Written by Guest Contributor: Jordan North Jim Downing is facing his demons, both literally and figuratively. This issue of Spawn is more than anything else about that; about how a man whose darkness has become physically manifest, deals with looking it in the eye and telling it to go right to hell. After a chilling introduction to a new villain (who happens to work as an enforcer for the Vatican) we get right into the fray as Jim wakes up again on a roof somewhere, with little to no memory of what he’s done. Naturally pissed off he casts his suit out, which he’s now realizing is kind of taking advantage of him.

But the suit says no. How scary, to know that you are bonded to an evil force that is separated from your soul only by a thin tether of humanity. A force that, if you weren’t in the utmost control could rise up and consume you and then suddenly have it decide to do just that? And to know there is nothing you could do about it?

Or at least that’s what K7 Leetha thinks. In a bleak turn Jim is left in darkness, surrounded by it in its purest as his suit begins to mock him, monologuing, telling him how long it has waited. How now it has access to the perfect soul and that Jim can do nothing to stop it. The infection has spread too far and Jim is now the puppet of a dark thing as old as time itself. It tells him just how it’s been manipulating his mind, turning him into a killer without him even realizing it. K7 Leetha is ever confident. She/he? drops the bomb that she/he is truly a creature of heaven, crafted by god at a time where he could manipulate the darkness and the light, vomits some bugs and then tries to put a period on the whole spiel by wiping Jim’s memory in an attempt to use him all over again. Its seems that all is lost but, in a moment of jump-out-of-your-chair hell-yes triumph Jim demonstrates to Leetha that it better re-up on a new plan because Jim Downing, the man who visited hell, heaven and flipped the bird to both, will not be trifled with.

I’m excited to see where this goes, and you should be too. Yes much of Jim Downing’s go as Spawn has been build up this far but you bet your nerdy ass that I’ll be there throwing my money at Mr. McFarlane to see how this thing pans out.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Todd McFarlane

Artist: Szymon Kudranski

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $2.99

Release Date: 7/3/13