New Releases by Brian holguin

Lacking both fingerprints and a shadow, a confused Al Simmons resorts to his natural instincts when he suddenly finds himself standing in the middle of a New York City street. As two policemen approach him, he violently lashes out at them, an act that lands him in a jail cell next to a violent killer that confesses his crimes to Al alone. As Al is taken from his cell to speak with a Public Defender, a shadow lurks in the darkness that surrounds the cell occupied by Al''s self-confessed, murderous neighbor; it''s Al''s missing shadow, which has taken on a life of its own as Spawn! And while Al may not know who or where he is, he does remember one thing: Wanda.

Old foes with new agendas are tormenting Spawn, drawing him down a road he may not be prepared to travel. Only SpawnÕs one-time mentor, Cog, now dying, can offer insight into the complex web being woven. Will revisiting the mistakes he made as a man relieve the pain that haunts Spawn in death? Or are some wounds too deep to ever heal?

Spawn envisions the lives of his predecessors, including his own past life as Al Simmons. Is what he''s seeing real or imagined? If real, how will the scene he observes at his own funeral affect what he has always supposed to be true? In his original agreement with Malebolgia, he acquiesed to becoming a Hellspawn in order to be reconciled with his beloved Wanda; but were his memories of his marriage accurate? As Spawn descends into Hell with Cog at his side, will he finally abandon all connections to his previous world and take his place on the throne that he inherited from Malebolgia?

Arising out of young Eddie''s search for revenge on the Hellspawn, the Redeemer finds Spawn in the desert and intends to finally settle the score. As the battle between the two is taking place, the mysterious stranger visits Eddie''s bedside in the hospital and reveals the truth to an unconscious Eddie that has always been impossible for him to admit: His father was an abusive, drunken brute. While the truth could kill Eddie, it has the Redeemer examining his own motives. After receiving a final crushing blow from the Redeemer, Spawn lays on the desert floor while two patiently waiting scorpions do what they have been sent to do: drag the Hellspawn down into the bowels of Hell.

Eddie and Andy were children with an abusive father. After listening to Spawn, Eddie took it upon himself to kill his father and end the abuse. (See Spawn #29.) Now, after serving many years in a juvenile home, Eddie is free and looking for the evil being that he feels encouraged him to commit murder. Meanwhile, Cog, who is dying, knows his time to teach Spawn is now extremely limited, but Spawn has his own plans for his own future, the future of mankind and the future of Hell. At the same time, Eddie, who found religion while incarcerated, goes on a shooting spree at the bus station where he is critically injured, as is his plan; however, not even death can dissuade him in his quest to kill Spawn. He is reborn. He is The Redeemer!

A group of vampires join Simon Pure in his battle against Spawn, but the Hellspawn has experience on his side and causes a tidal wave that engulfs Simon and his followers, all of whom drown. Simon survives, but cuts off his own hand to escape Spawn''s chains. Meanwhile, Twitch has an encounter with Max Jr. and Dawn, but it turns out to be only a dream... or was it? Spawn has a new plan to eliminate Simon and enlists the help of Ab and Zab, who have been reinstated as full demons, while Simon''s plan to eliminate those who are sinners continues apace.

As Sam and Twitch wait at the appointed hour, Spawn arrives with Ab and Zab in tow. They are carrying the head of Wolfram in a bag. The two detectives are more than a little startled when Wolfram, after some encouragement from Ab, begins to speak and tells them what he knows about Simon Pure and The Kingdom. While Max Jr. realizes he may be past the point of no return with Dawn and her friends, Spawn finds a warehouse that he suspects is Simon Pure''s headquarters. The structure itself is indestructible, and though the young inhabitants are no match for Spawn, he comes face to face with a truly formidable enemy: Simon Pure himself.

