REVIEW: ‘The Scorched,’ Issue #2

The Scorched #2 is written by Sean Lewis with art by Stephen Segovia, colors by Arif Prianto, and lettering by Andworld Design. It’s published by Image Comics. The Scorched have infiltrated Russia as part of their first mission, intending to end the threat of Psalms 137. However, they end up in the fight of their lives with the Russian paramilitary unit known as the Black Flag and their leader Colonel Kruschev, who has augmented himself with the power of Plague Spawn. Thankfully, the Scorched have reinforcements in the form of Spawn himself!

The issue is packed to the brim with intense violence, thanks to Segovia and Prianto. Limbs and heads are hacked off, and bodies are cleaved in half. Spawn literally puts his fist through someone’s face. All of this leads to fountains of blood cascading over the page, which is rendered in a gloriously bright red by Prianto. This provides a nice contrast to Andworld’s lettering, which is either depicted in light brown captions or the gray borders that surround the Hellspawns’ speech bubbles. Keeping in line with the horror direction the Spawn titles have taken, Kruschev looks like something out of a nightmare as the Plague Spawn takes over his body resulting in a jet-black nightmare that fires off projectiles that “infect” his victims. Hey, it’s called “Plague Spawn” for a reason.

Not all of the action is super gory. Segovia illustrates a sequence that features She-Spawn outracing a fighter jet. Panels depict her dodging bullets and missiles, finally snagging a rocket launcher and firing at the jet. The missile hits its target, sending it spiraling into Black Flag’s base and causing a spectacular explosion. If nothing else, I implore you to pick up the comic, for this image alone it looks way cooler than I described. Say whatever you will about the Spawn books, but they’ve always been home to top-tier artists.

Writing-wise, Lewis continues to experiment with the team’s dynamics. Spawn and She-Spawn butt heads, as Spawn is fairly certain, the Scorched will get themselves killed. But She-Spawn proves to be an effective leader, as she’s able to deploy her team to significant effect, greatly depleting Black Flag’s forces and even taking down Kruschev. The comic also ties in plot points from King Spawn and the main Spawn title, including the ongoing actions of Psalms 137 and the Court of Priests. While you don’t have to have read those other titles to keep track of what’s going on in The Scorched, it shows that the Spawn Universe has grown and is flourishing. I’ve always felt Spawn was a character who could stand the test of time, and given that 2022 celebrates his 30th anniversary, it looks like I might have been right on the money.

The Scorched #2 features all the gritty, bloody action Spawn fans have come to expect from the hellish antihero’s adventures. With the end of the issue teasing a new enemy for the team — and the next issue hinting at a team member’s possible death — the Scorched might have their work cut out for them.

The Scorched #2 is available now wherever comics are sold.