Todd McFarlane facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Todd McFarlane |
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McFarlane at the 2017 New York Comic Con
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| Born | March 16, 1961 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Area(s) | Writer, Penciller, Inker, Publisher |
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Notable works
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| Spouse(s) |
Wanda Kolomyjec
(m. 1985) |
| Children | 3 |
Todd McFarlane (born March 16, 1961) is a famous Canadian comic book creator. He is best known for his art on The Amazing Spider-Man. He also created, wrote, and drew the superhero horror-fantasy series Spawn. Todd McFarlane is also the current President and a co-founder of Image Comics.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McFarlane became a huge comic-book star. This was because of his popular work on Marvel Comics' Spider-Man comics. He was the first artist to fully draw the character Venom. In 1992, he helped start Image Comics. He took his character Spawn from his high school drawings and updated him. The first issue of Spawn sold 1.7 million copies. This was a record for an independent comic book at the time. The character's popularity also helped make "creator-owned" comics more common. This means the creators own their characters, not the big companies.
After drawing less for Spawn in 1998, McFarlane focused on other businesses. These include McFarlane Toys and Todd McFarlane Entertainment. This company makes films and animated shows. In 2006, he became the Art Director for 38 Studios. This gaming company was started by baseball player Curt Schilling. McFarlane used to be a part-owner of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. He is also a big collector of record-breaking baseballs. As a filmmaker, he produced the 1997 movie Spawn. He will direct the new King Spawn movie in 2025.
Contents
Early Life and Dreams
Todd McFarlane was born on March 16, 1961, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His parents were Bob and Sherlee McFarlane. He was the second of three sons. His father worked in printing, so the family moved a lot. They lived in about thirty different places.
Todd started drawing as a hobby when he was young. He loved comics and learned to draw by copying them. He admired artists like John Byrne and Jack Kirby. When he was 16, he created the character Spawn. He spent a lot of time making Spawn's look perfect.
In high school, Todd met Wanda. They started dating, even though Wanda's father was not happy at first. After high school, Todd tried out for baseball at Gonzaga University. He was a good fielder but not a strong hitter. He then went to Spokane Falls Community College and later Eastern Washington University (EWU) on a baseball scholarship. He studied art and graphics. His dream was to be a comic book creator. He worked part-time jobs to pay for school.
In his junior year, Todd hurt his ankle badly during a baseball game. This injury ended his dream of playing professional baseball. He then focused completely on drawing. He worked at a comic book store to pay for his education. In 1984, he graduated from EWU.
Starting His Comic Career
First Steps in Comics
While still in college, McFarlane sent many drawings to comic editors. Most of them were rejected. But some editors gave him helpful advice. One editor, Sal Amendola from DC Comics, told him to focus on telling stories page-by-page. This led McFarlane to create a five-page story. This story helped him get his first comic job in 1984. It was a backup story in a comic called Coyote.
Soon, McFarlane began drawing for both DC and Marvel Comics. His first big project was drawing Infinity, Inc. for DC from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, he drew the last three issues of DC's "Batman: Year Two" story. After that, he moved to Marvel to draw Incredible Hulk from 1987 to 1988.
Drawing The Amazing Spider-Man
In 1988, McFarlane started working on Marvel's The Amazing Spider-Man. He began with issue 298. People noticed his new, exciting way of drawing Spider-Man. He made Spider-Man's web-swinging look more dynamic. He also made the eyes on Spider-Man's mask bigger. McFarlane added a lot of detail to his art. He drew Spider-Man's webs with many individual strands, which fans called "spaghetti webbing."
McFarlane also drew the first full appearance of Eddie Brock, who became the villain Venom. McFarlane is known as a co-creator of Venom. His work on Amazing Spider-Man made him a huge star in the comic world. For example, a cover he drew in 1989 for $700 later sold for $71,200 in 2010. Some critics felt his detailed style was sometimes too busy.
During his time on The Amazing Spider-Man, McFarlane wanted more control over the stories. He started missing deadlines. In 1990, after drawing 28 issues, McFarlane decided to leave the comic. He wanted to write his own stories. The original art for the cover of Amazing Spider-Man No. 328 sold for a record $657,250 in 2012. This was the highest price ever for American comic book art.
Creating a New Spider-Man Comic
To keep McFarlane happy, Marvel gave him a new Spider-Man comic. He would both write and draw it. The first issue of Spider-Man (August 1990) sold 2.5 million copies. This was partly because Marvel released many different covers for it. This encouraged collectors to buy more than one copy. McFarlane wrote and drew 15 of the first 16 issues. Many of these issues featured other popular Marvel characters like Wolverine.
Even though he was a great artist, some people found McFarlane's writing difficult. Editors also had problems with the dark tone of his stories. They saw Spider-Man as a light-hearted character for young readers. McFarlane and the editors often disagreed. This led to more missed deadlines. His last issue was #16 (November 1991). He left Marvel because he was tired of editors changing his work.
Founding Image Comics
McFarlane then joined six other popular artists to create Image Comics. This was a new company where each artist owned their own publishing studio. McFarlane's studio, Todd McFarlane Productions, published his own creation, Spawn. It was Image's second comic book release. When Spawn #1 came out in May 1992, it sold 1.7 million copies. This was a record for an independent comic book.
