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{{Infobox comics creator | {{Infobox comics creator | ||
| name = Todd McFarlane | |||
| image = 10.5.17ToddMcFarlaneByLuigiNovi1.jpg | | image = 10.5.17ToddMcFarlaneByLuigiNovi1.jpg | ||
| caption = McFarlane at the 2017 ] | | caption = McFarlane at the 2017 ] | ||
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|3|16}} | | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|3|16}} | ||
| birth_place = ], ], Canada | | birth_place = ], ], Canada | ||
| death_date = |
| death_date = | ||
| death_place = |
| death_place = | ||
| write = y | | write = y | ||
| art = |
| art = | ||
| pencil = y | | pencil = y | ||
| ink = y | | ink = y | ||
| edit = |
| edit = | ||
| publish = y | | publish = y | ||
| letter = |
| letter = | ||
| color = |
| color = | ||
| alias = |
| alias = | ||
| signature = |
| signature = | ||
| notable works = {{flatlist| | |||
| notable works = '']'' <br/> '']'' <br/> '']'' <br/> '']'' <br/> '']''<br/>'']''<br/>'']'' | |||
* '']'' | |||
⚫ | |||
* '']'' | |||
* '']'' | |||
* '']'' | |||
* '']'' | |||
* '']'' | |||
* '']''}} | |||
⚫ | | awards = {{ubl| | ||
⚫ | * ] (1992)<ref></ref> | ||
* ] Award (1992) | |||
* ] Artist of the Year (2005) | |||
}} | |||
| website = {{official website|http://www.spawn.com}} | | website = {{official website|http://www.spawn.com}} | ||
⚫ | | |
||
| children = 3 | | children = 3 | ||
| spouse = {{marriage|Wanda |
| spouse = {{marriage|Wanda Kolomyjec|1985}} | ||
| influences = ],<ref name=Spawn#1/><br>],<ref name=Spawn#1/><br>],<ref name=Spawn#1/><br>],<ref name=Spawn#1/><br>]<ref name=Spawn#1/><br>]<ref name=ComicsAlliance/> | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Todd McFarlane''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|k|ˈ|f|ɑr|l|ɪ|n}}; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic |
'''Todd McFarlane''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|k|ˈ|f|ɑr|l|ɪ|n}}; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, best known for his work as the artist on '']'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the ] ]-fantasy series ''],'' as well as being the current President and a co-founder of ]. | ||
⚫ | In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McFarlane became a comic-book superstar due to his high-selling work on ]' '']'' franchise,<ref name=ComicsBulletin>{{cite web|author=Wallace, David|url=http://www.comicsbulletin.com/main/sites/default/files/soapbox/117116658948280.htm|title=Silver Soapbox: The Complete Todd McFarlane Spider-Man|publisher=]|language=en-US|url-status=dead|date=February 10, 2007| |
||
⚫ | In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McFarlane became a comic-book superstar due to his high-selling work on ]' '']'' franchise,<ref name=ComicsBulletin>{{cite web|author=Wallace, David|url=http://www.comicsbulletin.com/main/sites/default/files/soapbox/117116658948280.htm|title=Silver Soapbox: The Complete Todd McFarlane Spider-Man|publisher=]|language=en-US|url-status=dead|date=February 10, 2007|access-date=January 17, 2018|archive-date=October 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025000156/http://www.comicsbulletin.com/main/sites/default/files/soapbox/117116658948280.htm}}</ref> on which he was the artist to draw the first full appearances of the character ]. In 1992, he helped form ], pulling the ] ] character ] from his high-school portfolio and updating him for the 1990s. The debut issue sold 1.7 million copies,<ref name=Paste>Hennum, Shea (March 12, 2015). . '']''.</ref> which as of 2007, remains a record for an independent comic book.<ref name=ComicsBulletin/> The character's popularity in the 1990s also encouraged a trend in ] comic-book properties. | ||
After leaving inking duties on ''Spawn'' with issue No. 70 (February 1998), McFarlane has illustrated comic books less often, focusing on entrepreneurial efforts, such as ] and ], a film and animation studio. | |||
In September 2006, it was announced that McFarlane would be the Art Director of the newly formed ] |
After leaving inking duties on ''Spawn'' with issue No. 70 (February 1998), McFarlane has illustrated comic books less often, focusing on entrepreneurial efforts, such as ] and ], a film and animation studio. In September 2006, it was announced that McFarlane would be the Art Director of the newly formed ], founded by ] pitcher ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespy.com/articles/731/731842p1.html |title=Curt Schilling Founds Green Monster Games |author=Li C. Kuo |date=September 8, 2006 |publisher=] |access-date=December 31, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014025130/http://www.gamespy.com/articles/731/731842p1.html |archive-date=October 14, 2007 }}</ref> McFarlane used to be a ] of the ]'s ] before selling his shares to ].<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183628/http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=53015649-9856-4f02-bd5c-4687a0d7222f |date=March 3, 2016 }}. '']'', February 6, 2008.</ref> He is also a high-profile collector of record-breaking ]. | ||
As a filmmaker, he produced ] starring ]. He will make his directorial debut with |
As a filmmaker, he produced ] starring ]. He will make his directorial debut with 2025’s reboot film - ''King Spawn'' which will star ]. | ||
==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
Todd McFarlane was born on March 16, 1961, in ], Alberta, Canada,<ref name=Spawn#1>McFarlane, Todd (w, a). "The Spawning Ground". '']'' #1 (May 1992). Image Comics.</ref><ref>. ]. Retrieved November 9, 2014.</ref> to Bob and Sherlee McFarlane.<ref name=DevilYouKnow>Vaughan, Kenton (Director, 2000). . ].</ref> He is the second<ref name=ComicTropes>{{cite web|author=Piers, Chris|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT-x4QhYfxs&t=779s&t=12m59s|via=]|publisher=Comic Tropes|title=Todd McFarlane Interview: As I've Gotten Older, I Just Like Good Storytelling|language=en-US|url-status= |
Todd McFarlane was born on March 16, 1961, in ], Alberta, Canada,<ref name=Spawn#1>McFarlane, Todd (w, a). "The Spawning Ground". '']'' #1 (May 1992). Image Comics.</ref><ref>. ]. Retrieved November 9, 2014.</ref> to Bob and Sherlee McFarlane.<ref name=DevilYouKnow>Vaughan, Kenton (Director, 2000). . ].</ref> He is the second<ref name=ComicTropes>{{cite web|author=Piers, Chris|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT-x4QhYfxs&t=779s&t=12m59s|via=]|publisher=Comic Tropes|title=Todd McFarlane Interview: As I've Gotten Older, I Just Like Good Storytelling|language=en-US|url-status=bot: unknown|date=December 24, 2020|access-date=April 7, 2022|archive-date=April 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407153810/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT-x4QhYfxs&t=779s&t=12m59s|quote=Why am I competitive? I don't know. And then I think it got sort of..."honed"....very, very good. Because I had a brother a year younger and a brother a year older.}}</ref> of three sons,<ref name=Time>] (August 8, 2007). . '']''.</ref> which McFarlane says contributed to his competitive streak.<ref name=ComicTropes/> Bob worked in the printing business, which led him to take work where he could find it, and as a result, during McFarlane's childhood, the family lived in thirty different places from Alberta to California.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/><ref name=SpokesmanReview>Kershner, Jim (June 3, 1997). . '']''.</ref> | ||
], which McFarlane drew in his teens]] | ], which McFarlane drew in his teens]] | ||
McFarlane began drawing as a hobby at an early age,<ref name=ArtOfTodd>McFarlane, Todd (November 2012). ''The Art of Todd McFarlane: The Devil's in the Details''. Todd McFarlane Productions/Image Comics.</ref> and developed an interest in comics, acquiring as many as he could, and learning to draw from them.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> He was a fan of ]s such as ], ], ] and ], as well as the writing of ].<ref name=Spawn#1/> (John Parker of ] has also noted the influence of ] in McFarlane's work.<ref name=ComicsAlliance>Parker, John (June 12, 2012). {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416180437/http://comicsalliance.com/spawn-year-one-review-todd-mcfarlane-image-comics-part-one/ |date=April 16, 2014 }}. ].</ref>) McFarlane created the character ] when he was 16, and spent "countless hours" perfecting the appearance of each component of the character's visual design.<ref name=ArtOfTodd/> | McFarlane began drawing as a hobby at an early age,<ref name=ArtOfTodd>McFarlane, Todd (November 2012). ''The Art of Todd McFarlane: The Devil's in the Details''. Todd McFarlane Productions/Image Comics.</ref> and developed an interest in comics, acquiring as many as he could, and learning to draw from them.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> He was a fan of ]s such as ], ], ] and ], as well as the writing of ].<ref name=Spawn#1/> (John Parker of ] has also noted the influence of ] in McFarlane's work.<ref name=ComicsAlliance>Parker, John (June 12, 2012). {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416180437/http://comicsalliance.com/spawn-year-one-review-todd-mcfarlane-image-comics-part-one/ |date=April 16, 2014 }}. ].</ref>) McFarlane created the character ] when he was 16, and spent "countless hours" perfecting the appearance of each component of the character's visual design.<ref name=ArtOfTodd/> | ||
One day while in the twelfth grade<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> at Calgary's ],<ref name=Spawn#1/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/canbiz/mcfarlane.html|author=Nowak, Peter|title=Artist spawns a web of influence|publisher=]|date=December 24, 2007| |
One day while in the twelfth grade<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> at Calgary's ],<ref name=Spawn#1/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/canbiz/mcfarlane.html|author=Nowak, Peter|title=Artist spawns a web of influence|publisher=]|date=December 24, 2007|archive-date=December 25, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225120858/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/canbiz/mcfarlane.html}}</ref> McFarlane, working as a groundskeeper for the ], was standing in the bleachers when a 13-year-old ninth grader sitting near him named Wanda Kolomyjec, who served as the team's bat girl,<ref name=DevilYouKnow/><ref name=TM-PersonalSignificance>{{cite web|url=https://mcfarlane.com/blog/amateur-piece-personal-significance/|title=Why This Amateur Piece Has Personal Significance…|author=McFarlane, Todd|publisher=McFarlane|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=September 8, 2016|access-date=December 2, 2023|archive-date=December 3, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231203031554/https://mcfarlane.com/blog/amateur-piece-personal-significance/}}</ref> began flirting with him. The two began dating, over the objections of Wanda's father, who thought she was too young for him, though in time McFarlane won him over.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> | ||
Right after high school, McFarlane attended baseball tryouts at ]. Despite being a good fielder and fast, he was not a good hitter. Moreover, he could not afford Gonzaga, so he attended ] for a year,<ref name=SpokesmanReview/> his relationship with Wanda developing into a long-distance one.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> In 1981 McFarlane began attending ] (EWU) on a baseball scholarship, studying as part of a self-designed program for graphics and art. His practical goal was to join his father in the printing business in ], though his dream was always to be a comic book creator.<ref name=SpokesmanReview/><ref name=ArtOfTodd/> He worked part-time on campus as a janitor in the school's administration building, as his scholarship required an on-campus job, and also worked weekends at a comics shop called the Comic Rack, devoting a couple of hours late at night to practice his comics art.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/><ref name=SpokesmanReview/><ref name=ComicsThruTime>Booker, Keith M. (October 28, 2014). . Greenwood. p. 1144. Archived at ]. Retrieved April 25, 2017.</ref> | Right after high school, McFarlane attended baseball tryouts at ]. Despite being a good fielder and fast, he was not a good hitter. Moreover, he could not afford Gonzaga, so he attended ] for a year,<ref name=SpokesmanReview/> his relationship with Wanda developing into a long-distance one.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> In 1981 McFarlane began attending ] (EWU) on a baseball scholarship, studying as part of a self-designed program for graphics and art. His practical goal was to join his father in the printing business in ], though his dream was always to be a comic book creator.<ref name=SpokesmanReview/><ref name=ArtOfTodd/> He worked part-time on campus as a janitor in the school's administration building, as his scholarship required an on-campus job, and also worked weekends at a comics shop called the Comic Rack, devoting a couple of hours late at night to practice his comics art.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/><ref name=SpokesmanReview/><ref name=ComicsThruTime>Booker, Keith M. (October 28, 2014). . Greenwood. p. 1144. Archived at ]. Retrieved April 25, 2017.</ref> | ||
He sought to play baseball professionally after graduation |
He sought to play baseball professionally after graduation but suffered a serious ankle injury in his junior year during a game with arch-rivals ]. He subsequently focused on drawing, working at the comic book store to pay for the rest of his education, and living in a trailer park in ] with Wanda,<ref name=DevilYouKnow/><ref name=SpokesmanReview/><ref name=ArtOfTodd/> who had moved to the area to be with him and attend EWU as well.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> In 1984, a year after his injury, McFarlane's final chance to play for the big leagues came when he tried out with the ]' farm team in ], but he ended up being ranked last on the roster, ending his professional baseball prospects.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> McFarlane graduated with a bachelor's degree that same year.<ref name=SpokesmanReview/><ref name=ArtOfTodd/><ref name=EWU>. ]. May 21, 2013.</ref><ref>Harris, Craig (June 17, 2003). . '']''.</ref> He stayed in ] while Wanda finished her degree.<ref name=SpokesmanReview/> She also co-plotted and edited the pages on which McFarlane developed his own comics character, '']''.<ref name=TM-PersonalSignificance/> | ||
==Career== | ==Career== | ||
===Early work, DC, and Marvel=== | ===Early work, DC, and Marvel=== | ||
] | ] | ||
While still in college, McFarlane began sending 30–40 packages of submissions each month to comics editors, totaling over 700 submissions after a year and a half, most of which were in the form of pinups. Half resulted in no response, while the other half resulted in rejection letters, though he received some constructive criticism from a few editors. One of them, ]' ], gave McFarlane a dummy script |
