Batman/Spawn: The Classic Collection

Spawn / Batman #1-2

by Frank Miller, Todd McFarlane, Doug Moench

For the first time in three decades, this edition of the classic meeting between comics' caped avengers of the night reprints Batman/Spawn: War Devil #1...plus the Spawn/Batman one-shot by The Dark Knight Returns writer Frank Miller and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane!

An ancient evil has arisen in Gotham City. The last time it appeared, an entire colony was wiped clean from the face of the Earth, leaving only one clue: Croatoan. Whoever or whatever Croatoan is, it'll take all of the Batman's investigative skills and the supernatural abilities of an ex-soldier turned Hellspawn to save Gotham's citizens from the hell that is about to be unleashed on our world.

For the first time in three decades, this edition of the classic meeting between comics' caped avengers of the night reprints Batman/Spawn: War Devil #1 by legendary Batman creators Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant, and Klaus Janson...plus the Spawn/Batman one-shot by The Dark Knight Returns writer Frank Miller and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, which brings Batman to Spawn's home turf of New York City! Two heroes with different methods in two very different tales. Capes will clash.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes

112 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2022

About the author

Frank Miller is an American writer, artist and film director best known for his film noir-style comic book stories. He is one of the most widely-recognized and popular creators in comics, and is one of the most influential comics creators of his generation. His most notable works include Sin City, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman Year One and 300.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comprei esse encadernado dos dois crossovers iniciais de Batman e Spawn para poder comparar com o que foi feito mais recentemente. Não adquiri esse encadernado pela qualidade das histórias em quadrinhos. Isso porque quando eu li originalmente esses dois encontros, na década de 1990, achei os dois terríveis. Nessa releitura, não os achei tão terríveis assim, ainda que ruins. O quadrinho feito pela DC Comics tem um roteiro melhor e uma arte pior. Já o da Image Comics que se pretende passar no universo do Cavaleiro das Trevas, e tem roteiros de Frank Miller, tem uma história beeeem preguiçosa e bons desenhos de Todd McFarlane. Assim, talvez comparando com o novo crossover, desenvolvido por McFarlane, Capullo e outros, talvez esse novo seja ainda melhor em roteiros e arte do que os dois dos anos 1990. Mas vamos combinar que não precisa um grande esforço criativo para que isso aconteça, né?

[Khurram · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think my expectations were too high and just felt a bit disappointed that the book did not live up to them. Not my favourite artwork (I was expecting more especially from the cover art) and not particularly great stories. I just don't think either character was shown at their best.

War Devil. What does a colony disappearing, a mission carried out by Al Simmons, and a weapons of mass destruction being brought into Gotham have in common? That is what Batman and Spawn need to figure out if they don't destroy each other first. This is a time Batman's use of superstitious fear might work against him.

Spawn/Batman. Soviet weapons are coming to Gotham. Batman follows a link to New York. Spawn's friends have started to go missing and investigating brings him into conflict with the visiting Dark Knight. This is Frank Miller's more gruff (jerk) Batman.

I don't know a great deal about Spawn so I don't know if he was a bit de-powered to give Batman a chance in the fight or if he is not as powerful as o thought. I also find it strange that Batman keeps calling him undisciplined. As Spawn/Al was a soldier and a good one at that. Great varient covers at the end of the book.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This was a collection of two standalone stories, and both of them were great fun!

[Mark Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. The banter in the second story between Batman and Spawn was quite childish, which didn’t really fit with the rest of the story. But otherwise an okay read.

[Ed C · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a biggggg fan of Batman and a somewhat fan of Spawn i was excited when i saw this on the shelf and picked it up. This set is two somewhat short out of context story lines for a Batman x Spawn teamup/crossover. Neither story is that great. The art is awesome and Spawn is kind of funny like deadpool but also kind of outdated. Wouldn’t recommend honestly.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two books here, both originally published in the early or mid-1990s.

DC Comics was the main force behind "BATMAN/SPAWN," which finds the three primary Batman writers of that era (Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench & Alan Grant) cobbling together a silly thing about a demon (Croatoan, who apparently also devoured the souls of the Roanoake colony 400 years prior!) coming to consume Gotham, so Spawn and Batman have to stop it. Klaus Janson, perhaps best known (at least in relation to Batman) for inking Frank Miller's DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, is on art, so it's a solidly drawn book, but the story is pretty forgettable.

The second story is "SPAWN/BATMAN," originally published through Image Comics, with Frank Miller writing and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane drawing. Look, McFarlane's got his fans, but I've never been one. You decide if you like Todd's artwork or not. But I will say this, if I ever reread one of these two comics again, it would be this one. Frank Miller knows crossing them over is a goofy concept, so he lays on the cheese. The dialogue and narration are over the top to the point of camp. I can only imagine that Frank, while writing it, was laughing as hard as I was while I read it. The older I get, the more I appreciate the silliness of Frank Miller's work. His reputation as a "serious" artist always prevented younger me from appreciating his sly humor.

[Orlando Rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

You have two of the best comic book characters, and do a crossover that many fans would go crazy for, and this is what they came up with?

Batman/Spawn: War Devil felt more like fan fiction. The lead characters did not feel like themselves and the storyline overall felt forced, down to the element of how they came to team up.

Spawn/Batman feels more of what we would expect from a Batman and Spawn crossover in terms of action. But then it reaches a point of stupid. The dialogue towards the end gets so immature and insulting to the characters. It felt like two pre-teens yelling “you suck, bro!” “No, you suck, bro!” This to me cemented that I just do not like Frank Miller’s interpretation of Batman, and clearly Spawn too.

