previously felt the need 10 wnite lnto a comic until reading Spawn #5. Or, more accurately, until I became aware otthe conservative backlash against it here in Australia. I'm not sure if you have received the same reaction elsewhere, but out here it "warranted" prime time press coverage, and certain amounts of outrage on behalf of socalled "concerned parents."

According to Ihis partic'U~ar program (whose presenter bears an uncanny resemblance in both appearance and views to your comics guest commentator) Spawn #5 trivialized the concept of mass murder and brutality, and was distributing harmful mailer to minors.

The typical attitude of ignorant, uninformed idiots who

still see comics as a "~iddies" medium. W,hen will these people wake-up and realize that comics have grown out of the "up, up and away" stage, and ape now an in~elligent and mature medium in their own rig;ht? Comics Ilike Spa,w.n and Sandman reqUlire inlelligence, insigh! and malurity to read and understand, and serve

to enhance and develop salo quallties in the process.

And what if Spawn #5 hlasgot into the hands of impressionable 11 andl12 year aids? What sort of e,fiect would ,it have 0111 them? The only negative efiects I could see would be the result of outside forces" not tile comic itself. Like Ihe child's upbringing perhaps? Chiildren, whose minds have been caught on the burrs of popular culture, desensitized by the Ramboesque violence and sexism that is so prevalent in today's literature, TV, f1Ims etc.? Or children who have been shielded tram the real world a mtle tQQ much, that such a dose of real-life horror would be just 100 much for their little minds to cope with? 'It's okay to report such vile acts on the nightly news and Din the papers everyday, but step .any closer to realilty than bland words and y,ou'lll get your head bttten off seems to be the motto of the "moral rnaiority," Maybe tl thess "concerned parents" put away the tar and feathers, and looked a little closer to home, there wouldn't be quite SUlCIl a furor.

Don't get me wmng, I'm 1101 saying the parents shourd just de nothinq, not at all. I would heartily recommend parental guidance in such cases. II don't think that serial kiddie killing is a topic that am 11-12 year eld should have to deal with on their own, This is the sort of situation where aparent can help the most by talking to. their kid, discussing it witl1 them, or just plain taking an interest in what they're doing, I don't know much about parenthood, but I do knaw that taking an int'erest in what they're deing will do. more to snenqthen the bonds of love and friendship and trust than confiscation.

Spawn #5 was not a sensationalized, exploitive, splatter comic, It was a jaurney into the horror Ihat lurks within the heart of man. It is a testament to the fact that the horrors 0.1' reality tar outweigh the horrors 01 the imaqination.

By the time you receive this letter, you will probably bave received bagfulls discussing the same topic, some for, some against. most of it probably expressing itself far moreeloquenlly and thoughtfully than I have. Whether you print this letter is imma.terial, this is more of a letter at support for what you are doing, both with Spawn and with Image in general. Please don't let the critics get you down, I've seen too many people in all walks of art give into the 'moral majority" (of which they awe neither), rna matter how iill mforrned they are, and it's destroyed everything that's made them so. special.

Oh, and in case I forget to mennon it. MAINTAIN THE

doesn't it warn (,usually) against selling comics in altered or mut.ilated condition?

My point and purpose is that ifil is wrong you are giv,en tl'1.e knowledqe to eleal with it I .am very sure that the owners of "Generic Comic Shop" (the name of tine store has been altered) would have their own excuses, so I am not interested in giving my name, I don't want to ouy trorn "Generic Comic Shop," but seem to be 10 reed to, if I buy at all.

I, have enjoyed your art far as long as i've been aware of iit (Infinity 15 or 16), Good luck wi·th Spawn.

Name withheld by request.

Here's the scoop on Ihe coupon books. If you bought otny of the 7 "coupon" books, 1 of 2 things could have happened. Firstly, there ate newsstand copies of these 7 books which do Dot contain the coupon. You can recognize them if they have a

UP. C, (the bar code in one comer) symbol. Secondly, someone is screwing you. If someone clipped out fhe coupon it could be the comic stor:e owner; distributor, printer, etc. We've been gellfn~ lar 100 many let/ers with the same slory. It's jusl another case oj dishonest retailers trying to screw their customers. ln the future, double check every boc« that any company is promising something inside to make sure that it hasn't been altered.

Dear Mr. McFarlane:

I am a freshman college student and wri~ing an Eng~ish term paper on comic books, in which yourself, Mr. Lieleld, Mr. Lee and Image are the basis of my paper. While on break and daing research (actually just reading comic books), I stumbled upon something personally disturbing that I would like you to know.

I was reading a Ma~el Age comic book and couldn't help but laugh. According to them, "Comicbook fans love to define the various ages of eras of Comicbook history, .. or even attempt to determine precisely what age we're currenny in ... however, for some" .. it is simply the Marvel Age."

I would have to disagree with that statement most definitely! According to my friend Rob Rowland (an active U,S. Marine) how he put it is that we are currently iln the "Artist Age." ln 'his and my own opinion, we agreed that the Artisl Age was born in 1989 With tile launching of your #298 of The Amazing Spider-Man.

It was shortly after that the artistic styles and expressions of other greats like ML Liefeld, Mr. Lee, Mr. Larsen and great others came along with you into the spotlight. Nol anly did these gel1~emen stay in the limelight, but also kept ijt alive while also setting it ablaze while you were all sabbatricalleave. I think it's pretty ballsy of Marvel to take all the credit lor the work and wealth that most of you gentlemen at Image brought to them.

I bet those guys at Marvel thought that with the twa big campanies behind you, that you guys would be eaten up alive. Well, the anly Ihing II see being, eaten up is Marvel's and DC's prolit earnings and places being lost in the top ten. I would also ~ike 10. conqratulate you and the fellows at Image and Malibu for beating out DC Comics far the #2 spot, according to the November issue of Wizard. With them having to kill aff major characters to keep ahead, il will be no time at all until you guys are in second and ibreathing down Marvel's neck for the #1 spot!

Good luck with Spawn and keep the Image's coming

alive!

Kevin Sitek Amherst, NY

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Kevin I thin.k that your assessment 0/ Marvel losing out on theirprofit shares is off the marit They have far too many books and characters keeping them profitab.le. in the long ron, Marvel won't lose profits, but they will deHnilely lose quality.

RACE!

David Shepherd Sydney, NSW, Australlia

In all honesty David 1 was quite proud of issue #5.

This was me first time I wrote a self.r:ontained story in one issue. .I g·et tired of people making comments and telling me /'low to do my job. The only reason people make such a big deal about this issue is because irs commercial. I could probably do a story with 100 kids getting killed, but as long as it only sold 5,0'00' copies nobody would care. So, the point becomes, do what you want, just don't do it successful/y. Don't fear, I wont buckle under the pressure because if I did I wouldn't be standing where I am right now.

lDear Mr. McFarlane:

I am writing because I think you should know what at least one retailer has done with the Image Camics Caupon issues. When Spawn #4 was shipped, the retail'er claimed that shipping was delayed, This aJthough subscribers to their box service received their copies, Three weeks later Spawn #4 "a.rr,ived" so I bought it. T'0 my annoyance and frustration tne coupon had been clipped.

I think something is wrong with this, although having worked at a comic store in the past, I have seen simil'ar deeds pertorrned, But I think this is the worst, because in the Indicia