While still in college, McFarlane began sending 30–40 packages of submissions each month to comics editors, totaling over 700 submissions after a year and a half, most of which were in the form of pinups. Half resulted in no response, while the other half resulted in rejection letters, though he received some constructive criticism from a few editors. One of them, ]' ], gave McFarlane a dummy script to gauge McFarlane's page-to-page storytelling ability. Amendola's advice that McFarlane's submissions needed to focus on page-to-page stories rather than pinups led McFarlane to create a five-page '']'' sample that he initially sent to '']'' editor ] at ], who passed it along to ] and ], the editors of the Marvel imprint ], which published ''Coyote''; these in turn passed it onto ''Coyote'' creator ], who contacted McFarlane in 1984 with an offer for Todd's first comic job:<ref name=DevilYouKnow/><ref name=SpokesmanReview/><ref name=ArtOfTodd/> a backup story in ''Coyote'' #11.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sergi |first=Joe |date=2015 |title=The Law for Comic Book Creators: Essential Concepts and Applications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jYuoBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA77 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=] |page=77 |isbn=978-0-7864-7360-1}}</ref> | ||
McFarlane soon began drawing for both DC and Marvel, with his first major body of work being a two-year run (1985–1987) on DC's '']'' In 1987, McFarlane illustrated the last three issues of '']''' four-issue "]" storyline.<ref>{{cite book| |
McFarlane soon began drawing for both DC and Marvel, with his first major body of work being a two-year run (1985–1987) on DC's '']'' In 1987, McFarlane illustrated the last three issues of '']''' four-issue "]" storyline.<ref>{{cite book|author=Manning, Matthew K.|chapter= 1980s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=] |year=2010 |isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page= 229 |quote = In 'Year Two', a four-part sequel ]"] set in Batman's second year as a crime fighter, writer Mike W. Barr and artists Alan Davis and Todd McFarlane challenged the Caped Crusader with the threat of the Reaper.}}</ref> From there, he moved to Marvel's '']'', which he drew from 1987 to 1988, working with writer ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/todd-mcfarlane-early-unseen-hulk-drawings/ |title=Spawn Creator Todd McFarlane Shares His Early, Unseen Hulk Drawings |last=Ridlehoover |first=John |date=June 18, 2020 |website=] |access-date=June 18, 2020}}</ref> | ||
====''The Amazing Spider-Man''==== | ====''The Amazing Spider-Man''==== | ||
In 1988, McFarlane joined writer ] on Marvel's '']'', beginning with issue 298, drawing the preliminary sketch for that cover's image on the back of one of his ''Incredible Hulk'' pages.<ref>McFarlane, Todd (April 25, 2017). . ]. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> McFarlane garnered notice for the more dynamic poses in which he depicted Spider-Man's aerial web-swinging, his enlarging of the eyes on the character's mask, and greater detail in which he rendered his artwork. In particular |
In 1988, McFarlane joined writer ] on Marvel's '']'', beginning with issue 298, drawing the preliminary sketch for that cover's image on the back of one of his ''Incredible Hulk'' pages.<ref>McFarlane, Todd (April 25, 2017). . ]. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> McFarlane garnered notice for the more dynamic poses in which he depicted Spider-Man's aerial web-swinging, his enlarging of the eyes on the character's mask, and the greater detail in which he rendered his artwork. In particular, the elaborate detail he gave to Spider-Man's webbing. Whereas it had essentially been rendered as a series of X's between two lines, McFarlane embellished it by detailing far more individual strands, which came to be dubbed "spaghetti webbing".<ref name=ComicsBulletin/><ref name=C&G>{{cite news|last=Chapman|first=Adam|title=Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus|url=http://www.cgmagonline.com/reviews/amazing-spider-man-by-david-michelinie-and-todd-mcfarlane-omnibus|newspaper=Comics and Gaming Magazine|date=September 11, 2011}}</ref><ref name=TCJ>] (August 1992). . '']'' (#152). Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> (McFarlane was possibly influenced by artist ], whose visual conception of Spider-Man with a large-eyed mask, webbing with more detailed strands, and more contorted poses while web-swinging, can be seen in '']'' Annual #2, published in June 1986 – approximately 1½ years before McFarlane's first published Spider-Man work.) McFarlane drew the first full appearance of ], the original incarnation of the villain ]. He has been credited as the character's co-creator, though this has been a topic of dispute within the comic book industry (''see ]'').<ref>'']'' #21 (May 1993)</ref><ref>''Wizard'' magazine #23, July 1993</ref><ref>''Comics Creators on Spider-Man'', pg 148, Tom DeFalco. (Titan Books, 2004)</ref> | ||
McFarlane's work on ''Amazing Spider-Man'' made him an industry superstar.<ref name=TCJ/> His cover art for ''Amazing Spider-Man'' No. 313, for which he was originally paid $700 in 1989, for example, would later sell for $71,200 in 2010.<ref name=SpideyCents>{{Cite episode|title=Spidey Cents|series=]|network=]|airdate=May 2, 2011|season=4|number=26}}</ref> One critic of McFarlane's detail-heavy style was '']'' editor ], who said of McFarlane in a 2017 interview, "He doesn't have any authentic virtues as a visual stylist. His work is so overembellished that it |
McFarlane's work on ''Amazing Spider-Man'' made him an industry superstar.<ref name=TCJ/> His cover art for ''Amazing Spider-Man'' No. 313, for which he was originally paid $700 in 1989, for example, would later sell for $71,200 in 2010.<ref name=SpideyCents>{{Cite episode|title=Spidey Cents|series=]|network=]|airdate=May 2, 2011|season=4|number=26}}</ref> One critic of McFarlane's detail-heavy style was '']'' editor ], who said of McFarlane in a 2017 interview, "He doesn't have any authentic virtues as a visual stylist. His work is so overembellished that it disguises the fact that the composition is chaotic and cluttered to the point of being almost unreadable. He never really learned the craft of comics — he just faked it really well."<ref name=Vulture>{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/03/todd-mcfarlane-still-answers-to-no-one.html|title=Comic Book Icon Todd McFarlane (Still) Answers to No One|first=Abraham|last=Riesman|publisher=]|date=February 2017}}</ref> | ||
During his run on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', McFarlane became increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of control over his |
During his run on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', McFarlane became increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of control over his work, as he wanted more say in the direction of storylines. He began to miss deadlines, requiring guest artists to fill in for him on some issues.<ref name=ComicsBulletin/> In 1990, after a 28-issue run of ''Amazing Spider-Man'', McFarlane told editor ] that he wanted to write his own stories, and would be leaving the book with issue No. 328, which was part of that year's company-wide "]" crossover storyline. In July 2012 the original artwork to that issue's cover, which features Spider-Man dispatching the Hulk, sold for a record-breaking $657,250 ], the highest auction price ever for any piece of American comic book art.<ref>. ], July 26, 2012.</ref><ref>Buttery, Jarrod (December 2016). "Captain Universe: The Hero Who Could Be You!", '']'', p. 48.</ref> McFarlane was succeeded on ''Amazing Spider-Man'' by McFarlane's future fellow ] co-founder ].<ref name="CBR11.23.14">Burgas, Greg (November 23, 2014). . ]. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> | ||
====New ''Spider-Man'' title==== | ====New ''Spider-Man'' title==== | ||
] | ] | ||
Wanting to appease McFarlane, Marvel gave McFarlane a new, adjectiveless ''Spider-Man'' title for him to both write and draw. '']'' #1 (August 1990) sold 2.5 million copies,<ref>{{cite book|last1 |
Wanting to appease McFarlane, Marvel gave McFarlane a new, adjectiveless ''Spider-Man'' title for him to both write and draw. '']'' #1 (August 1990) sold 2.5 million copies,<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Cowsill|editor-first1=Alan|editor-last2=Gilbert|editor-first2=Laura|chapter=1990s|title=Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging|publisher=]|year=2012|page=184|isbn=978-0756692360|quote=Todd McFarlane was at the top of his game as an artist, and with Marvel's release of this new Spidey series he also got the chance to take on the writing duties. The sales of this series were underwhelming, with approx. 2.5 million copies eventually printing, including special bagged editions and a number of ].}}</ref><ref name=saffel>{{cite book|last=Saffel|first=Steve|title= Spider-Man the Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon|publisher=]|year=2007|isbn=978-1-84576-324-4|chapter= Mutant Menace|page=173|quote=Marvel knew a good thing when they saw it, and the adjectiveless ''Spider-Man'' received Marvel's most aggressive launch in company history...the initial press run was 2.35 million, and 500,000 additional copies were printed to meet demand.}}</ref> largely due to the ]s with which Marvel, seeking to capitalize on McFarlane's popularity, published the issue to encourage ] into buying more than one edition. This practice was a result of the ] of the 1990s, which would burst later that decade.<ref name=ComicsBulletin/> McFarlane, unbeknownst to his parents at the time, was making about a million dollars a year.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> McFarlane wrote and illustrated 15 of the series' first 16 issues, many issues of which featured other popular Marvel characters such as ] and ] in guest roles.<ref name=ComicsBulletin/> | ||
Despite his acclaim as an artist, according to David Wallace of ], many found McFarlane's writing to be "clumsy, unsophisticated and pretentious", and questioned the wisdom of allowing him to write a new ''Spider-Man'' title in the first place. At the same time, editorial had problems with the dark tone of the stories McFarlane was telling, beginning with the inaugural "Torment" storyline, which depicted a more vicious version of the reptilian villain ] under the control of the voodoo priestess ].<ref name=ComicsBulletin/> Subsequent storylines such as "Masques" featured Spider-Man confronting the demonic ], while "Perceptions", which involved Spider-Man dealing with police corruption, child rape and murder (a hint of the work he would later do on '']''), led some stores to refuse to stock the book. This created further tensions between McFarlane and editorial, which viewed Spider-Man as |
Despite his acclaim as an artist, according to David Wallace of ], many found McFarlane's writing to be "clumsy, unsophisticated and pretentious", and questioned the wisdom of allowing him to write a new ''Spider-Man'' title in the first place. At the same time, the editorial had problems with the dark tone of the stories McFarlane was telling, beginning with the inaugural "Torment" storyline, which depicted a more vicious version of the reptilian villain ] under the control of the voodoo priestess ].<ref name=ComicsBulletin/> Subsequent storylines such as "Masques" featured Spider-Man confronting the demonic ], while "Perceptions", which involved Spider-Man dealing with police corruption, child rape, and murder (a hint of the work he would later do on '']''), led some stores to refuse to stock the book. This created further tensions between McFarlane and the editorial, which viewed Spider-Man as a historically light-hearted character marketed to young readers. Editor Jim Salicrup in particular was required to make a number of compromises for McFarlane's work, including enforcing McFarlane's minor costume changes across the entire line of other Spidey comics, placing limitations on his choice of villains for his stories, and dealing with strong disagreement on the handling of the character ]. This strained McFarlane's relationship with Salicrup, which was expressed in the remarkable amount of public disagreement that appeared on the book's letters page. Eventually, McFarlane's attention to his deadlines again began to waiver, and he missed issue 15 of the title. His final issue on the book, #16 (November 1991), was part of a ] storyline with '']'', and led to creative clashes with new editor ].<ref name=ComicsBulletin/> According to McFarlane and editor ] in the 2000 documentary ''The Devil You Know: Inside the Mind of Todd McFarlane'', among the examples of the issues that prompted his departure were editorial's censorship of a panel in that issue in which the character ] was graphically stabbed in the eye with a sword. DeFalco supported the editing of the panel, calling it "inappropriate", while McFarlane called this "lunacy", arguing that such graphic visuals are commonplace in Marvel's books.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> Fed up with editorial interference, he left the company under something of a cloud. According to Wallace, "McFarlane's fifteen issues of Spider-Man are now (perhaps slightly unfairly) held up alongside the likes of ''X-Force'' as the epitome of everything wrong in 1990s comics, and their cash-in approach to the then-booming speculator market precipitated the near-collapse of the industry."<ref name=ComicsBulletin/> | ||
===Image Comics<!--'Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc.' and 'Todd McFarlane Productions' redirect here-->=== | ===Image Comics<!--'Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc.' and 'Todd McFarlane Productions' redirect here-->=== | ||
McFarlane then teamed with six other popular artists<ref>. Image Comics. Retrieved March 12, 2020.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9a1XSyjjNg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/c9a1XSyjjNg| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|publisher=]|title=The History of Image Comics (So Much Damage): Part 1: The Founding|date=November 20, 2017|access-date=March 12, 2020|via=]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> to form ], an ] under which each owned a ]. McFarlane's studio, '''Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc.'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->, published his creation, the ]-themed ''Spawn'', written and drawn by McFarlane. It was Image's second release, following the release of ]'s '']'' the month prior.<ref name=Paste/> Upon its release in 1992, ''Spawn'' #1 (May 1992) sold 1.7 million copies |
McFarlane then teamed with six other popular artists<ref>. Image Comics. Retrieved March 12, 2020.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9a1XSyjjNg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/c9a1XSyjjNg| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|publisher=]|title=The History of Image Comics (So Much Damage): Part 1: The Founding|date=November 20, 2017|access-date=March 12, 2020|via=]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> to form ], an ] under which each owned a ]. McFarlane's studio, '''Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc.'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> ('''TMP'''), published his creation, the ]-themed ''Spawn'', written and drawn by McFarlane. It was Image's second release, following the release of ]'s '']'' the month prior.<ref name=Paste/> Upon its release in 1992, ''Spawn'' #1 (May 1992) sold 1.7 million copies; as of 2007, this remains a record for an independent comic book.<ref name=ComicsBulletin/><ref name=Paste/> | ||
]'' |
]'' #1 (1992)]] | ||
