"Be forewarned: I’m a huge fan of Spawn in all of his incarnations." This caveat serves as prologue to Zach Demeter's extended review of "Todd McFarlane's Spawn: 10th Anniversary Signature Edition" DVD, which is posted at The World's Finest.
Demeter quickly and firmly establishes his expert-fan cred with an historical overview of the three-season, 18-episode series, which was produced by HBO Animation between May '97 and May '99.
"Important in the history of animation," he writes, the Emmy-winning show pushed the envelope of U.S. animation with adult language, violence, gore and nudity.
Whether due to an affinity for DVDs in general, or simply to an adoration for this specific series, Demeter's description of the product's packaging and analysis of its contents are incredibly detailed, covering the design of the steelbook casing (and the rear piece of cardboard held on by "snot glue"); the interior, disc and menu art; and the quality of the all-new video and audio transfers. And, boy, did he put that quality to the test: "...while I noticed the compression on my 4:3 CRT TV through 480p, watching it on my PC monitor didn’t make it look nearly as bad." Oookaaayy.
Despite his self-professed fanatical devotion to "Spawn," Demeter is very honest in his analysis, and occasionally quite funny. "McFarlane is one of the more annoying commentators I’ve ever listened to on a DVD," he admits.
His final decision? "It’s up to the fan in the end, but I’d easily recommend selling your old set to purchase the new one." And, after ingesting his all-encompassing review, prospective buyers should know whether or not they'll take the bait.
"Todd McFarlane's Spawn: 10th Anniversary Signature Edition" swoops onto shelves Tuesday, July 24th.