SPAWN/BATMAN PUBLISHER:Image
RUN: 1 issue 1994
KEY CREATORS: Frank Miller (writer) Todd McFarlane (artist)
OUTLINE: A misunderstanding causes Batman to fight before grudgingly teaming up against the real villain
STANDOUT ISSUE: None
DUD ISSUE: This one
OVERALL: This is one of the worst comics ever made and the single worst Batman story ever written (a surprise given that Miller wrote Dark Knight, one of the best Batman stories ever written).  The initial... pages use... too many... broken up...captions for effect.  Once we get past this device which thankfully lasts only a couple of pages, we get panel after panel, page after page of Batman and Spawn telling each other how much they dislike each other, with Batman calling Spawn a punk over and over and over and over and Spawn calling Batman...I can't remember really, though it's only been a few days since I read it.  I confess that in the last six
or so pages I couldn't stand the dialogue any longer and started skipping over it.  The disaster ends with Batman doing something to Spawn so nasty that even the super-grim Batman seen in current Batman stories probably wouldn't do to his foes, let alone a reluctant ally.  Miller & McFarlane were probably going for a cute twist on the grudging respect between unwilling allies bit, but it just made Batman more out of character than
he already was, if that's possible.  McFarlane's art is nice enough at points but that's all I'll give it.  Mainly it's just two many trying to act macho beating each other up but really coming across as idiots instead.
 Caveat: I borrowed this from a friend, hence my ability to review this. I thankfully never bought it.
RECOMMENDED OR NOT: Buy it only if you plan to destroy the copy and spare other people the nightmare of reading this tripe.  Don't even use this as birdcage liner unless you want your bird to think you don't love it anymore. Like I said earlier, one of the worst stories I've ever read, and I've been reading comics for around 21 years.
CONTINUITY NOTES: No dimension hopping, so presumably takes place on its own Earth or on some crossover Earth.  Note to be confused with Batman/Spawn: War Devil by different creators.