Responding to harsh criticism of his abilities as a writer, McFarlane hired acclaimed writers to guest-write issues #8–11, including ], ], ], and ].<ref name=Paste/> Subsequent writers he would hire on the series included ], ], and ]. ] penciled several issues as a guest artist, and became the regular penciler with #26, with McFarlane remaining as writer and inker until #70. The series continued to be a hit, and in 1993 '']'' declared ''Spawn'' "the best-selling comic on a consistent basis that is currently being published."<ref>{{cite news| date = June 1993 | title = Wizard Market Watch | work = ] | issue = 22 | pages = 134–5}}</ref> ''Spawn'' is notable for being one of only two Image books that debuted during the company's 1992 launch, along with Erik Larsen's '']'', that continued to be published into the 2020s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/savage-dragon-creator-erik-larsen-no-digital-release-before-print/|publisher=]|author=Jennings, Collier|title=Savage Dragon Creator Erik Larsen Vows Not to Release Digital Before Print|date=March 24, 2020|access-date=June 1, 2020|archive-date=March 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325130420/https://www.cbr.com/savage-dragon-creator-erik-larsen-no-digital-release-before-print/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/preview-image-comics-savage-dragon-250-super-spectacular|author=Spry, Jeff|title= |
Responding to harsh criticism of his abilities as a writer, McFarlane hired acclaimed writers to guest-write issues #8–11, including ], ], ], and ].<ref name=Paste/> Subsequent writers he would hire on the series included ], ], and ]. ] penciled several issues as a guest artist, and became the regular penciler with #26, with McFarlane remaining as writer and inker until #70. The series continued to be a hit, and in 1993 '']'' declared ''Spawn'' "the best-selling comic on a consistent basis that is currently being published."<ref>{{cite news| date = June 1993 | title = Wizard Market Watch | work = ] | issue = 22 | pages = 134–5}}</ref> ''Spawn'' is notable for being one of only two Image books that debuted during the company's 1992 launch, along with Erik Larsen's '']'', that continued to be published into the 2020s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/savage-dragon-creator-erik-larsen-no-digital-release-before-print/|publisher=]|author=Jennings, Collier|title=Savage Dragon Creator Erik Larsen Vows Not to Release Digital Before Print|date=March 24, 2020|access-date=June 1, 2020|archive-date=March 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325130420/https://www.cbr.com/savage-dragon-creator-erik-larsen-no-digital-release-before-print/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/preview-image-comics-savage-dragon-250-super-spectacular|author=Spry, Jeff|title=Image Comics Celebrates Savage Dragon #250 With A 100-Page Super Spectacular|publisher=]|date=May 19, 2020|access-date=June 1, 2020|archive-date=May 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527174820/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/preview-image-comics-savage-dragon-250-super-spectacular}}</ref> | ||
During Image's early years of operation, the company was subject to much industry criticism over aspects of its business practices, including late-shipped books,<ref name=Paste/> and its creators' emphasis |
During Image's early years of operation, the company was subject to much industry criticism over aspects of its business practices, including late-shipped books,<ref name=Paste/> and its creators' emphasis on art over writing. One of these critics was McFarlane's former ''Hulk'' collaborator, writer ]. This came to a head during a public debate they participated in at ]'s Comicfest convention in October 1993, which was moderated by artist ]. McFarlane stated that Image was not being treated fairly by the media, and by David in particular. The three judges, ], editor of the '']'', ] of ''Wizard Press'', and John Danovich of the magazine '']'', voted 2–1 in favor of David, with Danovich voting the debate a tie.<ref>Gary St. Lawrence (November 19, 1993). "The Peter David-Todd McFarlane Debate: Topic: Has Image Comics/Todd McFarlane been treated fairly by the media?". '']'' #1044, pp. 92, 98, 102, 108, 113, 116</ref> | ||
In 1994 McFarlane and DC Comics collaborated on an intercompany crossover, each producing a book featuring Batman and Spawn. The first of the two books, '']'' was written by ], ], and ], drawn by ], and published by DC.<ref> at the Grand Comics Database</ref><ref>Manning |
In 1994, McFarlane and DC Comics collaborated on an intercompany crossover, each producing a book featuring Batman and Spawn. The first of the two books, '']'' was written by ], ], and ], drawn by ], and published by DC.<ref> at the Grand Comics Database</ref><ref name=ManningP267>Manning (2010), p. 267: "Fans were also treated to a companion special entitled ''Batman-Spawn''...by writers Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, and Alan Grant, and artist Klaus Janson."</ref> It was followed by '']'', which was written by Frank Miller and drawn by McFarlane.<ref name=ManningP267/> That year marked the point when McFarlane ceased to be the regular writer and artist of ''Spawn''. The first issue that he did not draw was issue 16, which was drawn by ]. Aside from the four fill-in writers on issues #8–11, it was the first issue on which McFarlane was not the regular writer, as it was the first of a three-issue storyline written by ]. Over the ensuing decades, he would hire other writers such as ] and ], and artists such as ], ], and ]. McFarlane occasionally offered story input and inked covers. He would sporadically return as the interior artist for intermittent issues, and for a few years wrote it under a ] to generate interest in the book by fostering the illusion that new talent was being brought into the book's production.<ref name=Paste/><ref>Terror, Jude (March 3, 2017). . ]. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> | ||
In 2006 McFarlane announced plans for '']'' with artist Greg Capullo, which McFarlane wrote and inked, which paid tribute to Jack Kirby. He also began taking an active role in comics publishing again, publishing collections of his ''Spawn'' comics in ] form. ''Spawn Collection'' Volume 1 collecting issues 1–12 minus issue 9 (due to royalty issues with Neil Gaiman) and 10 (due to a vow he made to Sim) was released in December 2005. The first volume achieved moderate success, ranking 17 in the top one hundred graphic novels, with pre-order sales of 3,227 for that period.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/8068.html|title=Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual—December 2005|publisher=icv2.com|date=January 16, 2006}}</ref> | In 2006, McFarlane announced plans for '']'' with artist Greg Capullo, which McFarlane wrote and inked, and which paid tribute to Jack Kirby. He also began taking an active role in comics publishing again, publishing collections of his ''Spawn'' comics in ] form. ''Spawn Collection'' Volume 1 collecting issues 1–12 minus issue 9 (due to royalty issues with Neil Gaiman) and 10 (due to a vow he made to Sim) was released in December 2005. The first volume achieved moderate success, ranking 17 in the top one hundred graphic novels, with pre-order sales of 3,227 for that period.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/8068.html|title=Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual—December 2005|publisher=icv2.com|date=January 16, 2006}}</ref> | ||
In 2008, McFarlane returned to co-plot the series with returning writer Brian Holguin, with issue 185. The book survived the ], but its sales have fluctuated, never matching the sales figures of the 1990s. Though it continues publication, its appearance on the ] chart has been intermittent since the mid-2000s. Nonetheless, Shea Hennum of '']'' magazine has observed of the series, "It's a book that, for a time, people continued to buy because of the character instead of the creator. It has become as much of an institution as it is a comic.<ref name=Paste/> | In 2008, McFarlane returned to co-plot the series with returning writer Brian Holguin, with issue 185. The book survived the ], but its sales have fluctuated, never matching the sales figures of the 1990s. Though it continues publication, its appearance on the ] chart has been intermittent since the mid-2000s. Nonetheless, Shea Hennum of '']'' magazine has observed of the series, "It's a book that, for a time, people continued to buy because of the character instead of the creator. It has become as much of an institution as it is a comic.<ref name=Paste/> | ||
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'']'', an ongoing series co-created by McFarlane and ], was announced in 2007 and launched on October 7, 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36459/robert-kirkman-and-todd-mcfarlane-want-haunt-you|title=New Teaser Trailer Eases on Down Munger Road|website=Dread Central|date=August 16, 2012|author=Barton, Steve}}</ref> The comic was initially written by Kirkman, penciled by ], and inked by McFarlane, with Greg Capullo providing layouts. McFarlane contributed pencils to some issues, and co-wrote issue 28, the series finale, with ], who took over writing duties from Kirkman.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wigler|first=Josh|url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22223|title=CCI Exclusive: Kirkman and McFarlane on ''Haunt''|publisher=]|date=July 25, 2009}}</ref> | '']'', an ongoing series co-created by McFarlane and ], was announced in 2007 and launched on October 7, 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36459/robert-kirkman-and-todd-mcfarlane-want-haunt-you|title=New Teaser Trailer Eases on Down Munger Road|website=Dread Central|date=August 16, 2012|author=Barton, Steve}}</ref> The comic was initially written by Kirkman, penciled by ], and inked by McFarlane, with Greg Capullo providing layouts. McFarlane contributed pencils to some issues, and co-wrote issue 28, the series finale, with ], who took over writing duties from Kirkman.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wigler|first=Josh|url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22223|title=CCI Exclusive: Kirkman and McFarlane on ''Haunt''|publisher=]|date=July 25, 2009}}</ref> | ||
In 2019, McFarlane wrote and drew ''Spawn'' #301, surpassing ]'s 300-issue series '']'' as the longest-running ] series.<ref>{{cite web|author=Lovett, Jamie|url=https://comicbook.com/comics/2019/06/18/spawn-301-todd-mcfarlane-writing-drawing-art-interview/|title=EXCLUSIVE: Todd McFarlane to Write and Draw in Spawn #301|publisher=]|date=June 18, 2019|access-date=September 30, 2019|archive-date=June 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618191134/https://comicbook.com/comics/2019/06/18/spawn-301-todd-mcfarlane-writing-drawing-art-interview/}}</ref> The book, |
In 2019, McFarlane wrote and drew ''Spawn'' #301, surpassing ]'s 300-issue series '']'' as the longest-running ] series.<ref>{{cite web|author=Lovett, Jamie|url=https://comicbook.com/comics/2019/06/18/spawn-301-todd-mcfarlane-writing-drawing-art-interview/|title=EXCLUSIVE: Todd McFarlane to Write and Draw in Spawn #301|publisher=]|date=June 18, 2019|access-date=September 30, 2019|archive-date=June 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618191134/https://comicbook.com/comics/2019/06/18/spawn-301-todd-mcfarlane-writing-drawing-art-interview/}}</ref> The book, released on October 2 of that year,<ref>{{cite web|author=Quaintance, Zack|publisher=]|title=Massive SPAWN #300 rushed back to print days after release|url=https://www.comicsbeat.com/massive-spawn-300-rushed-back-to-print-days-after-release/|date=September 5, 2019|access-date=September 30, 2019|archive-date=September 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909014335/https://www.comicsbeat.com/massive-spawn-300-rushed-back-to-print-days-after-release/}}</ref> earned McFarlane a place in the ], for which McFarlane was given a certificate on October 5, 2019 at the ], prior to his panel, "The Road to Historic Spawn 300 and 301."<ref>{{cite web|author=Sheridan, Wade|publisher=]|title='Spawn' creator Todd McFarlane earns Guinness World Record|url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/09/30/Spawn-creator-Todd-McFarlane-earns-Guinness-World-Record/1611569859853/|date=September 30, 2019|access-date=September 30, 2019|archive-date=September 30, 2019|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190930172253/https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/09/30/Spawn-creator-Todd-McFarlane-earns-Guinness-World-Record/1611569859853/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/spawn-movie-reboot-todd-mcfarlane-update/|title=Todd McFarlane Gives Optimistic Update on Spawn Movie Reboot|website=]|first=Brennan|last=Klein|date=April 17, 2022}}</ref> | ||
Todd also wants Spawn to Outlive him the same way Spider-Man and Superman did with their creators.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/spawn-movie-reboot-todd-mcfarlane-update/|title=Todd McFarlane Gives Optimistic Update on Spawn Movie Reboot|website=]|first=Brennan|last=Klein|date=April 17, 2022}}</ref> | |||
At ] 2022, it was announced that McFarlane would write a new Batman/Spawn crossover, with ] as artist, and a release date of December 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schedeen |first=Jesse |date=2022-07-22 |title=Batman and Spawn Are Crossing Over Again - Comic-Con 2022 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/batman-spawn-crossover-comic-todd-mcfarlane-grep-capullo |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> | At ] 2022, it was announced that McFarlane would write a new Batman/Spawn crossover, with ] as artist, and a release date of December 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schedeen |first=Jesse |date=2022-07-22 |title=Batman and Spawn Are Crossing Over Again - Comic-Con 2022 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/batman-spawn-crossover-comic-todd-mcfarlane-grep-capullo |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> | ||
===Todd McFarlane Entertainment<!--'Todd McFarlane Entertainment' and 'McFarlane Films' redirect here-->=== | ===Todd McFarlane Entertainment<!--'Todd McFarlane Entertainment' and 'McFarlane Films' redirect here-->=== | ||
] | ] | ||
Todd McFarlane Productions published multiple Spawn spin-offs and mini-series.<ref>Kendall, G. (February 12, 2017). . ]. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> He increasingly concentrated his |
Todd McFarlane Productions published multiple Spawn spin-offs and mini-series.<ref>Kendall, G. (February 12, 2017). . ]. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> He increasingly concentrated his attention on those other ventures, which resulted in more sporadic work as an illustrator. In 1994, McFarlane created a toy company, Todd Toys, initially to merchandise collectible action figures of the ''Spawn'' characters.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Overstreet |first=Robert M. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34703954 |title=The Overstreet comic book price guide : books from 1897-present included : catalogue & evaluation guide-- illustrated |date=1996 |publisher=Avon Books |isbn=0-380-78778-4 |edition=26 |location=New York |pages=A-49 |oclc=34703954}}</ref> In three months, the company sold more than 2.2 million of the action figures nationwide. After ] sent a ] order based on a male doll in Mattel's ] line named Todd, McFarlane changed the company name to ]. The company's line of figures quickly expanded to those of popular cultural icons, such as members of the band ], characters from the film franchise '']'', TV series such as '']'', and sports figures such as ].<ref>Fields, Sarah K. (May 6, 2016). . ]. p. 122. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved April 25, 2017.</ref><ref>Zimbalist, Andrew (October 22, 2010). . ], p. 26. Retrieved at Google Books. Retrieved April 25, 2017.</ref> In 1999, the company sold over 6 million action figures.<ref name=DevilYouKnow/> As of 2017, the company was the fifth-largest action-figure manufacturer in the United States.<ref name=Vulture/> | ||