When two warring mobs meet in a warehouse for a showdown, no one present expects the intervention of a third party: Spawn. Neither faction will win this night. In another part of town, in a dank and dirty bar, sits Wolfram, who is being paid a visit by Simon Pure. Little does Wolfram know that this tonight will be the last of his life. Elsewhere, in an arcade, a young man has just met an intriguing young woman. They are two seemingly lost souls who appear to have found a common bond; however, the young manÕs mother is worried about him, and calls his father for help. His father happens to be Twitch Williams.

At the end of her mental and emotional rope, Thea has a gift that can also be a curse: She can see when people are about to die. Spawn appears to Thea, but she''s convinced he''s there to harm her. Hell''s opportunistic lords are quick to take advantage of humans in Thea''s condition, and a smooth-talking, expensively dressed demon approaches her and reenforces her belief that Spawn is out to get her. The demon convinces Thea to give up her soul to him and then reveals, after it''s too late, that Spawn was actually there to help.

Spawn and Angela question the Earthbound demons, Ab and Zab, about their role in freeing Urizen upon the Earth. When they are unable to get information out of the demons, Spawn takes measures to temporarily contain Urizen while Angela halts an army of angels from going to war on EarthÕs behalf. Meanwhile, Terry and Wanda reconcile when WandaÕs doctor tells her that the babyÕs due date is much sooner than expected and therefore the conception was earlier than they thought. Cyan is haunted by a demon who knows she has a connection to Spawn.

Angela rescues Spawn from his impaled position and gives him the lowdown on their new mission even after she received orders on to act. Other angels debate the order, saying it is thier duty, their purpose to fight while others claim it is their job to follow orders. Spawn and Angela find Cog and try to pry ancient information out of him, but he is vague and uncooperative. Later, after Spawn and Angela leave Cog, they argue and even get into a bit of a tussle. Angela is surprised to learn that Spawn still hasnÕt figured out his earthly role. Meanwhile, Urizen is leading people to their deaths like a monstrous Pied Piper.

Spawn is warned by the ghost of Al Simmons to quit interfering in the lives of others. However, Spawn''s sense of justice cannot be squelched when he happens upon a group of 13 aristocrats whose boredom has led them to play a deadly game. As part of a coven, they participate in a sacred pact to hunt, kill, and eat each other. The plan was to continue until only one was left and he would have feasted on the souls of the other 12 and therefore have their collective power. He would then be the escort to a terrible beast called a Urizen.

Spawn finds three nervous young men in an abandoned house with the body of a dead Asian girl. All three tell different stories about her demise and the events leading up to it, but each of their stories point the fingers at each other. Justice is served when Spawn gives the knife and the opportunity to carry out the sentence to one of them. He then takes the unlucky knife-wielder away to carry out his own brand of justice.

A frightened child named Mary tells the story of her life with her mean, abusive stepfather. When Sam and Twitch investigate his untimely death, they rule it an accident even though it seems like they know their red-cloaked informant was meting out his type of justice. Meanwhile, Cogliostro meets with representatives from both Heaven and Hell to discuss the precarious balance of earth matters that has been disturbed with the resignation of their missing pawn. Mr. Hell leaves the meeting with a final threat to Cog that he needs to deliver Spawn to him quickly or else, while Ms. Heaven concedes that perhaps the will of God isn''t quite what it used to be.

Ethan Crone, accused by his editor of being obsessed with Spawn, interviews people from all walks of life around the city who may have witnessed Spawn and his mysterious ways. When he actually tries to spend the night in the Rat City alleys, Cog tells him that there is no Spawn and there never was: he was simply a ghost story told around the bonfires in the alleys.

Twitch puzzles over the case of Billy Kincaid and forms a plan with Spawn to stop Kincaid from possessing innocent people, coercing them to perform unspeakable crimes and then sentencing their souls to Hell. Knowing his family is a target of Kincaid''s, Twitch convinces Helen to take the kids away for a while. Later, his fears are confirmed when he and Sam receive a hit list with his family, the Fitzgeralds and Granny Blake named.

