It’s a huge year for Image Comics, and Matthew Rosenberg is right at the center of it. He’s officially stepping into the massive shoes of Todd McFarlane to steer the Spawn franchise into uncharted territory. Between launching a “quiet apocalypse” in If Destruction Be My Lot and navigating a world that’s changed drastically for Al Simmons, Matt has his hands full. We had the chance to chat with him about what happened during the series’ one-year time jump, the truth behind those Absolute Green Arrow rumors, and the surprisingly emotional story of a robotic Abraham Lincoln: New York’s loneliest (and strangest) hero.
Jumping Into Spawn at Issue 376
Phillip Creary: You’re jumping into the flagship Spawn title this June with a one-year time jump. For those of us who haven’t kept up with the previous 375 issues, why is this the perfect moment to start reading?
Matthew Rosenberg: Spawn is a unique thing in comics because it’s almost completely a singular vision. It’s Todd’s story. Other people have added flavor, but Todd’s been telling this story for so long. It’s intricate and detailed. Fans love that intensity, but I’ve heard it’s intimidating. People think they have to go back to issue one. That isn’t true. We’re doing a new status quo with a new cast of characters to lead you into the world. It’s the shallow end of the pool. We aren’t retconning anything or undoing the past. We’re providing an easy on-ramp. If we do our jobs well, it’ll make you want to go back and read everything.
Following Todd McFarlane after three decades is a massive shift. Did he give you a Spawn Bible or a list of rules you can’t break?
No physical Bible. Todd just made himself incredibly available. We’ve spent hours on the phone. I throw ideas at him and he explains why they work or why they don’t. My editor, Thomas Healy, is another great resource who knows the universe inside and out. They both fact-check me constantly. I’ve read the material, but I haven’t lived and breathed it for thirty years like they have. I’ve pitched things that turned out to be “rules.” Some were a “no,” but others were a “we’ve never done that before, let’s try it.” We’re challenging some unspoken laws. People will be surprised by what we’re doing at McFarlane Productions.
Are you able to share any of those rules?
Not many. One of the first things I asked for was a new number one. That was a big “no.” Todd worked thirty years to get to issue 375 and he isn’t throwing that out for me. That’s the correct answer. You have to trust the fans. Most of the rules we’re breaking happen later. The time jump itself was complicated because of how it impacts the other books in the universe. We had to work that out carefully.
A World Without Heaven or Hell
We start with Al Simmons powerless in Manhattan. Is he trying to live a normal life, or is he just a guy with a grudge?
In King Spawn #55, Al’s location is a total mystery. No one knows where Spawn or Al Simmons went. He isn’t just a grumpy guy. He’s doing something we haven’t seen before.
Issue 376 tells us Heaven and Hell have checked out. Is the world better off without them?
The world is much worse. For human history, Earth was a battlefield for Heaven and Hell. They used us as pawns. Spawn was a soldier who realized there wasn’t a difference between the sides and tried to end the war. He succeeded. They packed up and left. Now humanity is coming to terms with being abandoned. For people of faith, it’s devastating. Their beliefs were proven true, but they aren’t part of the afterlife. There’s no eternal reward or damnation. The economy is crashing, and crime is rising. We’re looking at a planet of lost children who don’t know how to act anymore. Spawn has to find a new mission now that the war is over.
You’ve teased a group called “The 400.” Are they a street gang or a secret society?
They are much weirder. They operate like a secret society that sees the state of the world and has its own path to fix it. In some ways, they are like a street gang. In other ways, they are the Illuminati. They are a very versatile and powerful group. The name “The 400” has multiple meanings that we’ll reveal as we go.
Lore and Differences Between Spawn and King Spawn
Since you weren’t a Spawn scholar before this, what’s one piece of lore you stumbled on that shocked you?
I always loved the issue Dave Sim wrote where Spawn and Cerebus team up (Spawn #10, “Crossing Over”). Going back and rereading it was brilliant. Spawn sees what his life would be like if his copyright was sold. You see characters like the Avengers and the Justice League being tortured in Hell because they don’t have their copyrights anymore. It’s so strange and quirky that it’s hard not to keep it in the back of my head as a reference point, even if I can’t officially reference it.
You’re writing Spawn and King Spawn. Aside from the art, what differentiates the two?
Al is very public now. He’s operating in the daytime and doing interviews to let people know someone is trying to help them. King Spawn is much darker. It covers the things he can’t let the public know he’s doing. He has to be ruthless in the shadows to save the world he’s trying to inspire in the light.