Todd McFarlane produced the album art for ]'s 1996 ''Spawn''-based concept album '']''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icedearth.com/discography/the-dark-saga |title=''The Dark Saga'' |publisher=Icedearth.com |access-date=June 17, 2012}}</ref> and ]'s 1998 third studio album '']''.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.msopr.com/press-releases/korn-in-their-words-close-up-with-jonathan/ |title= |
Todd McFarlane produced the album art for ]'s 1996 ''Spawn''-based concept album '']''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icedearth.com/discography/the-dark-saga |title=''The Dark Saga'' |publisher=Icedearth.com |access-date=June 17, 2012 |archive-date=June 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607122444/http://www.icedearth.com/discography/the-dark-saga |url-status=dead }}</ref> and ]'s 1998 third studio album '']''.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.msopr.com/press-releases/korn-in-their-words-close-up-with-jonathan/ |title=Korn…In Their Words (Close Up With Jonathan) |publisher=Sony Music |access-date=March 20, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924012514/http://www.msopr.com/press-releases/korn-in-their-words-close-up-with-jonathan/ |archive-date=September 24, 2012}}</ref> | ||
That same year, McFarlane founded '''Todd McFarlane Entertainment'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->, a film and animation studio. In collaboration with ], it produced the 1997 '']'' film and a new Spawn movie, planned in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/8990|title=Todd McFarlane Begins Work on New 'Spawn' Film|date=May 31, 2007|publisher=Bloody Disgusting|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014022928/http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/8990|archive-date=October 14, 2007}}</ref> ''Spawn'', while critically panned,<ref>, ]; retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref> was a modest box office success, earning $54.8 million domestically, and almost $33 million worldwide, against a $40 million budget.<ref>. ]; retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref> Todd McFarlane Entertainment also produced the animated series '']'', (featuring voice work by actor ]) which aired on ] from 1997 until 1999. Ed Bark of '']'' called the series a "very unpleasant viewing experience" and asked "why anyone would want to subject themselves to such a relentlessly grim, gruesome dehumanizing experience."<ref name=SpokesmanReview/><ref>Bark, Ed (May 16, 1997). . '']''. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> Nonetheless, the animated series won a 1998 ] for Outstanding Achievement in Animation.<ref>. ]. ]; retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref><ref>Booker, Keith M. (May 11, 2010). . Greenwood. p. 402. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref> | That same year, McFarlane founded '''Todd McFarlane Entertainment'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->, a film and animation studio. In collaboration with ], it produced the 1997 '']'' film and a new Spawn movie, planned in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/8990|title=Todd McFarlane Begins Work on New 'Spawn' Film|date=May 31, 2007|publisher=Bloody Disgusting|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014022928/http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/8990|archive-date=October 14, 2007}}</ref> ''Spawn'', while critically panned,<ref>, ]; retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref> was a modest box office success, earning $54.8 million domestically, and almost $33 million worldwide, against a $40 million budget.<ref>. ]; retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref> Todd McFarlane Entertainment also produced the animated series '']'', (featuring voice work by actor ]) which aired on ] from 1997 until 1999. Ed Bark of '']'' called the series a "very unpleasant viewing experience" and asked "why anyone would want to subject themselves to such a relentlessly grim, gruesome dehumanizing experience."<ref name=SpokesmanReview/><ref>Bark, Ed (May 16, 1997). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519174503/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1997-05-16/lifestyle/9705150297_1_mcfarlane-cartoon-animation |date=May 19, 2017 }}. '']''. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> Nonetheless, the animated series won a 1998 ] for Outstanding Achievement in Animation.<ref>. ]. ]; retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref><ref>Booker, Keith M. (May 11, 2010). . Greenwood. p. 402. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved April 26, 2017.</ref> | ||
The studio produced a number of music videos and other animations, including: | The studio produced a number of music videos and other animations, including: | ||
* |
*1998: "]" by ] – '']'' included this video in its 2012 list of The Greatest Animated Music Videos.<ref>, '']''. January 31, 2012.</ref> | ||
* |
*1999: "]" by ] – This video debuted at number eight on MTV's '']'' on February 9, 1999,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atrl.net/trlarchive/?s=debuts|title=Debuts|access-date=March 20, 2008|publisher=The TRL Archive|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928011304/http://www.atrl.net/trlarchive/?s=debuts|archive-date=September 28, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Total Request Live">{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430983/19990204/korn.jhtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120527000203/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430983/19990204/korn.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 27, 2012 |title="Korn "Freak" Video To Debut On Friday" |publisher=MTV |date=February 4, 1999 |access-date=June 28, 2010}}</ref> and peaking at number 1 on its thirteenth day, February 25.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atrl.net/trlarchive/?s=recap&y=1999&m=02|title=Recap – February 1999|access-date=March 20, 2008|publisher=The TRL Archive|archive-date=April 5, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405121957/http://www.atrl.net/trlarchive/?s=recap&y=1999&m=02|url-status=dead}}</ref> and spent ten non-consecutive days at the top position until its ], on May 11, 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atrl.net/trlarchive/?s=halloffame|title=Hall of Fame|access-date=March 20, 2008|publisher=The TRL Archive|archive-date=November 4, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104002903/http://www.atrl.net/trlarchive/?s=halloffame|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atrl.net/trlarchive/?s=numberones|title=Number Ones|access-date=March 20, 2008|publisher=The TRL Archive|archive-date=October 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019012232/http://atrl.net/trlarchive/?s=numberones|url-status=dead}}</ref> The video won the ] and the 1999 ] Readers' Choice Award for Music Video of the Year.<ref>'']''. July 2000</ref> It was also nominated for a ].<ref>''Billboard''. March 11, 2000. p. 7.</ref><ref>''Billboard''. March 11, 2000. p. 79.</ref> | ||
* |
*2002: '']'' – McFarlane produced the animated sequences in this film by ],<ref>Holden, Stephen (June 14, 2002). . '']''.</ref> in which the main characters, Tim and Francis, imagine themselves as muscle-bound warriors.<ref name=NYPress>] (June 25, 2002). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427003805/http://www.nypress.com/-scooby-doo-the-dangerous-lives-of-altar-boys/ |date=April 27, 2017 }}. '']''. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> Although the consensus at ] was equivocal of the sequences' effectiveness,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dangerous_lives_of_altar_boys|title=The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=April 26, 2017}}</ref> ] of '']'' singled them out for praise.<ref name=NYPress/> | ||
* |
*2002: "Breath" In December of this year, Todd McFarlane directed the music video "Breath" for Canadian hip-hop group ] that featured ].{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} | ||
* |
*2006: "]" by ] – McFarlane, who worked with Greg Capullo on the art for the 2005 album '']'', also created the animated video for the band's cover of ]' 1986 single, "]".<ref>Harris, Chris (March 10, 2006). . ]. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> | ||
* |
*2022: "]" by ] - Co-directed with ]. | ||
October 2003 saw the release of the Swollen Members album '']'', with Canadian and international covers that were both illustrated by McFarlane.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} | |||
On July 21, 2011, at San Diego Comic-Con |
On July 21, 2011, at San Diego Comic-Con, McFarlane and ] debuted their new comic, '']''. The series is a collaboration with musician ] and stars a fictionalized version of him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://comics.ign.com/articles/117/1179255p1.html|title=Stan Lee & Todd McFarlane Team with Music Icon|website=]|access-date=June 6, 2011}}</ref> | ||
McFarlane and ] pitcher ] formed the gaming studio ] (formerly ''Green Monster Games''), |
McFarlane and ] pitcher ] formed the gaming studio ] (formerly ''Green Monster Games''), to produce role-playing games, with McFarlane overseeing art direction.<ref>Miot, Stephanie (June 8, 2012). . '']''. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref><ref>Oshry, Dave (March 17, 2012). . VG247.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref><ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809035622/http://stars.ign.com/objects/917/917768.html|date=August 9, 2011}}. IGN; retrieved August 26, 2012.</ref> | ||
In February 2012, the company released its only title, '']'', a single-player ] that was a moderate success, but by late May 2012, the company had ceased operation,<ref name=Joystiq>{{cite web|author=Gilbert, Ben|date=May 24, 2012|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/24/38-studios-and-big-huge-games-lay-off-entire-staffs|title=38 Studios and Big Huge Games lay off entire staffs|publisher=]| |
In February 2012, the company released its only title, '']'', a single-player ] that was a moderate success, but by late May 2012, the company had ceased operation,<ref name=Joystiq>{{cite web|author=Gilbert, Ben|date=May 24, 2012|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/24/38-studios-and-big-huge-games-lay-off-entire-staffs|title=38 Studios and Big Huge Games lay off entire staffs|publisher=]|archive-date=May 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526004257/http://i.joystiq.com/2012/05/24/38-studios-and-big-huge-games-lay-off-entire-staffs/}}</ref> due to financial difficulties<ref>. ]. June 22, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref><ref>Spar, Jerry (June 22, 2012). . WEEI.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> for which it had filed for bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite web|author=Makuch, Eddie|title=Amalur dev files for bankruptcy, FBI investigating|website=]|date=June 7, 2012|url=http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6381395/amalur-dev-files-for-bankruptcy-fbi-investigating|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611115209/http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6381395/amalur-dev-files-for-bankruptcy-fbi-investigating|archive-date=June 11, 2012}}</ref> | ||
McFarlane was one of several artists to illustrate a variant cover for Kirkman's '']'' No. 100, which was released July 11, 2012 at |
McFarlane was one of several artists to illustrate a variant cover for Kirkman's '']'' No. 100, which was released July 11, 2012, at ].<ref>Logan, Michael (June 4, 2012). . '']''.</ref> | ||
In July 2017, ] announced McFarlane would direct |
In July 2017, ] announced McFarlane would direct '']''. McFarlane had by then written a first-draft script.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/new-spawn-movie-works-todd-mcfarlane-blumhouse-1023407|title=New 'Spawn' Movie in the Works From Todd McFarlane, Blumhouse|work=]|date=July 21, 2017|first=Borys|last=Kit|access-date=February 10, 2018|archive-date=February 10, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180210205348/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/new-spawn-movie-works-todd-mcfarlane-blumhouse-1023407|url-status=dead}}</ref> In May 2018, it was announced that ] would portray the titular character.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fleming |first1=Mike Jr. |title=Jamie Foxx Set For 'Spawn,' Creator Todd McFarlane's Dark Blumhouse Adaptation|url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/spawn-jamie-foxx-todd-mcfarlane-jason-blum-blumhouse-movie-1202399090/|website=]|access-date=May 29, 2018|date=May 29, 2018}}</ref> In July 2018, it was reported that ] would be starring alongside Foxx as Detective Twitch.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ramée |first1=Jordan |title=Jeremy Renner Set To Star In Spawn Movie Alongside Jamie Foxx |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/jeremy-renner-set-to-star-in-spawn-movie-alongside/1100-6460275/ |website=GameSpot |access-date=July 11, 2018 |date=July 9, 2018}}</ref> On October 25, 2018, filming was set to begin in June 2019,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movieweb.com/spawn-movie-reboot-production-start-summer-2019/|title=Spawn Shoot Has Been Delayed Until Summer 2019|website=Movie Web|last=Scott|first=Ryan|date=October 25, 2018|access-date=October 26, 2018}}</ref> but was eventually delayed to a later date.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movieweb.com/spawn-movie-remake-production-start-2020-todd-mcfarlane/|title='Spawn' Reboot Will Shoot This Year Thanks to the Success of 'Joker'|website=]|last=Scott|first=Ryan|date=March 3, 2020|access-date=March 7, 2020}}</ref> In August 2021, it was reported that '']'' screenwriter ] had been hired to rewrite McFarlane's screenplay.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kit|first=Borys|date=August 13, 2021|title='Spawn' Movie Gets 'Broken City' Scribe as New Writer (Exclusive)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/spawn-movie-gets-broken-city-scribe-as-new-writer-1234997780/|website=]|language=en-US|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813225611/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/spawn-movie-gets-broken-city-scribe-as-new-writer-1234997780/}}</ref> In October 2022, '']'' stated that ], ], and Matthew Mixon had been hired to pen a new draft on the screenplay, and that Renner's continued involvement depended on the new draft's outcome. McFarlane expressed doubts about directing the film himself.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Couch |first=Aaron|title='Spawn' Movie Finds New Writers With 'Joker,' 'Captain America 4' Scribes (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/spawn-movie-finds-new-writers-jamie-foxx-1235232458/|website=]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=October 5, 2022|access-date=October 6, 2022|archive-date=October 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005160736/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/spawn-movie-finds-new-writers-jamie-foxx-1235232458/}}</ref> | ||
