The new Gunslinger Spawn series begins this October as part of Todd McFarlane's interconnected Spawn Universe. McFarlane's Spawn has been an integral figure in the indie comics scene, and the hope for these new series is that more characters take the spotlight and continue to diversify what "Spawn" even means. However, Gunslinger Spawn has already been established as a fan-favorite character, making Gunslinger Spawn an even more highly-anticipated upcoming series.
Dubbing 2021 the Year of Spawn, McFarlane kicked off the universe expansive with Spawn Universe #1 in June. This one-shot - released under the Todd McFarlane Productions imprint of Image Comics - served as a starting point for readers to jump into the interconnected universe. It is followed by the first ongoing series planned, King Spawn, which begins in August. The second series to debut is October's Gunslinger Spawn. These will be followed by the Spawn team book, The Scorched.
In information about their October comics, Image Comics revealed the information for Gunslinger Spawn #1. Readers will be treated to not just one story featuring the Gunslinger but three. Since the character has 200 years' worth of stories, the ongoing series will be taking advantage of that by exploring every time period from the wild west to the twenty-first century. But these stories aren't necessarily unconnected, as there are hints that his past may be coming back to haunt him in the modern day. The series will be written by McFarlane and Aleš Kot (Zero, Bloodborne, Secret Avengers) and feature artwork from Brett Booth (Teen Titans, The Flash) and Philip Tan (Shang-Chi, Spawn, Red Hood: Outlaw). Gunslinger Spawn #1 will feature two covers, the main cover by Booth (shown below) and a variant cover by McFarlane.
Gunslinger Spawn is a fan-favorite character who returned fully in Spawn #309 (and towards the end of #308). He originally appeared in Spawn #119 with his backstory further explored throughout Spawn #174 and #175. His name was Jeremy Winston, who previously served as a preacher in Colorado, Bane, during the late 1800s. But after he was framed for murdering his family, he accepted Mammon's deal and was reborn as one of the Hellspawn. This allowed Gunslinger Spawn to get revenge on the people who'd wronged him as well as kill every last person residing in Bane. A pretty bloody start for a former man of God.
If projections are to be believed, Gunslinger Spawn will likely sell as well as Spawn Universe #1, which was Image's best-selling debut of the century. Over 200,000 copies were sold before that one-shot was even released in stores. But where Spawn is concerned, it's really not a surprise considering how record-breaking the series has been in the past, though it is impressive how the series has endured and continued to build up the hype ever since the first issue debuted in 1992. The first issue of Gunslinger Spawn will hit comic book stores on October 6, 2021, with a $5.99 price tag.
Source: Image Comics