Sal Crivelli

Batman and Spawn are at each other's throats again, but this time their tussle might have bigger ramifications than just a dope-looking one-shot comic book. Intercompany crossovers often feel like relics left behind in the wake of a new era for the comic book industry. And yet, '90s nostalgia is at an all-time high, evidenced by DC's 1990s initiative, complete with foil-embossed covers and a fresh look at the death of Superman.

Marvel and DC could learn a lot about reprinting classic collections by looking at the world of manga publishing. I don't normally engage in the Western Comics vs Manga debate because I firmly believe it's an apples-and-oranges sort of discussion. For one thing, Manga has the full cultural backing of an entire nation with decades of support behind it, and Western comic books are still recovering from the antics of one opportunistic psychiatrist from the '50s.

Share Tweet Share Share Share Email CBR speaks with legendary creators Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo about their upcoming collaboration, Batman Spawn #1. In 1994, two comic book titans shared the same page for the first time in Doug Moench, Alan Grant, Chuck Dixon, and Klaus Janson's Batman/Spawn: War Devil from DC Comics and Frank Miller and Todd McFarlane's Spawn/Batman from Image Comics. The clashes between the two caped crusaders delighted comic fans and became instant classics.