In November 2021, McFarlane launched a dedicated television development and production arm of his '''McFarlane Films'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> |
In November 2021, McFarlane launched a dedicated television development and production arm of his '''McFarlane Films'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->, which has signed a first-look deal with production company wiip. As of November 2021, the company has three shows in development: a ''Spawn'' spin-off '']''; the stop-motion, animated event series ''McFarland''; and a live-action adaptation of the Sean Lewis comic ''Thumbs.''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=November 2, 2021|title=Todd McFarlane Launches TV Production Unit, Announces 'McFarland' & 'Thumbs' Series, Talks Taking On Hollywood As Outsider & Plotting 'Spawn' Universe|url=https://deadline.com/2021/11/todd-mcfarlane-mcfarland-tv-series-thumbs-spawn-universe-1234866345/|access-date=2021-11-03|website=]|language=en-US}}</ref> | ||
==Sports== | ==Sports== | ||
In 1998, McFarlane, an avid baseball fan, paid $2.6 million ] at auction for the baseball that ] first baseman ] hit for his then ],<ref name=Time/><ref name=ESPN>Rovell, Darren (June 25, 2003). . ]. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> and $175,000 for ]'s 66th home run ball.<ref name=ESPN/> | In 1998, McFarlane, an avid baseball fan, paid $2.6 million ] at auction for the baseball that ] first baseman ] hit for his then ],<ref name=Time/><ref name=ESPN>Rovell, Darren (June 25, 2003). . ]. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> and $175,000 for ]'s 66th home run ball.<ref name=ESPN/> | ||
In June 2003 McFarlane paid about $517,500 at auction for ] left fielder ]' October 2001, record-breaking 73rd home run ball. The auction took place at the ] in New York's ] and was featured live on '']''.<ref name=Time/><ref name=ESPN/> When asked by '']'' magazine's Michael Grunwald in a 2007 interview if he was interested in Bonds' record 756th career home run ball, McFarlane indicated that he was more interested in Bonds' last home run ball.<ref name=Time/> | In June 2003, McFarlane paid about $517,500 at auction for ] left fielder ]' October 2001, record-breaking 73rd home run ball. The auction took place at the ] in New York's ] and was featured live on '']''.<ref name=Time/><ref name=ESPN/> When asked by '']'' magazine's Michael Grunwald in a 2007 interview if he was interested in Bonds' record 756th career home run ball, McFarlane indicated that he was more interested in Bonds' last home run ball.<ref name=Time/> | ||
McFarlane is a former minority owner of the ] |
McFarlane is a former minority owner of the ] and designed the logo used on the team's alternate ], which debuted in 2001 and was worn through 2007.<ref>. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715025309/http://www.spawn.com/news/news.aspx?id=5273 |date=July 15, 2012}}. Spawn.com. October 26, 2001</ref><ref>Cooper, James (October 5, 2011). , ]. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> The Oilers returned to the McFarlane design in 2022 as part of the league's Reverse Retro jersey program.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/2022-adidas-nhl-reverse-retro-jerseys-reveal/c-336511528|title=NHL Reverse Retro jerseys for all 32 teams unveiled by adidas|author=Merola, Lauren|publisher=]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=October 20, 2022|access-date=February 14, 2023|archive-date=January 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124175741/https://www.nhl.com/news/2022-adidas-nhl-reverse-retro-jerseys-reveal/c-336511528}}</ref> | ||
==Other media== | ==Other media== | ||
===Video games=== | ===Video games=== | ||
] appears as a guest character in the ] version of ''].'' McFarlane also designed the unique character ] for the game.<ref>{{cite web|author=D., Spence|title=E3 2003: Todd McFarlane Speaks|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/05/15/e3-2003-todd-mcfarlane-speaks|website=]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=May 14, 2003|access-date=February 26, 2022| |
] appears as a guest character in ] and the ] version of ''].'' McFarlane also designed the unique character ] for the game.<ref>{{cite web|author=D., Spence|title=E3 2003: Todd McFarlane Speaks|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/05/15/e3-2003-todd-mcfarlane-speaks|website=]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=May 14, 2003|access-date=February 26, 2022|archive-date=March 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322025355/https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/05/15/e3-2003-todd-mcfarlane-speaks}}</ref> | ||
A ] game, '']'', was released in 2004 by ]. In it, players battle creatures based on a line of Todd McFarlane's action figures including classic movie monsters such as ] and ].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Kato |first=Matthew |url=http://www.gameinformer.com:80/NR/exeres/DE69D3EB-8F63-48FD-8C6A-A694D8033012.htm |title=McFarlane's Evil Prophecy |magazine=] |issue=136 |date=August 2004 |page=99 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226025309/http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/DE69D3EB-8F63-48FD-8C6A-A694D8033012.htm |archive-date=December 26, 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 21, 2017}}</ref> | A ] game, '']'', was released in 2004 by ]. In it, players battle creatures based on a line of Todd McFarlane's action figures including classic movie monsters such as ] and ].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Kato |first=Matthew |url=http://www.gameinformer.com:80/NR/exeres/DE69D3EB-8F63-48FD-8C6A-A694D8033012.htm |title=McFarlane's Evil Prophecy |magazine=] |issue=136 |date=August 2004 |page=99 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226025309/http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/DE69D3EB-8F63-48FD-8C6A-A694D8033012.htm |archive-date=December 26, 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 21, 2017}}</ref> | ||
Line 137: | Line 142: | ||
For the release of the video game '']'', McFarlane was enlisted to design a series of action figures.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spawn.com/news/news2.aspx?id=13143 |title=McFarlane To Produce 'Halo 3' Action Figures |date=June 18, 2007 |website=Spawn.com |access-date=January 17, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112080518/http://www.spawn.com/news/news2.aspx?id=13143 |archive-date=January 12, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/02/29/mcfarlanes-halo-3-series-one-review |title=McFarlane's Halo 3 Series One Review |last=George |first=Richard |date=February 29, 2008 |website=] |access-date=January 17, 2018}}</ref> | For the release of the video game '']'', McFarlane was enlisted to design a series of action figures.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spawn.com/news/news2.aspx?id=13143 |title=McFarlane To Produce 'Halo 3' Action Figures |date=June 18, 2007 |website=Spawn.com |access-date=January 17, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112080518/http://www.spawn.com/news/news2.aspx?id=13143 |archive-date=January 12, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/02/29/mcfarlanes-halo-3-series-one-review |title=McFarlane's Halo 3 Series One Review |last=George |first=Richard |date=February 29, 2008 |website=] |access-date=January 17, 2018}}</ref> | ||
In 2011, McFarlane was hired as an artist for the game '']'',<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 3, 2011|title=Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Interview With Todd McFarlane |url=https://www.ea.com/news/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-interview-with-todd-mcfarlane |access-date=May 18, 2022|website=Electronic Arts Inc.|language=en-US|url-status=live| |
In 2011, McFarlane was hired as an artist for the game '']'',<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 3, 2011|title=Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Interview With Todd McFarlane |url=https://www.ea.com/news/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-interview-with-todd-mcfarlane |access-date=May 18, 2022|website=Electronic Arts Inc.|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-date=May 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518153123/https://www.ea.com/news/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-interview-with-todd-mcfarlane}}</ref> on which his duties included ] art, ]s and directing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/a349913/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-interview-with-todd-mcfarlane/|title='Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning' interview with Todd McFarlane|last1=Langshaw|first1=Mark|last2=Reynolds|first2=Matthew|publisher=]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=September 11, 2011|access-date=May 18, 2022|archive-date=June 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629150919/https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/a349913/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-interview-with-todd-mcfarlane/}}</ref> He also worked on the cancelled '']'' by the same developer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/22/agdc-interview-with-brett-close-ceo-of-curt-schillings-38-stu/|title=AGDC: Interview with Brett Close, CEO of Curt Schilling's 38 Studios|first=Kevin|last=Kelly|website=]|date=2008-09-22|access-date=2023-02-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531071941/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/22/agdc-interview-with-brett-close-ceo-of-curt-schillings-38-stu/|archive-date=2009-05-31|url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
===Media about McFarlane=== | ===Media about McFarlane=== | ||
] interviewed McFarlane in Episode 1 of the 1991 documentary series '']''.<ref>{{cite AV media|series=]|people=] (host)|title=Todd McFarlane|date=1991|publisher=Stabur Home Video}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|editor=]|title=A Widening Web|page=35|magazine=] Special Edition: The Story of Spider-Man: The Character that Broke All the Rules|publisher=]|date=October 25, 2021|ASIN=B09KN9S9RS}}</ref> In 2000, McFarlane was the subject of a ] documentary ''Devil You Know: Inside the Mind of Todd McFarlane'', directed by Kenton Vaughan.<ref name=Seibert>{{cite news|last=Seibert|first=Perry|title=The Devil You Know: Inside the Mind of Todd McFarlane (2002)|url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/257403/The-Devil-You-Know-Inside-the-Mind-of-Todd-McFarlane/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007170438/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/257403/The-Devil-You-Know-Inside-the-Mind-of-Todd-McFarlane/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 7, 2008|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=]|date=2008|access-date=March 12, 2012}}</ref> The film first aired on ]'s '']'' biography series on January 9, 2001.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} | ] interviewed McFarlane in Episode 1 of the 1991 documentary series '']''.<ref>{{cite AV media|series=]|people=] (host)|title=Todd McFarlane|date=1991|publisher=Stabur Home Video}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|editor=]|title=A Widening Web|page=35|magazine=] Special Edition: The Story of Spider-Man: The Character that Broke All the Rules|publisher=]|date=October 25, 2021|ASIN=B09KN9S9RS}}</ref> In 2000, McFarlane was the subject of a ] documentary ''Devil You Know: Inside the Mind of Todd McFarlane'', directed by Kenton Vaughan.<ref name=Seibert>{{cite news|last=Seibert|first=Perry|title=The Devil You Know: Inside the Mind of Todd McFarlane (2002)|url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/257403/The-Devil-You-Know-Inside-the-Mind-of-Todd-McFarlane/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007170438/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/257403/The-Devil-You-Know-Inside-the-Mind-of-Todd-McFarlane/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 7, 2008|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=]|date=2008|access-date=March 12, 2012}}</ref> The film first aired on ]'s '']'' biography series on January 9, 2001.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} | ||
In "Spidey Cents", a fourth-season episode of the ] reality television series '']'' which aired in May 2011, a man tries to sell McFarlane's original artwork for page 25 of '']'' No. 316 (June 1989) for $20,000 to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Because the seller lacked the |
In "Spidey Cents", a fourth-season episode of the ] reality television series '']'' which aired in May 2011, a man tries to sell McFarlane's original artwork for page 25 of '']'' No. 316 (June 1989) for $20,000 to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Because the seller lacked the paperwork authenticating the artwork, the Gold & Silver manager ] would only pay $1,000 for the page, an offer that the seller declined.<ref name=SpideyCents/> | ||
==Legal issues== | ==Legal issues== | ||
McFarlane lost judgments in two lawsuits in the 2000s. The first was a 2002 suit in which McFarlane contested with writer ] over the rights to some supporting Spawn characters created by Gaiman in issue No. 9 of the ''Spawn'' series and over payment for later works featuring those characters. In 1997, the two signed a deal in which Gaiman would give his share of characters ], Medieval Spawn and ] to McFarlane in exchange for McFarlane's share of British superhero ] (in reality, what McFarlane |
