Spawn: Your creator is still with you.
October 19, 2007Todd McFarlane is a genius. No, not in the writer sense; but in the artist, the creator, the visionary sense.
About a week ago I headed towards a local comic store (Anime Hurricane which carries a great comic selection along with some assorted weeaboo stuff) to pick up a copy of Omega: The Unknown #1. I had missed out on it the previous week and asked them to order it for me. They told me I had to wait another week which was fine with me. I Got my weekly purchases and chatted it up with other customers. I got into a conversation with one of them about Spawn.
Besides obviously mentioning Alan Moore’s AMAZING Spawn #8 (pick it up, very easy to find), we talked about the very best of the series and how McFarlane had influenced comics since his debut. He recommended Spawn #10 to me. I didn’t pick it up that week since I needed the cash I had left, but I did yesterday. It is one of the best issues of any series I’ve ever read. For those that don’t know, Spawn #10 was written by Cerebus creator Dave Sim, who collaborated on the issue with Todd McFarlane. Basically, all you need to know is that Cerebus shows up (anything else would ruin the issue for you) but there is one line in it that spoke to me.
“Your creator is still with you. He didn’t sell you.”
It’s true isn’t it? McFarlane may not be the best writer out there, but he is definitely devoted to his creation.
Essentially, what I mean is well; look at Stan Lee. He’s known for numerous creations. He would eventually leave these creations. Stop supporting them. Stop promoting them. You get the idea.
McFarlane’s only true character completely from his mind is Spawn. I’m not mentioning other characters from the series because we all know Spawn is the star of the show. And although Todd may not be writing or drawing it anymore, he still does all he can to promote his creation: His company logo is from Spawn, he oversees every issue before it is released, he hires the best writers and artists to work on his creation. I respect that.
I myself am not the biggest Spawn fan. I loved the first 40-something issues, after that, not so much, however I have always respected McFarlane’s conviction to his creation.
Today, Spawn is doing great. Written by David Hine and pencilled by Brian Haberlin, it’s going in a great new direction and I recommend it to anyone.
Spawn has always been promising, even if it has had it’s bumpy moments. Regardless, I’ll continue to follow the best of it. I suggest you do as well.
I have a theory that Alan Moore can revive any “over the top” comic series, given that he can reboot continuity and work with what he has.
I mean, look what he did with Supreme, Youngblood, and WildC.A.T.S
Nice article, I’ve never really like Mcfarlane or Spawn, but I may try reading a few of the issues now.
Spawn #10 is actually a highly ironic issue. Written as a pro-creator/anti-company diatribe, Sim and McFarlane wanted to send a message out about creator-owned characters, like Cerebus and Spawn, still being commercially viable. Years later, McFarlane would become entangled with Neil Gaiman over creator rights, as Gaiman’s claim ownership of Angela, Cogliostro, and Medieval Spawn and later the Miracleman properties resulted in several court cases. The icing on the cake? Angela, Cogliostro, and Medieval Spawn were all introduced just one issue earlier.
At least some good came out of Gaiman and McFarlane’s sparring: Marvel’s 1602 series was created to help fund Marvels and Miracles LLC, Gaiman’s company that helped defray his court fees. There’s still rumors swirling about that Marvel would get the reprint rights to Miracleman, should Gaiman win the rights.