Comics: Spawn
I’m not much of a comics buff. But what I like, I really like.
Spawn is one of my FAVORITES (I also like Blokhedz, a cool hip hop cartoon, the movie version I hope will be out sometime in 2009). I popped in HBO’s season 1 in the DVD player so I’m ampped, even though it came out in 1997 (the comic edition came out in 1992 after creator, Todd McFarlane, left Marvel with some others to form Image Comics).
Basically, Spawn was a former CIA covert ops guy named Al Simmons. He was one of the agency’s best hit men until Jason Wynn, Director of the United States Security Group (which oversaw the CIA), 
agreed to have him killed for asking one-too-many questions of missions having increasingly questionable purpose. Wynn made the deal with Malebolgia, ruling demon of the 8th Sphere of Hell, in exchange for psychoplasm, thereby giving Wynn super powers.
Malebogia officially made Simmons a Hellspawn (a general Hell’s army against heaven), in exchange for allowing Simmons to see his wife again.
Spawn has these really cool powers too (teleportation, quick-time healing, super-human strength). Spawn has a symbiotic relationship with his costume, which protects him (his cape can attack and help him fly, and even creates a shroud to transform Spawn into anyone he wants; his chains can also attack).
Wikipedia does a really good job of giving you a more detailed background.
Last May 2007, Todd MacFarlane, creator of Spawn, came out with Spawn: Godslayer. Here’s a free peak at the first edition. He’s on his 8th edition, now, which came out in April 2008.