McFarlane lost judgments in two lawsuits in the 2000s. The first was a 2002 suit in which McFarlane contested with writer ] over the rights to some supporting Spawn characters created by Gaiman in issue No. 9 of the ''Spawn'' series and over payment for later works featuring those characters. In 1997, the two signed a deal in which Gaiman would give his share of characters ], ] and ] to McFarlane in exchange for McFarlane's share of British superhero ] (in reality, what McFarlane owned were two trademarks for Miracleman logos, not the character, which would become clear only after the lawsuit concluded). This deal was broken by McFarlane, which motivated Gaiman to start the lawsuit. The jury was unanimous in favor of Gaiman. The two were involved in a lengthy dispute over ownership of Miracleman, but no lawsuit has been filed in that dispute. In 2009, Marvel Comics resolved the matter by purchasing the property.<ref>{{cite web|first=Kiel|last=Phegley|url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22203|title=CCI: Cup O Joe|publisher=]|date=July 24, 2009|access-date=January 17, 2018}}</ref> The creators settled their dispute over the ''Spawn'' characters in January 2012. The exact terms of the settlement were not disclosed,<ref>{{cite web|author=Mozzocco, J. Caleb|publisher=]|title=Neil Gaiman And Todd McFarlane Settle Legal Dispute Over Co-Spawned Characters |url=https://comicsalliance.com/spawn-angela-neil-gaiman-todd-mcfarlane-ownership-settlement/|date=January 31, 2012|access-date=September 30, 2019}}</ref> though Gaiman retained ownership of Angela, as she became a character in the ] when Gaiman began doing work for Marvel in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/gaiman-returns-to-marvel-brings-spawns-angela/|title=Gaiman Returns to Marvel, Brings ''Spawn's'' Angela|first=Steve|last=Sunu|publisher=]|date=March 21, 2013|access-date=April 20, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420031704/https://www.cbr.com/gaiman-returns-to-marvel-brings-spawns-angela/|archive-date=April 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2013/05/09/neil-gaiman-angela-age-of-ultron/|title=FIRST LOOK: Neil Gaiman's avenging Angela will make Marvel history|last=Boucher|first=Geoff|magazine=]|date=May 9, 2013|access-date=May 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122053713/http://ew.com/article/2013/05/09/neil-gaiman-angela-age-of-ultron/|archive-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref> ] later confirmed that Marvel Comics had completely bought the rights to Angela from Gaiman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/19/marvel-owns-angela-but-no-karen-gillan-wont-be-playing-her-in-guardians-of-the-galaxy/|title=Marvel Owns Angela – But No, Karen Gillan Won't Be Playing Her In Guardians Of The Galaxy|last=Johnson|first=Rich|publisher=]|date=June 19, 2013|access-date=June 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307000352/https://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/19/marvel-owns-angela-but-no-karen-gillan-wont-be-playing-her-in-guardians-of-the-galaxy/|archive-date=March 7, 2019}}</ref> | ||
Another suit in which McFarlane became embroiled was a December 2004 suit in which hockey player ] sued McFarlane because he named a mobster character in ''Spawn'' after Twist. After a jury initially found McFarlane liable for $24.5 million in damages (reduced to $ |
Another suit in which McFarlane became embroiled was a December 2004 suit in which hockey player ] sued McFarlane because he named a mobster character in ''Spawn'' after Twist. After a jury initially found McFarlane liable for $24.5 million in damages (reduced to $15 million on appeal), the lawsuit was later settled out of court for $5 million.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-06 |title=Comic book 'twist': How Blues enforcer scored millions in court |url=https://fox2now.com/sports/st-louis-blues/comic-book-twist-how-blues-enforcer-scored-millions-in-court/ |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=FOX 2 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2006/06/19/daily18.html|title=Appeals court upholds $15M verdict for Twist|newspaper=]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=June 20, 2006|access-date=August 12, 2023|archive-date=July 15, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715223637/http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2006/06/19/daily18.html}}</ref> | ||
In 2012, McFarlane sued his former friend and employee, Al Simmons, from whom the name of Spawn's alter ego was derived. According to a lawsuit lodged in Arizona federal court, the real Al Simmons published a book called ''The Art of Being Spawn'', in which Simmons purportedly suggests that his own life was the inspiration for the Spawn character. McFarlane's position was that Simmons violated the terms of his employment pact and breached his duty of loyalty.<ref>Gallaher, Valerie (October 1, 2012). . MTV. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref><ref>Gardner, Eriq (October 1, 2012). . ''The Hollywood Reporter''. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> The lawsuit was settled in December 2012 when McFarlane |
In 2012, McFarlane sued his former friend and employee, Al Simmons, from whom the name of Spawn's alter ego was derived. According to a lawsuit lodged in Arizona federal court, the real Al Simmons published a book called ''The Art of Being Spawn'', in which Simmons purportedly suggests that his own life was the inspiration for the Spawn character. McFarlane's position was that Simmons violated the terms of his employment pact and breached his duty of loyalty.<ref>Gallaher, Valerie (October 1, 2012). . MTV. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref><ref>Gardner, Eriq (October 1, 2012). . ''The Hollywood Reporter''. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> The lawsuit was settled in December 2012 when McFarlane agreed with Simmons. The terms of any settlement were not made public.<ref name=Vulture/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/12/14/todd-mcfarlane-settles-with-al-simmons-dc-try-to-get-their-costs-from-toberoff|title=Todd McFarlane Settles With Al Simmons, DC Try To Get Their Costs From Toberoff – Bleeding Cool News And Rumors|date=December 14, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/faulkner-estate-settles-adam-sandler-402090|title=Hollywood Docket: Faulkner Estate Settles; Sandler Beats 'Just Go With It' Suit; 'Superman' Appeal|magazine=]|author1=Gardner, Eriq|author2= Belloni, Matthew|date=December 13, 2012}}</ref> | ||
==Awards and recognition== | ==Awards and recognition== | ||
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==Personal life== | ==Personal life== | ||
McFarlane and his wife Wanda<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zimbio.com/photos/Todd+McFarlane/Wanda+McFarlane|title=ABC And Marvel Honor Stan Lee|publisher= |
McFarlane and his wife Wanda<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zimbio.com/photos/Todd+McFarlane/Wanda+McFarlane|title=ABC And Marvel Honor Stan Lee|publisher=Zimbio|author=Lamparski, John|date=October 7, 2019|access-date=January 25, 2021|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125053543/https://www.zimbio.com/photos/Todd+McFarlane/Wanda+McFarlane}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/todd_mcfarlane/status/1180910870857224192|author=McFarlane, Todd|title=(Untitled)|publisher=]|date=October 6, 2019|access-date=January 25, 2021|archive-date=October 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006183925/https://twitter.com/todd_mcfarlane/status/1180910870857224192}}</ref> married in 1985. They stayed in ] until 1986, when they moved to ]. They later moved to ],<ref name=SpokesmanReview/> and then to the ] of ],<ref name=SpokesmanReview/><ref name=EastValleyTribune>Janovsky, Julie (July 10, 2007). . '']''.</ref> where they continue to live as of 2007. There, they raised their three children: Cyan, Kate, and Jake. Cyan's love of the TV series '']'' inspired her father's decision to produce action figures based on that show, while Kate voiced the young Cyan in the animated ''Spawn'' TV series.<ref name=EastValleyTribune/> McFarlane's offices are located near Phoenix.<ref name=Vulture/> In ''Spawn'', the characters Wanda Blake and Cyan Fitzgerald were named after McFarlane's own wife and daughter respectively.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McFarlane |first1=Todd |title=YES…WANDA BLAKE IS DEAD. NO…SHE’S NOT COMING BACK!!! |url=https://mcfarlane.com/blog/yes-wanda-blake-is-dead-no-shes-not-coming-back/ |website=McFarlane.com |access-date=27 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McFarlane |first1=Todd |title=SHE WAS MY VERY FIRST ISSUE!!! |url=https://www.facebook.com/liketoddmcfarlane/posts/she-was-my-very-first-issue-and-she-was-sitting-on-my-lap-when-spawn-1-came-out-/821056387938445/ |website=Facebook |access-date=27 September 2024}}</ref> | ||
McFarlane stated in a 1992 interview that he was an ].<ref name=TCJ/> | McFarlane stated in a 1992 interview that he was an ].<ref name=TCJ/> He does not consume alcohol, coffee, or tea.<ref>{{cite web |last1=SYFY |title=Todd McFarlane: Like Hell I Won't |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qc3hNtKJ1k&t=5m37s |website=YouTube |access-date=27 September 2024}}</ref> | ||
==Bibliography== | ==Bibliography== | ||
===Awesome Comics=== | ===Awesome Comics=== | ||
'''Cover art''' | '''Cover art''' | ||
* ''Prophet #1 |
* ''Prophet'' #1 (Vol. 3) (Variant) (2000) | ||
===DC Comics=== | ===DC Comics=== | ||
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* '']'' #14–37 (full art); ''Annual'' #1–2 (among other artists) (1985–1987) | * '']'' #14–37 (full art); ''Annual'' #1–2 (among other artists) (1985–1987) | ||
* '']'', miniseries, #1–2 (1989) | * '']'', miniseries, #1–2 (1989) | ||
* '']'' (1989 2nd Series) #50 ( |
* '']'' (1989 2nd Series) #50 (pin-up) | ||
* ''Superman Special'' #1 (one |
* ''Superman Special'' #1 (one-page pin-up) (1992) | ||
'''Cover art''' | '''Cover art''' | ||
* '']'' #423 ( |
* '']'' #423 (cover) | ||
* '']'' #1B (2006 2nd Series DC) | * '']'' #1B (2006 2nd Series DC) | ||
Line 197: | Line 202: | ||
'''Cover art''' | '''Cover art''' | ||
* ''Badrock'' (1995) #1A ( |
* ''Badrock'' (1995) #1A (inks only) | ||
* ''Black Flag Preview Edition'' #1 (1994) ( |
* ''Batman/Spawn (2022)'' | ||
* ''Black Flag Preview Edition'' #1 (1994) (inks only) | |||
* ''Cyber Force #8'' (1994) | * ''Cyber Force #8'' (1994) | ||
* ''Reborn |
* '']'' #1H (2016) | ||
* ''] #1B |
* '']'' #1B (2013) | ||
* '']'' #100B (2012) | * '']'' #100B (2012) | ||
* ''The Infinite #1D, 2E |
* ''The Infinite'' #1D, 2E (2011) (inks only) | ||
* ''] #100D |
* '']'' #100D (2003) | ||
====Writing==== | ====Writing==== | ||
* ''Batman/Spawn (2022)'' | |||
* '']'' #21-16 (2001-2004) | * '']'' #21-16 (2001-2004) | ||
* ''Savior'' #1–8 (2015) | * ''Savior'' #1–8 (2015) | ||
Line 233: | Line 240: | ||
* '']'' #241 (1991) | * '']'' #241 (1991) | ||
* '']'' #32 (1988) | * '']'' #32 (1988) | ||
* |
* ''Marvel Age #90'' (1990) | ||
* '']'' #223–239 (1989–1990) | * '']'' #223–239 (1989–1990) | ||
* '']'' #85–89, 93 (1990) ( |
* '']'' #85–89, 93 (1990) (inks only) | ||
* '']'' #14 (1990) | * '']'' #14 (1990) | ||
* '']'' (2018 Marvel) #1I, 1J | * '']'' (2018 Marvel) #1I, 1J | ||
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Latest revision as of 03:45, 20 December 2024
Canadian comic book creator
Todd McFarlane | |
---|---|
McFarlane at the 2017 New York Comic Con | |
Born | (1961-03-16) March 16, 1961 (age 63) Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
Area(s) | Writer, Penciller, Inker, Publisher |
Notable works | |
Awards |
|
Spouse(s) |
Wanda Kolomyjec (m. 1985) |
Children | 3 |
Official website |
Todd McFarlane (/məkˈfɑːrlɪn/; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, best known for his work as the artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horror-fantasy series Spawn, as well as being the current President and a co-founder of Image Comics.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McFarlane became a comic-book superstar due to his high-selling work on Marvel Comics' Spider-Man franchise, on which he was the artist to draw the first full appearances of the character Venom. In 1992, he helped form Image Comics, pulling the occult anti-hero character Spawn from his high-school portfolio and updating him for the 1990s. The debut issue sold 1.7 million copies, which as of 2007, remains a record for an independent comic book. The character's popularity in the 1990s also encouraged a trend in creator-owned comic-book properties.
After leaving inking duties on Spawn with issue No. 70 (February 1998), McFarlane has illustrated comic books less often, focusing on entrepreneurial efforts, such as McFarlane Toys and Todd McFarlane Entertainment, a film and animation studio. In September 2006, it was announced that McFarlane would be the Art Director of the newly formed 38 Studios, founded by Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling. McFarlane used to be a co-owner of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers before selling his shares to Daryl Katz. He is also a high-profile collector of record-breaking baseballs.
As a filmmaker, he produced the 1997 film adaptation of Spawn starring Michael Jai White. He will make his directorial debut with 2025’s reboot film - King Spawn which will star Jamie Foxx.
Early life
Todd McFarlane was born on March 16, 1961, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to Bob and Sherlee McFarlane. He is the second of three sons, which McFarlane says contributed to his competitive streak. Bob worked in the printing business, which led him to take work where he could find it, and as a result, during McFarlane's childhood, the family lived in thirty different places from Alberta to California.
McFarlane began drawing as a hobby at an early age, and developed an interest in comics, acquiring as many as he could, and learning to draw from them. He was a fan of comics creators such as John Byrne, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller and George Pérez, as well as the writing of Alan Moore. (John Parker of ComicsAlliance has also noted the influence of Walt Simonson in McFarlane's work.) McFarlane created the character Spawn when he was 16, and spent "countless hours" perfecting the appearance of each component of the character's visual design.
One day while in the twelfth grade at Calgary's William Aberhart High School, McFarlane, working as a groundskeeper for the Calgary Cardinals, was standing in the bleachers when a 13-year-old ninth grader sitting near him named Wanda Kolomyjec, who served as the team's bat girl, began flirting with him. The two began dating, over the objections of Wanda's father, who thought she was too young for him, though in time McFarlane won him over.
Right after high school, McFarlane attended baseball tryouts at Gonzaga University. Despite being a good fielder and fast, he was not a good hitter. Moreover, he could not afford Gonzaga, so he attended Spokane Falls Community College for a year, his relationship with Wanda developing into a long-distance one. In 1981 McFarlane began attending Eastern Washington University (EWU) on a baseball scholarship, studying as part of a self-designed program for graphics and art. His practical goal was to join his father in the printing business in Calgary, Alberta, though his dream was always to be a comic book creator. He worked part-time on campus as a janitor in the school's administration building, as his scholarship required an on-campus job, and also worked weekends at a comics shop called the Comic Rack, devoting a couple of hours late at night to practice his comics art.
He sought to play baseball professionally after graduation but suffered a serious ankle injury in his junior year during a game with arch-rivals Washington State University. He subsequently focused on drawing, working at the comic book store to pay for the rest of his education, and living in a trailer park in Cheney, Washington with Wanda, who had moved to the area to be with him and attend EWU as well. In 1984, a year after his injury, McFarlane's final chance to play for the big leagues came when he tried out with the Toronto Blue Jays' farm team in Medicine Hat, Alberta, but he ended up being ranked last on the roster, ending his professional baseball prospects. McFarlane graduated with a bachelor's degree that same year. He stayed in Spokane, Washington while Wanda finished her degree. She also co-plotted and edited the pages on which McFarlane developed his own comics character, Spawn.
