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If you're a comic book reader, chances are you remember the books that first got you into the hobby. For me, 1980s X-Men and 90s Superboy were my gateway into this wonderful world. Now, an entire generation of horror comics fans can trace their lineage back to the impact of Todd McFarlane's Spawn #1 from 1992. Actor and comic book writer David Dastmalchian counts himself as an early Spawnhead in a segment from our Popversations series with him. 

Speaking with our video producer Ashley Victoria Robinson, Dastmalchian said, "I remember getting my hands on Spawn #1, there was so much buzz around Spawn at my local comic shop... The horror of Spawn I always found to be really entrancing for me. Because I’ve always loved horror or horror-themed superheroes... [McFarlane's] way of conveying action and battle sequences in the midst of a really horrific setting and characters that had really deep emotional stakes invested in whatever quest they were on - that really grabbed me the same way that the stories that were happening with Wolverine at that time were grabbing me. There was stuff that I was going, ‘This is frickin' awesome.’"

If there's a way to describe what was happening in the 1990s in American comics, it was "frickin' awesome." From the founding of Image Comics, to a new crop of edgy young mutants in Generation X, to Hal Jordan's murder spree, to Superman dying and coming back with a glorious mullet, the 1990s embraced the darkness and made it look pretty darn cool. Sure, there was a proliferation of needless shoulder pads, pouches, and bandoliers, but you know what? Some men have a lot of stuff to carry around, and can't be bothered to deal with the purse industry. I'm sure Cable can back me up here. 

Popversations is our new video series where Popverse's Ashley Victoria Robinson gets deep with some of the biggest voices in movies, comics, and TV today. If you're a Popverse member already, thanks for being part of the club! Members can watch all of our Popversations interviews now. And if you're not, consider joining! Memberships help support the work we do here and keep the lights on, financially, physically, emotionally. 

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