Neil Gaiman Fixed Spawn's Mythology With A Single Issue

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Todd McFarlane’s Spawn #1 debuted in 1992, but it wasn’t until eight issues later when the character’s mythology truly began to take shape thanks to acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman. When Gaiman came in for a single issue he introduced a handful of characters and changing Spawn’s world forever after.

Although the Image Comics titles like Spawn broke sales records, critics weren’t impressed when it came to the actual stories the comics told. Spawn was no exception, as the initial issues threw in a lot of half-formed ideas that struggled to come together into a cohesive whole. Deciding to take what the critics were saying about the writing to heart, Todd McFarlane hired what many considered to be the best writers working in comics at the time. This was how the likes of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Dave Sim and Frank Miller came to each write an issue of Spawn. Each writer took their own approach to McFarlane’s signature character, but it was Gaiman’s in particular that provided the Spawn universe with an overarching mythology that the series previously lacked.

Related: Spawn Fan Art Pays Epic Tribute to Groundbreaking Black Superhero

Spawn #9, written by Gaiman with art by McFarlane, opens in the 15th century, where readers meet angelic bounty hunter Angela successfully tracking down and killing a medieval Hellspawn. The story then flashes forward to the present day, where Angela returns to the Earthly plane to hunt down the newest Hellspawn, Al Simmons. Simmons is still struggling to come to grips with his newfound powers, befriending the homeless population of the alley he now calls home. One member introduces himself to Simmons as Count Nicolas Cagliostro (later to be known simply as “Cogliostro”), and he seems to have a