Robotic Presidents and Quiet Apocalypses
Switching to “If Destruction Be A Lot”. Why a robotic Abraham Lincoln?
The honest truth is, I was walking around New York late at night when the streets were empty. I had an image of an animatronic Abraham Lincoln from a theme park wandering the streets. It just came to me. My brother Mark and I built the story from there. Lincoln is a mythical figure in history, and the animatronic version is something people recognize immediately. We’re writing both Lincoln and “not Lincoln” at the same time.
The first issue feels lonely but peaceful. Did you set out to write a “quiet apocalypse?”
That’s a great term. We wanted Lincoln to be the loneliest character possible. We didn’t want a typical dystopian wasteland. The robots have inherited the world and they’re doing a great job because humans no longer interfere with their order. Lincoln is alone in a crowded world. He’s the only one who looks human, and the other robots hate that. They think if he were an honest robot, he’d rip his face off.
You’re writing this with your brother, Mark. Who is the one who steps in and says an idea is too weird?
Usually me. Mark (Rosenberg) works in film and TV, so he’s very into long-form planning. Early on, we had the idea that every robot was networked and shared a single intellect. Essentially, every robot was God. They could predict the future and knew everything. Lincoln was the only one disconnected. It was a cool sci-fi idea, but I realized I couldn’t write it. The stakes were too difficult if every character Lincoln met was an omniscient deity. We had to walk it back.
Is Abe the only historical robot, or should we look for a mechanical George Washington?
Abe isn’t the only one, but it’ll take a long time to find someone else. Abe is going to figure out more about where he’s from later in the story. We actually talked about using other figures like Tina Turner or the Honey Nut Cheerios bee before settling on the animatronic history. There are some legal hurdles we have to navigate there.
The Truth About Absolute Green Arrow and Wildcats Pitch
News broke recently that you turned down Absolute Green Arrow. Is that correct?
That isn’t accurate. I didn’t turn it down. Scott Snyder asked if there was something I’d want to do for the Absolute Universe. I mentioned Green Arrow was cool, and he said they didn’t have one yet. I wrote some notes, but never followed up because I was busy. It was never officially offered to me. Pornsak Pichetshote is the writer on that book and his pitch is awesome. He is 100% the right man for it.
I’m a big fan of your WILDC.A.T.s run. If you were given an Absolute WILDC.A.T.s series, what would your pitch look like?
I love the WILDC.A.T.s. They’re always reinvented. Jim Lee’s version is different from Alan Moore’s. They don’t neatly fit in the DC Universe, which is their strength. My brain goes to making them the most traditional superhero team because everything else in the Absolute Universe is so crazy, but that might not be a great pitch.
Who would be your central character to build that world around?
It’s always Grifter. He and Spawn have the two best character designs of the last forty years. Cole Cash is fun because there’s a good guy in there somewhere, but he works hard to suppress those instincts. He isn’t a grimdark antihero like Deathstroke. He likes to have fun, but he’s a damaged person. The Wildcats codenames are mostly insults. Grifter, Zealot, Maul. They are just people with jobs who happen to save the world.
Al Simmons vs. Robot Lincoln
Out of everything dropping in June, what’s the one moment or thing you’re excited for fans to see?
I’m excited for fans to see that none of these books are what they think they are. People have preconceived notions when we talk about them. They are all very much not correct. That’s the fun in making things. I like surprising people and keeping them on their toes.
If Al Simmons and Robot Abe Lincoln met at the end of the world, would they find something to talk about?
Al isn’t a talker. He barely likes talking to people he has to talk to. I don’t think he’ll see any reason to talk to a robot Abraham Lincoln. Abe is annoyingly historical. I think Abe would get on Al’s nerves and that might be the end of him. Al spends a long time making sure he doesn’t have to talk to people. He has his limits.
Where to Catch Matthew Rosenberg
If you want to get inside Matthew’s head, head over to his Substack, Ashcan Press. It’s the best place to track his scripts and see exactly how he pieces a story together.
For the “behind-the-scenes” fans, check out the Ideas Don’t Bleed podcast. Matthew hosts it alongside Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan, and they get pretty real about how the comic industry actually works.
Big thanks to Matt for dropping by to chat about his new projects. Here’s what you need to mark on your calendar:
June 3rd: The main event. Spawn #376 officially hits shelves.
May 20th: If you want something darker, grab King Spawn.
May 6th: For a more surreal vibe, look out for If Destruction Be A Lot.
Stay tuned to KPB Comics for more pro interviews, news, and our weekly most anticipated trade paperback (MATP) lists!