[Jorge Figueroa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hace poco leí que una virtud del famoso editor de Batman de aquellos año era conseguir que a su gente le pagarán, el tomo (...así les decíamos en aquellos años) de DC lo escribieron entre tres personas , y es terrible.
El de Image tiene un mejor arte y dos autores de más prestigio, pero es apenas un poco menos malo, creo que hasta esta segunda lectura, alrededor de 30 años después es que me percato que Miller ya era malo en los 90s.

[Corban Ford · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Batman/Spawn: The Classic Collection" is a compilation of the two Batman-Spawn crossover comics that were released in the the mid to late 1990s. I can say that I personally found the Todd McFarland/Frank Miller collaboration to be a vastly superior story to the DC offering (both in artwork and in storytelling) but there is value in having both tales in one volume, so those who are curious to read both should be satisfied with this one.

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two epic crossovers...
War Devil was mediocre, good lore and storytelling, but subpar artwork. Kindle version seemed blurry at times... grainy.
The second story, drawn by McFarlane was top notch!
All in all, a fast and enjoyable read, I'll probably reread this collection, as it's just solid!
Looking forward to the 2023 crossover...

[Norm Keillor]

I understand these take place outside of Canon continuity. But still if it's 2 characters meeting up forcthe 3nd or even third time they should make it that they recognize each other in-story.

that's my only beef.

[Jacq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il voto al volume è una media tra il voto basso alla prima storia (molto mediocre con i disegni non all’altezza di Janson) e il voto alto alla seconda (molto buona, con ai testi Frank Miller e ai disegni McFarlane).

[Marcos_e.e · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nota 4,5.
História simples, porradaria, desenhos bacanas e exagerados. É isso.
Nem é tão ruim assim. Ainda que a história seja besta e os diálogos horríveis, como uma HQ crossover genérica com luta entre o dois até que vai.

[Vinicius · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comprei para ver como seria um crossover entre os 2 personagens, já sabendo que o foco não seria a qualidade do roteiro, e foi exatamente isso que encontrei. As cenas de ação são boas, os 2 trabalhando junto é bacana de se ver, mas são histórias bem rasas de roteiro.

[Josh Lofgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection, but ultimately a crossover event just for the sake of it.

[Markus Seaberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a little dated, very much of its era (The 90s), but still a fun collection.

[Barry Hammock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two interesting stories starring two dark and gritty characters. However, there not as exciting as they could have been. Frank Miller's comes off as a bit of a duck.

[Kurt Lorenz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman/Spawn: War Devil, ☆☆☆
Spawn/Batman, ☆☆☆☆

[Vijaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing keeping me from giving this a four is the amount of times Batman referred to Spawn as 'Boy' in the second story.

[Jared Corriher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, simple and to the point. I don't think the stories are some amazing event but they're fun.

[Cameron Fraser · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars only for the McFarlane art in the Frank Miller half of the story, it's pretty awful otherwise.

[ISMOTU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two very different takes on Batman meeting Spawn, one produced by DC and the other by Image. Exciting to read.

[Cyril · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman/Spawn 2022 - 3/5
Spawn/Batman: War Devil - 1/5
Spawn/Batman 1994 - 3.75/5 - beautiful, solid and entertaining all the way!
Overall 3 stars for the book

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda embarrassing that I ate this shit up when I was a kid lol

[Jordyn Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

i found the way they characterized them to be an interesting choice

[Storm Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took an embarrassingly long time to read this.

[Charles Mennerick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second arc is much more compelling.

[Joey Amorim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sal from Comic Pop put it best regarding these two crossovers: one isn’t a story and the other is irrelevant. It’s up to the reader to decide which is worse.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Nacht über Manhattan“ ist das erste Crossover zwischen den titelgebenden Superhelden von Image Comics und DC Comics aus dem Jahre 1994, das hier in einer Neuauflage vorliegt.
Batman und Spawn entdecken beide getrennt voneinander, dass jemand Obdachlose ermordet, um ihre Köpfe in Killer-Cyborgs zu integrieren, aber als Batman der Spur nach New York folgt, gerät er sofort in Konflikt mit Spawns eigenen Nachforschungen, aber vorher liefern sie sich erstmal noch einen unnötigen Kampf. Die zwei sollten ernsthaft mal einen Kurs in Diplomatie belegen, oder?

Batman und Spawn stehen als Protagonisten im Mittelpunkt, man merkt diesem Crossover-Band an, dass er ein Comic aus den 90er Jahren ist, denn das Artwork sticht mit all der seltsamen Ästhetik der Kostüme, Darstellung der Gesichter und auch Körper und den übertriebenen Bewegungen der damaligen Zeit heraus.
Der einzige negative Punkt dieses Comics ist, dass das Erzähltempo zu überhastet ist. Jede Entwicklung in der Handlung oder in der Beziehung zwischen den Charakteren geschieht viel zu schnell, das hätte man viel besser machen können, indem der Autor Miller die Beziehung zwischen den Charakteren und den Aufbau der Story ausführlicher und langsamer erzählt.
Für Fans der 90er Jahre Comics ein Augenschmaus, eine etwas oberflächliche aber dennoch schmackhafte Unterhaltung, im Juli wird noch der zweite Crossover-Band von 1994 im neuen Gewand veröffentlicht.

[PMoslice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pair of classic stories featuring two of the greatest heroes to hit the pages of comics. Two hard nose no nonsense heroes face off then join forces to take down a common foe. Enjoy!!