This series is fucking insane.
Basically, it's an animated series that HBO made in the late 90s based on a comic book series created and (mostly) written by a douchey-looking guy named Todd MacFarlane.
The series is about a CIA assassin named Al Simmons who gets burned to death and comes back as a demonic creature known as a "hellspawn." Because of the fact that he looks like a homosexual gimp serial killer, he chooses to stay in the alleyways of New York City and live with hobos who are used to seeing people like him. He starts killing people who target the hobos, such as Mafia toughs and drug dealers, and ends up attracting the attention of very powerful people who want to kill him.
What makes the series interesting is, it's an animated series targeted at adults that actually [b]feels[/b] like it's targeted at adults. It's dark, but not in a forced way; it's complex, but without being overly convoluted; and above all else, it's fucking beautifully animated.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyp4SdVUjuI[/media]
It only lasted for 3 6-episode seasons, and ended without any major plot resolution, but what's there is extremely good and deserving of much more love than it actually gets. In my opinion, it suffered from being associated with the Spawn comic book, which at the time was not nearly at the level of quality this series has; fortunately, it's gotten better, but it's still seen as exemplary of the worst excesses of the Dark Age of Comic Books.
Loved it, still got season 1 on my desktop. There's supposed to be a new one coming out but he hasn't said much about it.
I remember this show. Actually have a few episodes on DVD. It's so awesome.
Fantastic show, alongside Batman: The Animated Series my favorite animated series based on a comic book. A shame it got canned after only three seasons.
[QUOTE=spekter;27135155]There's supposed to be a new one coming out but he hasn't said much about it.[/QUOTE]
A new one is supposed to be coming out for years now, alongside a sequel or a reboot(hopefully a reboot, being that the original is depressingly bad) of the movie.
Hm, I've got some kind of Spawn cartoon on DVD and never really got around to seeing the whole thing because it was a bit too surreal for me at the time.
[IMG_thumb]http://i52.tinypic.com/33fc5cp.jpg[/IMG_thumb]
I'm assuming it's what you guys are talking about?
I guess I should give it another try.
[QUOTE=Guts;27136119]
A new one is supposed to be coming out for years now, alongside a sequel or a reboot(hopefully a reboot, being that the original is depressingly bad) of the movie.[/QUOTE]
The reboot is like a re-telling of it. Somehow less focused on spawn and how he gets his powers etc.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9eevrlss1U[/media]
That intro music is FUNKY. Note this vid is 2009 so something should be cooking.
[QUOTE=spekter;27136912]The reboot is like a re-telling of it. Somehow less focused on spawn and how he gets his powers etc.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9eevrlss1U[/media]
That intro music is FUNKY. Note this vid is 2009 so something should be cooking.[/QUOTE]
The idea McFarlane has for the movie is pretty good(can't be worse than the first one, that's for sure), and it's good to hear that the new animation is practically finished(or even could be finished by now) as well.
Let's just hope it doesn't take another ten years for the whole thing to get done.
I watched this alot a few months ago, and I read about 100 of the comic series at the same time
they're pretty damn cool.
I wish animation was as common for adults as it is for children. Like, a channel dedicated to adult animation with stuff like this.
Oh, and, Keith David's voice alone makes this worth watching.
[QUOTE=-Ben_Wolfe-;27140863]I wish animation was as common for adults as it is for children. Like, a channel dedicated to adult animation with stuff like this.
Oh, and, Keith David's voice alone makes this worth watching.[/QUOTE]
[img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:chNwqCAC37X8DM:http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h164/CMoney1982/Random%20Pics/Adultswim-logo1.png&t=1[/img]
Although it does have a lot of shit shows
[QUOTE=OutOfExile2;27141817][img_thumb]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:chNwqCAC37X8DM:http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h164/CMoney1982/Random%20Pics/Adultswim-logo1.png&t=1[/img_thumb]
Although it does have a lot of shit shows[/QUOTE]
I'm talking about 24/7 with serious animated shows.
Adult swim is hardly for adults.
Most of the cartoons are just "LOL SO RANDUM xD" stupid shit that's only entertaining to pot heads.
[QUOTE=The_Marine;27147924]Adult swim is hardly for adults.
Most of the cartoons are just "LOL SO RANDUM xD" stupid shit that's only entertaining to pot heads.[/QUOTE]
Adult swim is basically the inappropriate jokes that kids and teens don't like saying in front of parents. Although, some shows are good. The Boondocks is great, for example.
