This August 2019 marks the 300th issue of Image Comics horror-fantasy series Spawn. According to series creator Todd McFarlane, this 72-page issue will make Spawn “the longest running creator-owned comic in the world.” Ahead of this milestone issue, it seems only right to track the career of writer-artist Todd McFarlane.
McFarlane was born on March 16, 1961, in Alberta, Canada and began drawing at a very early age. As he grew older and developed an interest in comics, he started acquiring as many as he could and used them to enhance his drawing skills. He credits such comic greats as John Byrne, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, George Pérez, and Alan Moore as his artistic and literary inspiration. When he was just 16 years old, McFarlane spent countless hours creating and perfecting the appearance of Spawn - although this character would not become released until the 1990s. After attending Spokane Falls Community College for a year, McFarlane attended Eastern Washington University on a baseball scholarship while studying a program for graphics and art.
While still in college, McFarlane sent a total of over 700 submission to various comic editors over the course of a year and a half. Half resulted in no response, while the other half resulted in rejection letters. Eventually, McFarlane created a five-page Coyote sample that was passed through the Marvel Comics grapevine and landed in the hands of Coyote creator Steve Englehart. Englehart then gave McFarlane his first comic job, a 1984 backup story in Coyote. Shortly thereafter, McFarlane began drawing for both DC and Marvel, working on such titles as Infinity, Inc., Detective Comics, and Incredible Hulk. In 1988, McFarlane became a comic book superstar due to his work on Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man franchise. His work was praised for his depiction of Spider-Man’s dynamic poses and aerial web-slinging as well as the elaborate detail he gave to his webbing. McFarlane was also the first artist to draw the first full appearance of the Eddie Brock, the original incarnation of Venom.
After becoming dissatisfied with the lack of control over his own work, McFarlane teamed with five other artists to form Image Comics – an umbrella company under which each owned a publishing house. Through Todd McFarlane Productions, he published the debut issue of his occult-themed comic Spawn. This issue sold 1.7 million copies, still a record for an independent comic book. Over the years, such industry legends as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Dave Sim, Frank Miller, Grant Morrison, Andrew Grossberg, Tom Orzechowski, and Greg Capullo have contributed to the series. Capullo drew Spawn for years, beginning with Spawn #16 and culminating his run with #100, and is reuniting with McFarlane for Spawn #300. The series has launched numerous spin-offs and was adapted into a 1997 feature film, an HBO animated series with a planned reboot film currently in the works.
In recent years, McFarlane has expanded his portfolio beyond comic books to include McFarlane Toys and Todd McFarlane Entertainment. Although the toy company initially revolved around collectible action figures of the Spawn characters, it has since branched out to figures of popular cultural icons from comics, film, and TV. Through his film and animation studio, McFarlane produced the Spawn film and animated series. The company has also produced a number of music videos and other animations, including “Do the Evolution” by Pearl Jam and Korn’s Grammy Award winning music video for “Freak on a Leash.”
After 27 years of Spawn comics, toys, and the Spawn reboot film starring Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner, McFarlane shows no signs of slowing down the Hellspawn’s pop culture domination. Spawn #300 hits shelves on August 29, 2019, for $7.99.