Career
Early work, DC, and Marvel
While still in college, McFarlane began sending 30–40 packages of submissions each month to comics editors, totaling over 700 submissions after a year and a half, most of which were in the form of pinups. Half resulted in no response, while the other half resulted in rejection letters, though he received some constructive criticism from a few editors. One of them, DC Comics' Sal Amendola, gave McFarlane a dummy script to gauge McFarlane's page-to-page storytelling ability. Amendola's advice that McFarlane's submissions needed to focus on page-to-page stories rather than pinups led McFarlane to create a five-page Coyote sample that he initially sent to Uncanny X-Men editor Ann Nocenti at Marvel Comics, who passed it along to Archie Goodwin and Jo Duffy, the editors of the Marvel imprint Epic Comics, which published Coyote; these in turn passed it onto Coyote creator Steve Englehart, who contacted McFarlane in 1984 with an offer for Todd's first comic job: a backup story in Coyote #11.
McFarlane soon began drawing for both DC and Marvel, with his first major body of work being a two-year run (1985–1987) on DC's Infinity, Inc. In 1987, McFarlane illustrated the last three issues of Detective Comics' four-issue "Batman: Year Two" storyline. From there, he moved to Marvel's Incredible Hulk, which he drew from 1987 to 1988, working with writer Peter David.
The Amazing Spider-Man
In 1988, McFarlane joined writer David Michelinie on Marvel's The Amazing Spider-Man, beginning with issue 298, drawing the preliminary sketch for that cover's image on the back of one of his Incredible Hulk pages. McFarlane garnered notice for the more dynamic poses in which he depicted Spider-Man's aerial web-swinging, his enlarging of the eyes on the character's mask, and the greater detail in which he rendered his artwork. In particular, the elaborate detail he gave to Spider-Man's webbing. Whereas it had essentially been rendered as a series of X's between two lines, McFarlane embellished it by detailing far more individual strands, which came to be dubbed "spaghetti webbing". (McFarlane was possibly influenced by artist Arthur Adams, whose visual conception of Spider-Man with a large-eyed mask, webbing with more detailed strands, and more contorted poses while web-swinging, can be seen in Web of Spider-Man Annual #2, published in June 1986 – approximately 1½ years before McFarlane's first published Spider-Man work.) McFarlane drew the first full appearance of Eddie Brock, the original incarnation of the villain Venom. He has been credited as the character's co-creator, though this has been a topic of dispute within the comic book industry (see Eddie Brock: Creation and conception).
McFarlane's work on Amazing Spider-Man made him an industry superstar. His cover art for Amazing Spider-Man No. 313, for which he was originally paid $700 in 1989, for example, would later sell for $71,200 in 2010. One critic of McFarlane's detail-heavy style was Comics Journal editor Gary Groth, who said of McFarlane in a 2017 interview, "He doesn't have any authentic virtues as a visual stylist. His work is so overembellished that it disguises the fact that the composition is chaotic and cluttered to the point of being almost unreadable. He never really learned the craft of comics — he just faked it really well."
During his run on The Amazing Spider-Man, McFarlane became increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of control over his work, as he wanted more say in the direction of storylines. He began to miss deadlines, requiring guest artists to fill in for him on some issues. In 1990, after a 28-issue run of Amazing Spider-Man, McFarlane told editor Jim Salicrup that he wanted to write his own stories, and would be leaving the book with issue No. 328, which was part of that year's company-wide "Acts of Vengeance" crossover storyline. In July 2012 the original artwork to that issue's cover, which features Spider-Man dispatching the Hulk, sold for a record-breaking $657,250 USD, the highest auction price ever for any piece of American comic book art. McFarlane was succeeded on Amazing Spider-Man by McFarlane's future fellow Image Comics co-founder Erik Larsen.
New Spider-Man title
Wanting to appease McFarlane, Marvel gave McFarlane a new, adjectiveless Spider-Man title for him to both write and draw. Spider-Man #1 (August 1990) sold 2.5 million copies, largely due to the variant covers with which Marvel, seeking to capitalize on McFarlane's popularity, published the issue to encourage collectors into buying more than one edition. This practice was a result of the comics speculator bubble of the 1990s, which would burst later that decade. McFarlane, unbeknownst to his parents at the time, was making about a million dollars a year. McFarlane wrote and illustrated 15 of the series' first 16 issues, many issues of which featured other popular Marvel characters such as Wolverine and Ghost Rider in guest roles.
Despite his acclaim as an artist, according to David Wallace of Comics Bulletin, many found McFarlane's writing to be "clumsy, unsophisticated and pretentious", and questioned the wisdom of allowing him to write a new Spider-Man title in the first place. At the same time, the editorial had problems with the dark tone of the stories McFarlane was telling, beginning with the inaugural "Torment" storyline, which depicted a more vicious version of the reptilian villain Lizard under the control of the voodoo priestess Calypso. Subsequent storylines such as "Masques" featured Spider-Man confronting the demonic Hobgoblin, while "Perceptions", which involved Spider-Man dealing with police corruption, child rape, and murder (a hint of the work he would later do on Spawn), led some stores to refuse to stock the book. This created further tensions between McFarlane and the editorial, which viewed Spider-Man as a historically light-hearted character marketed to young readers. Editor Jim Salicrup in particular was required to make a number of compromises for McFarlane's work, including enforcing McFarlane's minor costume changes across the entire line of other Spidey comics, placing limitations on his choice of villains for his stories, and dealing with strong disagreement on the handling of the character Mary Jane Watson. This strained McFarlane's relationship with Salicrup, which was expressed in the remarkable amount of public disagreement that appeared on the book's letters page. Eventually, McFarlane's attention to his deadlines again began to waiver, and he missed issue 15 of the title. His final issue on the book, #16 (November 1991), was part of a crossover storyline with X-Force, and led to creative clashes with new editor Danny Fingeroth. According to McFarlane and editor Tom DeFalco in the 2000 documentary The Devil You Know: Inside the Mind of Todd McFarlane, among the examples of the issues that prompted his departure were editorial's censorship of a panel in that issue in which the character Juggernaut was graphically stabbed in the eye with a sword. DeFalco supported the editing of the panel, calling it "inappropriate", while McFarlane called this "lunacy", arguing that such graphic visuals are commonplace in Marvel's books. Fed up with editorial interference, he left the company under something of a cloud. According to Wallace, "McFarlane's fifteen issues of Spider-Man are now (perhaps slightly unfairly) held up alongside the likes of X-Force as the epitome of everything wrong in 1990s comics, and their cash-in approach to the then-booming speculator market precipitated the near-collapse of the industry."
Image Comics
McFarlane then teamed with six other popular artists to form Image Comics, an umbrella company under which each owned a publishing house. McFarlane's studio, Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc. (TMP), published his creation, the occult-themed Spawn, written and drawn by McFarlane. It was Image's second release, following the release of Rob Liefeld's Youngblood the month prior. Upon its release in 1992, Spawn #1 (May 1992) sold 1.7 million copies; as of 2007, this remains a record for an independent comic book.
Responding to harsh criticism of his abilities as a writer, McFarlane hired acclaimed writers to guest-write issues #8–11, including Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Dave Sim, and Frank Miller. Subsequent writers he would hire on the series included Grant Morrison, Andrew Grossberg, and Tom Orzechowski. Greg Capullo penciled several issues as a guest artist, and became the regular penciler with #26, with McFarlane remaining as writer and inker until #70. The series continued to be a hit, and in 1993 Wizard declared Spawn "the best-selling comic on a consistent basis that is currently being published." Spawn is notable for being one of only two Image books that debuted during the company's 1992 launch, along with Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon, that continued to be published into the 2020s.
During Image's early years of operation, the company was subject to much industry criticism over aspects of its business practices, including late-shipped books, and its creators' emphasis on art over writing. One of these critics was McFarlane's former Hulk collaborator, writer Peter David. This came to a head during a public debate they participated in at Philadelphia's Comicfest convention in October 1993, which was moderated by artist George Pérez. McFarlane stated that Image was not being treated fairly by the media, and by David in particular. The three judges, Maggie Thompson, editor of the Comics Buyer's Guide, William Christensen of Wizard Press, and John Danovich of the magazine Hero Illustrated, voted 2–1 in favor of David, with Danovich voting the debate a tie.
In 1994, McFarlane and DC Comics collaborated on an intercompany crossover, each producing a book featuring Batman and Spawn. The first of the two books, Batman-Spawn: War Devil was written by Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, and Alan Grant, drawn by Klaus Janson, and published by DC. It was followed by Spawn/Batman, which was written by Frank Miller and drawn by McFarlane. That year marked the point when McFarlane ceased to be the regular writer and artist of Spawn. The first issue that he did not draw was issue 16, which was drawn by Greg Capullo. Aside from the four fill-in writers on issues #8–11, it was the first issue on which McFarlane was not the regular writer, as it was the first of a three-issue storyline written by Grant Morrison. Over the ensuing decades, he would hire other writers such as Brian Holguin and David Hine, and artists such as Whilce Portacio, Angel Medina, and Philip Tan. McFarlane occasionally offered story input and inked covers. He would sporadically return as the interior artist for intermittent issues, and for a few years wrote it under a pseudonym to generate interest in the book by fostering the illusion that new talent was being brought into the book's production.
In 2006, McFarlane announced plans for Spawn/Batman with artist Greg Capullo, which McFarlane wrote and inked, and which paid tribute to Jack Kirby. He also began taking an active role in comics publishing again, publishing collections of his Spawn comics in trade paperback form. Spawn Collection Volume 1 collecting issues 1–12 minus issue 9 (due to royalty issues with Neil Gaiman) and 10 (due to a vow he made to Sim) was released in December 2005. The first volume achieved moderate success, ranking 17 in the top one hundred graphic novels, with pre-order sales of 3,227 for that period.
In 2008, McFarlane returned to co-plot the series with returning writer Brian Holguin, with issue 185. The book survived the comics speculator bubble's crash, but its sales have fluctuated, never matching the sales figures of the 1990s. Though it continues publication, its appearance on the Diamond Top 300 chart has been intermittent since the mid-2000s. Nonetheless, Shea Hennum of Paste magazine has observed of the series, "It's a book that, for a time, people continued to buy because of the character instead of the creator. It has become as much of an institution as it is a comic.
Haunt, an ongoing series co-created by McFarlane and Robert Kirkman, was announced in 2007 and launched on October 7, 2009. The comic was initially written by Kirkman, penciled by Ryan Ottley, and inked by McFarlane, with Greg Capullo providing layouts. McFarlane contributed pencils to some issues, and co-wrote issue 28, the series finale, with Joe Casey, who took over writing duties from Kirkman.
In 2019, McFarlane wrote and drew Spawn #301, surpassing Dave Sim's 300-issue series Cerebus as the longest-running creator-owned comics series. The book, released on October 2 of that year, earned McFarlane a place in the Guinness World Records, for which McFarlane was given a certificate on October 5, 2019 at the New York Comic Con, prior to his panel, "The Road to Historic Spawn 300 and 301." At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it was announced that McFarlane would write a new Batman/Spawn crossover, with Greg Capullo as artist, and a release date of December 2022.
Todd McFarlane Entertainment
Todd McFarlane Productions published multiple Spawn spin-offs and mini-series. He increasingly concentrated his attention on those other ventures, which resulted in more sporadic work as an illustrator. In 1994, McFarlane created a toy company, Todd Toys, initially to merchandise collectible action figures of the Spawn characters. In three months, the company sold more than 2.2 million of the action figures nationwide. After Mattel sent a cease-and-desist order based on a male doll in Mattel's Barbie line named Todd, McFarlane changed the company name to McFarlane Toys. The company's line of figures quickly expanded to those of popular cultural icons, such as members of the band Kiss, characters from the film franchise Texas Chainsaw Massacre, TV series such as The X-Files, and sports figures such as Terrell Owens. In 1999, the company sold over 6 million action figures. As of 2017, the company was the fifth-largest action-figure manufacturer in the United States.
Todd McFarlane produced the album art for Iced Earth's 1996 Spawn-based concept album The Dark Saga and Korn's 1998 third studio album Follow the Leader.
That same year, McFarlane founded Todd McFarlane Entertainment, a film and animation studio. In collaboration with New Line Cinema, it produced the 1997 Spawn film and a new Spawn movie, planned in 2008. Spawn, while critically panned, was a modest box office success, earning $54.8 million domestically, and almost $33 million worldwide, against a $40 million budget. Todd McFarlane Entertainment also produced the animated series Todd McFarlane's Spawn, (featuring voice work by actor Keith David) which aired on HBO from 1997 until 1999. Ed Bark of The Dallas Morning News called the series a "very unpleasant viewing experience" and asked "why anyone would want to subject themselves to such a relentlessly grim, gruesome dehumanizing experience." Nonetheless, the animated series won a 1998 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Animation.
The studio produced a number of music videos and other animations, including:
- 1998: "Do the Evolution" by Pearl Jam – Rolling Stone included this video in its 2012 list of The Greatest Animated Music Videos.
- 1999: "Freak on a Leash" by KoЯn – This video debuted at number eight on MTV's Total Request Live on February 9, 1999, and peaking at number 1 on its thirteenth day, February 25. and spent ten non-consecutive days at the top position until its "retirement", on May 11, 1999. The video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video and the 1999 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Music Video of the Year. It was also nominated for a 1999 MTV Video Music Award.