To improve the writing, McFarlane hired famous writers like Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman to write some issues. Later, Greg Capullo became the main artist, with McFarlane still writing and inking. Spawn continued to be very popular. In 1993, Wizard magazine called Spawn "the best-selling comic on a consistent basis." Spawn is one of only two Image comics from its start in 1992 that is still being published today.
In the early years, Image Comics faced criticism for late books and focusing more on art than writing. McFarlane defended Image Comics in a public debate in 1993. In 1994, McFarlane and DC Comics worked together on a crossover. They made two comics featuring Batman and Spawn. One was Batman-Spawn: War Devil and the other was Spawn/Batman, drawn by McFarlane.
After 1994, McFarlane drew and wrote Spawn less often. He hired other writers and artists. He would sometimes return to draw issues or ink covers. In 2006, McFarlane announced plans for another Spawn/Batman comic. He also started publishing collections of his Spawn comics.
In 2019, McFarlane wrote and drew Spawn #301. This made Spawn the longest-running comic series owned by its creator. This earned McFarlane a place in the Guinness World Records. In 2022, it was announced that McFarlane would write a new Batman/Spawn crossover comic.
Todd McFarlane Entertainment
Todd McFarlane Productions also published many Spawn spin-off comics. McFarlane started focusing more on other projects. In 1994, he created a toy company called Todd Toys. It made action figures of Spawn characters. The company sold over 2.2 million figures in three months. After a legal issue with Mattel, McFarlane changed the company name to McFarlane Toys. The company quickly started making figures of other popular characters. These included members of the band Kiss, characters from Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies, and sports figures. By 1999, the company sold over 6 million action figures.
Todd McFarlane also created album art for bands like Iced Earth and Korn. In 1997, McFarlane started Todd McFarlane Entertainment. This company makes films and animated shows. It produced the 1997 Spawn movie. The movie earned a good amount of money. Todd McFarlane Entertainment also made the animated TV series Todd McFarlane's Spawn for HBO. This animated series won an Primetime Emmy Award in 1998.
The studio also made music videos and other animations, including:
- 1998: "Do the Evolution" by Pearl Jam.
- 1999: "Freak on a Leash" by KoЯn. This video won a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.
- 2002: Animated parts for the movie The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys.
- 2002: "Breath" music video for Swollen Members.
- 2006: "Land of Confusion" music video by Disturbed.
- 2022: "Patient Number 9" by Ozzy Osbourne.
In 2011, McFarlane and Stan Lee released a new comic called Blood Red Dragon. It was a collaboration with musician Yoshiki. McFarlane also worked as an artist for the video game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, released in 2012.
In 2017, it was announced that McFarlane would direct a new King Spawn movie. Jamie Foxx is set to star in it. In 2021, McFarlane started McFarlane Films to develop TV shows. These include a Spawn spin-off called Sam & Twitch.
Sports Interests
McFarlane loves baseball. In 1998, he paid $2.6 million for the baseball that Mark McGwire hit for his 70th home run. He also bought Sammy Sosa's 66th home run ball for $175,000. In 2003, he paid about $517,500 for Barry Bonds' 73rd home run ball.
McFarlane used to be a part-owner of the Edmonton Oilers hockey team. He also designed the logo for the team's alternate jersey, which was used from 2001 to 2007. The Oilers brought back his design in 2022.
Other Media Projects
Video Games
Spawn appears as a guest character in the video games Mortal Kombat 11 and Soulcalibur II. McFarlane also designed a unique character named Necrid for Soulcalibur II.
A PlayStation 2 game called McFarlane's Evil Prophecy was released in 2004. In this game, players fight creatures based on McFarlane's action figures. These include classic movie monsters like Frankenstein's monster and Dracula.
In 2005, McFarlane announced plans for a TV series called Twisted Tales. It was based on a comic book. For the video game Halo 3, McFarlane designed a series of action figures.
In 2011, McFarlane worked as an artist for the game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. He helped with art and storyboards.
Media About McFarlane
Stan Lee interviewed McFarlane in a 1991 documentary series called The Comic Book Greats. In 2000, a documentary about McFarlane called Devil You Know: Inside the Mind of Todd McFarlane was released. It showed his life and work.
In a 2011 episode of the TV show Pawn Stars, someone tried to sell McFarlane's original artwork for a Spider-Man comic page. The seller wanted $20,000, but the pawn shop only offered $1,000 because there was no proof the art was real.
Awards and Achievements
McFarlane has won many awards for his work, 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
- Induction into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame in 2011
- In 2013, he gave a speech at his old university, Eastern Washington University.
Personal Life
Todd McFarlane and his wife Wanda got married in 1985. They lived in different cities before settling in Phoenix, Arizona. They have three children: Cyan, Kate, and Jake. Cyan's love for the TV show Lost inspired her father to make action figures based on the show. Kate voiced the young Cyan in the animated Spawn TV series. In the Spawn comics, the characters Wanda Blake and Cyan Fitzgerald are named after McFarlane's wife and daughter.
Images for kids
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McFarlane at the 2017 New York Comic Con
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Prototype version of the character Spawn, which McFarlane drew in his teens
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McFarlane's cover for DC's Batman No. 423 (Sept 1988)
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McFarlane's cover for Marvel's Spider-Man No. 1 (August 1990)
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The cover of Spawn #1 (1992)
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McFarlane speaking at the Phoenix Comicon in Phoenix, Arizona
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McFarlane at the Image Comics booth at the 2011 New York Comic Con
See also
In Spanish: Todd McFarlane para niños