Spawn approaches Sam & Twitch again about discovering an effective way to stop Billy Kincaid from supplying Hell''s army with souls. Meanwhile, a reassigned Jason Wynn hallucinates that he is as powerful, deadly, and ruthless as the legendary Genghis Khan. As he imagines himself "Jason the Conqueror," he opens fire on innocent people in a restaurant. Later, when he returns to reality, he finds himself dirty and disoriented in Spawn''s alley where Bobby befriends him.

Billy Kincaid''s ghost taunts Spawn about the recent innocent murders. Not only has Spawn been unable to prevent the killing of innocent people, but Billy warns him that things are just getting started. Elsewhere, Twitch''s wife and son become hostages on the commuter train. When Spawn intervenes to save the innocent people on the train, the gunman is inadvertently killed and becomes one of Billy Kincaid''s ghostly crew. Later, Granny Blake feels Billy''s ghostly presence and protectively warns him away from her family.

With Spawn''s help, Sam and Twitch surmise that Dr. Sarah Frost is the serial killer of the alley inhabitants. Spawn confronts her and witnesses her suicide by pesticides, a victim of her own imagined phobia. But when Sam examines Dr. Frost''s body, he finds that now familiar symbol branded on her neck. Later, Sam and Twitch receive a cardboard box with a head in it and a cryptic message written on their office wall.

Detective Silbert interrogates Bobby at police headquarters about his involvement in the recent alley murders. Bobby makes his one phone call to Dr. Sarah Frost and later she and Sam discuss his options. Meanwhile, Spawn ÒfeelsÓ the latest victimÕs death and vows to catch the killer of his people. Later, Sam finds Bobby almost dead near SarahÕs clinic. He breaks into the clinic to get help and finds a shrine of sorts from the killer relating to his victims.

While Twitch lies in a coma, Sam unknowingly trades favors with Spawn for a miraculous recovery. Sam continues trying to solve the latest, seemingly senseless murders of the homeless but leaves the morgue with more questions than answers after the coroner shows Sam an unusual mark on the latest victim. Meanwhile, Spawn and Cog search a museum of antiquities for ancient answers to the mysteries of the murders and they also find an image of the same mark. Later, Spawn confronts Sam and a recovered Twitch about the results of their detective work even as another body is discovered and this time, itÕs a child.

Spawn is led to a former church, now an archive of Hellspawn memorabilia. There, Cog tells Spawn of his own life as a Hellspawn, and how Spawn may break his curse. Meanwhile, detectives Burke and Twitch go looking for Spawn. After finding no sign of Spawn in the alleys, the two are confronted by a stranger. Also, Bobby is in despair, practically at rock bottom. After taking a bottle from a murdered drunk, he asks Heaven''s forgiveness.

Spawn has been thrown into the realm of Greenworld, a third power beyond Heaven and Hell. There he learns that the earth is under siege by man''s relentless pollution and overuse of its resources. He is given the task to stop the war between Heaven and Hell in order to preserve Mother Nature. Back in the alleys, Bootsy prays for Spawn''s return to earth and is removed from earth for interfering with mortal''s lives.

Sam and Twitch ponder the results of their research on Lt. Colonel Al Simmons. Meanwhile, Spawn continues to battle the Heap until he ends up engulfed by the mass of trash just as Cog and Bootsy arrive to save him. When Bootsy kneels to pray for help, he finds the sigil of the Hellspawn, a token signifying that Spawn is indeed gone. Elsewhere, Spawn falls into a dark space where the former Eddie Beckett awaits for him and points him toward a light source where he is welcomed "home."

Sam & Twitch encounter Cog in their office. Cog leaves them a dossier to help Spawn. Eddie Beckett, who found the bag of necroplasm left by the Freak, is stabbed in an alley. With the aid of the necroplasm, he morphs into the Heap, a ghoulish creature consisting of the rubbish mankind has discarded. As the heat in Manhattan climbs to 130 degrees, the angel Bootsy asks Cog to help Spawn. Meanwhile, Spawn encounters the Heap and is absorbed into the Heap''s refuse body!