[QUOTE=The_Marine;27136788]Hm, I've got some kind of Spawn cartoon on DVD and never really got around to seeing the whole thing because it was a bit too surreal for me at the time.
[IMG_thumb]http://i52.tinypic.com/33fc5cp.jpg[/IMG_thumb]
I'm assuming it's what you guys are talking about?
I guess I should give it another try.[/QUOTE]
That's the first season. Watch it, see if you enjoy it, and if you do, grab the steelbook set off of amazon or something; it's the only version still in print, and it's well worth the $30 or so that it costs.
Too bad this isn't on Netflix. It looks awesome, but I hate buying things I never use more than once.
[QUOTE=The_Marine;27136788]Hm, I've got some kind of Spawn cartoon on DVD and never really got around to seeing the whole thing because it was a bit too surreal for me at the time.
[IMG_thumb]http://i52.tinypic.com/33fc5cp.jpg[/IMG_thumb]
I'm assuming it's what you guys are talking about?
I guess I should give it another try.[/QUOTE]
yeah thats what i have
[QUOTE=SamPerson123;27159444]Too bad this isn't on Netflix. It looks awesome, but I hate buying things I never use more than once.[/QUOTE]
This series has a lot of rewatch value. My last rewatch, the one that prompted me to make this thread, was roughly my 3rd or 4th time. If the price is an issue, you can get used copies of the season sets for like $3 total on Amazon, but I wouldn't suggest that, as the picture quality is kinda iffy on them and they don't have any of the nice features on the steelbook. Plus, they're squished into 2.5 hour movies instead of being split up; nothing's cut, but it's kinda difficult to discern what episode something happens in that way.
I remember a Spawn game on Snes based on this series. I tried it on emulator and I don't get shit of what I'm supposed to do.
[QUOTE=z0nk3d;27169352]I remember a Spawn game on Snes based on this series. I tried it on emulator and I don't get shit of what I'm supposed to do.[/QUOTE]
Should've seen the spawn game on the PS1. Made 0 sense.
I find Spawn to be extremely under-used.
Let me explain.
Spiderman movies:3, more to come
Batman movies: 6? 7?
Superman movies: 5 (I may be wrong)
Spawn movies: 1.....and it sucked
I'm not even talking about the tv shows and animated movies....I mean Spawn is one of the greatest comic books ever and it only gets little to no attention.
[QUOTE=DEMONSKUL;27183481]I find Spawn to be extremely under-used.
Let me explain.
Spiderman movies:3, more to come
Batman movies: 6? 7?
Superman movies: 5 (I may be wrong)
Spawn movies: 1.....and it sucked
I'm not even talking about the tv shows and animated movies....I mean Spawn is one of the greatest comic books ever and it only gets little to no attention.[/QUOTE]
Less popular and mainstream than the other comics. Its risky putting something like that out there amongst the other films. Hopefully if the new movie is made and marketed properly it might get interest from bigger studios.
[QUOTE=z0nk3d;27169352]I remember a Spawn game on Snes based on this series. I tried it on emulator and I don't get shit of what I'm supposed to do.[/QUOTE]
I remember that game. If I remember correctly, it was pretty much just a standard platform beat-em-up.
Also, does anyone know if the comics are any good? I feel stupid for not having checked them out already, but there you go.
[QUOTE=WickedIcon;27224726]
Also, does anyone know if the comics are any good? I feel stupid for not having checked them out already, but there you go.[/QUOTE]
It's one of the few comic books that at the time used the lack of constraints that came with the Dark Age to truly break some new ground and transcend the old limitations of the medium.
The art constantly evolved and the stories, whilst at times dealing with somewhat generic superhero fare, were usually imaginative, mature and complex, if also quite dark(not in the braindead Youngblood/Rob Liefeld way).
So yeah, Spawn is a great comic book, one of the few Dark Age comics that got better with time, instead of becoming a detested parody of its former self like so many others.
If I were you I'd also check out The Savage Dragon and The Maxx, the other two early Image comics worth reading.
Both had their own animated shows as well, with The Savage Dragon being hated by the fans of the comic book, and The Maxx gaining a fairly large cult following.
I only saw the Spawn movie when I was little and I loved it because it was so gritty
[editline]7th January 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=-Ben_Wolfe-;27140863]I wish animation was as common for adults as it is for children. Like, a channel dedicated to adult animation with stuff like this.
Oh, and, Keith David's voice alone makes this worth watching.[/QUOTE]
oh god yes
just imagine movies like Se7en being animated
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