- 2002: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys – McFarlane produced the animated sequences in this film by Peter Care, in which the main characters, Tim and Francis, imagine themselves as muscle-bound warriors. Although the consensus at Rotten Tomatoes was equivocal of the sequences' effectiveness, Armond White of New York Press singled them out for praise.
- 2002: "Breath" In December of this year, Todd McFarlane directed the music video "Breath" for Canadian hip-hop group Swollen Members that featured Nelly Furtado.
- 2006: "Land of Confusion" by Disturbed – McFarlane, who worked with Greg Capullo on the art for the 2005 album Ten Thousand Fists, also created the animated video for the band's cover of Genesis' 1986 single, "Land of Confusion".
- 2022: "Patient Number 9" by Ozzy Osbourne - Co-directed with M. Wartella.
October 2003 saw the release of the Swollen Members album Heavy, with Canadian and international covers that were both illustrated by McFarlane.
On July 21, 2011, at San Diego Comic-Con, McFarlane and Stan Lee debuted their new comic, Blood Red Dragon. The series is a collaboration with musician Yoshiki and stars a fictionalized version of him.
McFarlane and Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling formed the gaming studio 38 Studios (formerly Green Monster Games), to produce role-playing games, with McFarlane overseeing art direction.
In February 2012, the company released its only title, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a single-player action role-playing game that was a moderate success, but by late May 2012, the company had ceased operation, due to financial difficulties for which it had filed for bankruptcy.
McFarlane was one of several artists to illustrate a variant cover for Kirkman's The Walking Dead No. 100, which was released July 11, 2012, at San Diego Comic-Con.
In July 2017, Blumhouse Productions announced McFarlane would direct King Spawn. McFarlane had by then written a first-draft script. In May 2018, it was announced that Jamie Foxx would portray the titular character. In July 2018, it was reported that Jeremy Renner would be starring alongside Foxx as Detective Twitch. On October 25, 2018, filming was set to begin in June 2019, but was eventually delayed to a later date. In August 2021, it was reported that Broken City screenwriter Brian Tucker had been hired to rewrite McFarlane's screenplay. In October 2022, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Scott Silver, Malcolm Spellman, and Matthew Mixon had been hired to pen a new draft on the screenplay, and that Renner's continued involvement depended on the new draft's outcome. McFarlane expressed doubts about directing the film himself.
In November 2021, McFarlane launched a dedicated television development and production arm of his McFarlane Films, which has signed a first-look deal with production company wiip. As of November 2021, the company has three shows in development: a Spawn spin-off Sam & Twitch; the stop-motion, animated event series McFarland; and a live-action adaptation of the Sean Lewis comic Thumbs.
Sports
In 1998, McFarlane, an avid baseball fan, paid $2.6 million USD at auction for the baseball that St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire hit for his then record-breaking 70th home run, and $175,000 for Sammy Sosa's 66th home run ball.
In June 2003, McFarlane paid about $517,500 at auction for San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds' October 2001, record-breaking 73rd home run ball. The auction took place at the ESPN Zone in New York's Times Square and was featured live on SportsCenter. When asked by Time magazine's Michael Grunwald in a 2007 interview if he was interested in Bonds' record 756th career home run ball, McFarlane indicated that he was more interested in Bonds' last home run ball.
McFarlane is a former minority owner of the Edmonton Oilers and designed the logo used on the team's alternate third jersey, which debuted in 2001 and was worn through 2007. The Oilers returned to the McFarlane design in 2022 as part of the league's Reverse Retro jersey program.
Other media
Video games
Spawn appears as a guest character in Mortal Kombat 11 and the Xbox version of Soulcalibur II. McFarlane also designed the unique character Necrid for the game.
A PlayStation 2 game, McFarlane's Evil Prophecy, was released in 2004 by Konami. In it, players battle creatures based on a line of Todd McFarlane's action figures including classic movie monsters such as Frankenstein's monster and Dracula.
In January 2005, McFarlane announced that he was set to produce a half-hour anthology television series for Fox called Twisted Tales, based on the Bruce Jones' comic book to which McFarlane had purchased the rights.
For the release of the video game Halo 3, McFarlane was enlisted to design a series of action figures.
In 2011, McFarlane was hired as an artist for the game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, on which his duties included key frame art, storyboards and directing. He also worked on the cancelled Project Copernicus by the same developer.
Media about McFarlane
Stan Lee interviewed McFarlane in Episode 1 of the 1991 documentary series The Comic Book Greats. In 2000, McFarlane was the subject of a National Film Board of Canada documentary Devil You Know: Inside the Mind of Todd McFarlane, directed by Kenton Vaughan. The film first aired on CBC-TV's Life and Times biography series on January 9, 2001.
In "Spidey Cents", a fourth-season episode of the History reality television series Pawn Stars which aired in May 2011, a man tries to sell McFarlane's original artwork for page 25 of The Amazing Spider-Man No. 316 (June 1989) for $20,000 to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Because the seller lacked the paperwork authenticating the artwork, the Gold & Silver manager Corey Harrison would only pay $1,000 for the page, an offer that the seller declined.
Legal issues
McFarlane lost judgments in two lawsuits in the 2000s. The first was a 2002 suit in which McFarlane contested with writer Neil Gaiman over the rights to some supporting Spawn characters created by Gaiman in issue No. 9 of the Spawn series and over payment for later works featuring those characters. In 1997, the two signed a deal in which Gaiman would give his share of characters Angela, Medieval Spawn and Cogliostro to McFarlane in exchange for McFarlane's share of British superhero Marvelman (in reality, what McFarlane owned were two trademarks for Miracleman logos, not the character, which would become clear only after the lawsuit concluded). This deal was broken by McFarlane, which motivated Gaiman to start the lawsuit. The jury was unanimous in favor of Gaiman. The two were involved in a lengthy dispute over ownership of Miracleman, but no lawsuit has been filed in that dispute. In 2009, Marvel Comics resolved the matter by purchasing the property. The creators settled their dispute over the Spawn characters in January 2012. The exact terms of the settlement were not disclosed, though Gaiman retained ownership of Angela, as she became a character in the Marvel Universe when Gaiman began doing work for Marvel in 2013. Bleeding Cool later confirmed that Marvel Comics had completely bought the rights to Angela from Gaiman.
Another suit in which McFarlane became embroiled was a December 2004 suit in which hockey player Tony Twist sued McFarlane because he named a mobster character in Spawn after Twist. After a jury initially found McFarlane liable for $24.5 million in damages (reduced to $15 million on appeal), the lawsuit was later settled out of court for $5 million.
In 2012, McFarlane sued his former friend and employee, Al Simmons, from whom the name of Spawn's alter ego was derived. According to a lawsuit lodged in Arizona federal court, the real Al Simmons published a book called The Art of Being Spawn, in which Simmons purportedly suggests that his own life was the inspiration for the Spawn character. McFarlane's position was that Simmons violated the terms of his employment pact and breached his duty of loyalty. The lawsuit was settled in December 2012 when McFarlane agreed with Simmons. The terms of any settlement were not made public.
Awards and recognition
McFarlane's has won numerous awards, including:
- 1992 National Cartoonists Society Award for Best Comic Book
- 1992 Inkpot Award
- 2000 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video for "Freak on a Leash"
- National Football League's 2005 Artist of the Year Award, for his work on program covers for the Baltimore Ravens
- Induction into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame, on June 18, 2011, at the Joe Shuster Awards in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- In 2013 McFarlane was invited to deliver the keynote speech at one of two graduation ceremonies at his alma mater, Eastern Washington University.
Personal life
McFarlane and his wife Wanda married in 1985. They stayed in Spokane, Washington until 1986, when they moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. They later moved to Portland, Oregon, and then to the Ahwatukee Foothills of Phoenix, Arizona, where they continue to live as of 2007. There, they raised their three children: Cyan, Kate, and Jake. Cyan's love of the TV series Lost inspired her father's decision to produce action figures based on that show, while Kate voiced the young Cyan in the animated Spawn TV series. McFarlane's offices are located near Phoenix. In Spawn, the characters Wanda Blake and Cyan Fitzgerald were named after McFarlane's own wife and daughter respectively.
McFarlane stated in a 1992 interview that he was an atheist. He does not consume alcohol, coffee, or tea.
Bibliography
Awesome Comics
Cover art
- Prophet #1 (Vol. 3) (Variant) (2000)
DC Comics
- All-Star Squadron #47 (with Mike Clark) (1985)
- Detective Comics #576–578 ("Batman: Year Two") (1987)
- Infinity, Inc #14–37 (full art); Annual #1–2 (among other artists) (1985–1987)
- Invasion!, miniseries, #1–2 (1989)
- Sandman (1989 2nd Series) #50 (pin-up)
- Superman Special #1 (one-page pin-up) (1992)
Cover art
Disney
Cover Art
- Prince of Persia Before the Sandstorm #1 GN (2010)
Image Comics
Art
- Cyberforce #8 (1994)
- Haunt #1–18 (inks only) (2009–2011)
- Image Comics Summer Special #1 (2004)
- Image Comics Hardcover (Spawn story) (2005)
- Image United #1–3 (2009–2010)
- Spawn #1–15, 21–24 (full art); #26–34, 50 (along with Greg Capullo) (1992–1995); #190, 200 (among other artists) (2010)
- Spawn/Batman (1994)
Cover art
- Badrock (1995) #1A (inks only)
- Batman/Spawn (2022)
- Black Flag Preview Edition #1 (1994) (inks only)
- Cyber Force #8 (1994)
- Reborn #1H (2016)
- The Crow #1B (2013)
- The Darkness #100B (2012)
- The Infinite #1D, 2E (2011) (inks only)
- Walking Dead #100D (2003)
Writing
- Batman/Spawn (2022)
- Sam and Twitch #21-16 (2001-2004)
- Savior #1–8 (2015)
- Spawn #1–7, 12–15, 21–150 (1992–2005); 185–current (2008–present)
- Spawn Kills Everyone #1 (2016)
- Spawn Kills Everyone Too #1–4 (2018–2019)
- Gunslinger Spawn #1–current (2021–present)
Marvel
Art
- The Amazing Spider-Man #298–323, 325, 328 (1988–1990)
- Coyote #11–14 (1985)
- Daredevil #241 (1987)
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #60 (1987)
- G.I. Joe Special #1 (1995)
- Incredible Hulk #330–334, 336–346 (1987–1988)
- Marvel Holiday Special (Spider-Man) 2004
- Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #10 (1990)
- Spider-Man #1–14, 16 (1990–1991)
- Spitfire and the Troubleshooters #4 (1987)
- What The--?! #3 (1988)
Cover art
- The Amazing Spider-Man #324 (1989)
- Amazing Spider-Man: Skating on Thin Ice #1 (1993)
- Conan the Barbarian #241 (1991)
- Marvel Comics Presents #32 (1988)
- Marvel Age #90 (1990)
- Marvel Tales #223–239 (1989–1990)
- New Mutants #85–89, 93 (1990) (inks only)
- Quasar #14 (1990)
- Return of Wolverine (2018 Marvel) #1I, 1J
- The Olympians #1 (1991) (Epic; cover only)
- X-Factor #50 (1990) (cover only)
- X-Force #1E (2019)
Writing
- Spider-Man #1–14, 16 (1990–1991)
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- Inkpot Award
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Why am I competitive? I don't know. And then I think it got sort of..."honed"....very, very good. Because I had a brother a year younger and a brother a year older.
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Todd McFarlane was at the top of his game as an artist, and with Marvel's release of this new Spidey series he also got the chance to take on the writing duties. The sales of this series were underwhelming, with approx. 2.5 million copies eventually printing, including special bagged editions and a number of variant covers.
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Marvel knew a good thing when they saw it, and the adjectiveless Spider-Man received Marvel's most aggressive launch in company history...the initial press run was 2.35 million, and 500,000 additional copies were printed to meet demand.
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External links
- Official website
- Todd McFarlane at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Todd McFarlane at IMDb
- McFarlane, Todd (July 26, 2002). "TONY TWIST APPEAL DENIED: Missouri Court Upholds 2000 Ruling". Spawn.com. Archived at the Internet Archive.
- "Tony Twist wins battle over name: Judge orders comic artist pay $15 million". Associated Press. July 11, 2004. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009 – via Columbia Daily Tribune.
Preceded byDon Newton | Infinity, Inc. artist 1985–1987 |
Succeeded byVince Argondezzi |
Preceded byAl Milgrom | The Incredible Hulk artist 1987–1988 |
Succeeded byJeff Purves |
Preceded byAlex Saviuk | The Amazing Spider-Man artist 1988–1990 |
Succeeded byErik Larsen |
Preceded byN/A | Spider-Man writer/artist 1990–1991 |
Succeeded byErik Larsen |
Preceded byN/A | Spawn artist 1992–1995 |
Succeeded byGreg Capullo |
Preceded byN/A | Spawn writer 1992–2005, 2008– |
Succeeded byDavid Hine |
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- Todd McFarlane
- 1961 births
- Living people
- 20th-century Canadian artists
- 20th-century Canadian businesspeople
- 20th-century Canadian novelists
- 21st-century Canadian artists
- 21st-century Canadian businesspeople
- 21st-century Canadian novelists
- Artists from Calgary
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- Eastern Washington University alumni
- Edmonton Oilers executives
- Grammy Award winners
- Image Comics
- Inkpot Award winners
- Marvel Comics people
- Primetime Emmy Award winners
- Spawn (comics)
- Toy designers
- Writers from Calgary