As part of the continued expansion of Spawn’s Universe, Rat City is a cyberpunk future version of Spawn. It’s also the first time in Spawn history that a female writer has contributed to a Spawn title. Two issues in, how does it stack up with the plethora of other Spawn titles?
Written and lettered by Erica Schultz, drawn by Zé Carlos, colors by Jay David Ramos. (Issue #1 also has color work by FCO Plascencia and Marcello Iozolli.) This is a strong book which I think is held back by its unfit title. The first cover is striking, it’s clearly Spawn but the title is wrong. It’s possible the title will grow along with the book but I just don’t think it works. But at the same time, the care and precision that is displayed inside the book, there’s probably something I don’t yet know that makes the title work.
Inside, we meet Peter Cairn, a soldier who along with his whole unit is severely injured and requires artificial enhancement. Unlike other Spawn books, the narration is on the sparse side which I enjoyed. It allows for this book to have its own identity within the universe while also feeling a bit like Spawn where the narration is almost aware of the reader. It’s an effect I quite like and one that Monolith also uses well.
The first issue does a really great job of setting things up without moving too fast. I found myself really enjoying the pacing and when the final splash came along– I was pretty surprised and wowed by the whole final sequence which briskly took me into the second issue. Reading them together really allowed me to appreciate the level of craft in the writing. Clarity is difficult in these types of stories and Schultz makes it look easy! The second issue starts with a bit of reiterating the important info from the previous issue without bogging things down. It’s carefully done and it works whether you’re reading it as singles or as a binge read.
I’m enthralled by the classic cyberpunk tropes at play here. It feels familiar and yet fresh, which again, Schultz makes look really easy. McFarlane should do whatever he can to keep her around because the thing that I often don’t like about the Spawn books is the lack of clarity in the plotlines. Take this issue for example, the bulk of it is one scene that really comes to a head and there’s time given to what Peter is going through and feeling so then by the time the ending splash hits, you’re locked in with him. A lot of times, Spawn feels like it’s a rush to that last image and there’s not a lot of time spent in conveying what is actually going on with Al Simmons. Here you get the same level of fluid action but there’s valuable emotional stakes that aren’t hard to understand. It’s really great! And that new costume that Peter has is excellent.
This team does a great job of taking Spawn and really spicing it up so it feels brand new. Zé Carlos and Jay David Ramos feel like a really smart choice for this book. It looks like Spawn without being exactly like Spawn. I’m sure a lot of that is because Ramos has been around for a while on the main series.
Carlos does great work throughout these two issues but I think he’ll be even better in a few issues. I hope he plays around with panels more, I see signs of that here and I hope his confidence grows and really runs wild because I want to see some wild panel layouts. Also his designs are great and I can’t wait to see what is in store for this book. It’s genuinely exciting, despite my hang up with the title.
Yes, it’s a Spawn book but I don’t think you need to know anything about Spawn to like this. There are some references but you get what you need here. The only thing that may be confusing is Spawn is Al Simmons. I’m not sure that is said outright in these issues, it sort of expects you to know but that’s something a quick internet search can tell you.
This is a strong book that I can see getting stronger as it goes. I hope they put the trade out quickly, this one should be fast tracked because this has the potential to be big.
