Lucifer and Corson continue to make headway into the world as Spawn finds himself with an uneasy group of allies. There are so many enemies to fight – is it even possible to make progress against them? Find out in Killadelphia #32 from Image Comics!
KILLADELPHIA #32
Writer: Rodney Barnes
Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander and Germán Erramouspe
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
Editor: Greg Tumbarello
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 20, 2023
Previously in Killadelphia: Corson gets a dressing down from Lucifer for bringing Spawn into the conflict. Spawn is an entity that could kill them. On the other hand, he could speed things along. Spawn fights Seesaw as Anansi tries to talk him out of it and explain what has been going on. Nita explains to Jimmy that someone is manipulating the natural order and drawing the attention of the spirit realms. They must stop it. Anansi’s talking annoys Spawn, and he strikes out at the god, which is what Anansi needs to be able to take part in the fight. Spawn flings Anansi through a portal. Seesaw surrenders to Spawn, lets him pull him closer, and bites him. The bite of a vampire lets Spawn see and understand what has been going on.
THE CROSSOVER CONTINUES
Killadelphia #32 opens somberly as a couple of National Guardsmen in an armored vehicle patrol West Philadelphia. There has been no natural sunlight for days. The streets are lined with bodies. They stop, and one of them hears singing and recognizes the voice of Blake Edwards. His buddy tells him he must be wrong – Edwards was killed by a vampire months ago. But as it turns out, this is Blake – and he is a vampire. The men cannot get away from him, and Edwards feasts.
In North Philadelphia, Seesaw and Spawn fight a horde of demons. The Werewolves are helping, which annoys Spawn. He and Anansi bicker about it until Anansi tells them to focus more on the fight. Eventually, they all realize that the demons are coming from a hell hole powered by something or somebody else, most likely Corson and Lucifer.
Blake Edwards continues walking down the street and remembers his past. It was not long ago that he was a young man who was certain that music was his ticket to a better life. People loved his music, and he loved making them feel good. He drew the attention of a producer, Ron Davies. Davies had a fancy office full of gold records. He was charming. He knew exactly the approach to take to win over a young man who was unfamiliar with the business side of music. Edwards could punch his ticket to the good life for the mere cost of his soul.
Spawn, Anansi, and Seesaw confront Lucifer, who offers them plots in Hell for agreeing to succumb to him. Instead, they fight. The forces of Earth gain a slight edge, and Lucifer opens a portal so he and Corson can flee. Spawn plunges after them.
Edwards sneaks into a medical center and goes to the nursery where he turns a room of infants into tiny vampires. Shortly after Lucifer’s portal closes, they fly over the battle and Seesaw thinks he recognizes Edwards. Meanwhile, Ron Davies is in his office talking with another young man who believes he has a future in music. Davies is trying to pull the same kind of deal until Edwards crashes through the window. Blake orders the young musician to go, and he flees. Davies pleads for his life and offers to give him a new deal. Instead, Edwards lets his little vampires feed before setting the office on fire.
In death, Toussaint walks through the Elysium Fields of the afterlife, a place he prefers to the battlegrounds of life. The angel Gabriel approaches him. The creatures of the Dark Realm have not been wiped out. They never will be, he counters. But Gabriel claims that now they have found a warrior who can fight beside him.
THE NEW DARK CORNERS OF PHILADELPHIA
Despite the fact that most of the Vampires we got to know are now dead, Killadelphia #32 reminds us that there are still plenty more of them. One of the soldiers is pretty sure that Blake Edwards is dead, but the other wants to believe he is still alive. Walking alone down the street, singing into his microphone, Edwards at first looks incongruous. It is not until the men get closer to him that we see the telltale flash of light in his eyes when he is in the shadow. The panel that shows his attack hits like a jump scare and immediately reminds us that there is plenty of horror yet to be had.
Speaking of which, when we later see Blake going to the medical center, we cannot help but wonder why he is there. As he thinks about making Ron Davies pay for what he did, he gazes at a group of sleeping infants. The obvious thought is that he intends to simply kill them for their blood. But when a nurse goes in to check on them, the room is dark. What light there is focuses on her with her face and body registering terror, while around her we see several pairs of glowing eyes. It is a remarkably chilling moment.
BOTTOM LINE: OLD ENEMIES, NEW BATTLES
While Killadelphia #32 continues to focus on the battle for whether or not to start Armageddon, it does not lose touch with its connection to the real world. I love the irony of a vampire getting back at a producer who was a bloodsucker in his own right – poetic justice, horror style.
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Killadelphia #32
The struggle for Armageddon continues to pull back and forth with no clear lead.
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By day, she’s a mild-mannered bureaucrat and Ms. Know-It-All. By night, she’s a dance teacher and RPG player (although admittedly not on the same nights). On the weekends, she may be found judging Magic, playing Guild Wars 2 (badly), or following other creative pursuits. Holy Lack of Copious Free Time, Batman! While she’s always wished she had teleportation as her superpower, she suspects that super-speed would be much more practical because then she’d have time to finish up those steampunk costumes she’s also working on.