Today, Image
Comics' President
Todd McFarlane
announced his bold
attempt at creating
his own
multi-character,
interconnected
comic book
universe. His
stated goal is to
establish a shared
fictional universe
over time in the
vein of what the
other comic
industry giants,
Marvel, and DC
Comics, have
accomplished with
their comic book
universes.
The announcement
was given by
McFarlane during a
first look
presentation at the
Direct Market
Retailers at the
Annual ComicsPRO
Conference.
The character
Spawn, created by
McFarlane, will be
at the forefront of
the initial launch
of new titles, but
the long-term goal
is that Spawn will
become but one of
many characters
that will succeed
not only in the
comics industry but
in many mediums
across the globe.
McFarlane will
capitalize on the
twenty-eight-year
success story of
Spawn, which has
seen sales increase
between 150 to 600%
from pre-pandemic
orders. The Spawn
title currently is
a top 5 monthly
selling title on
the Diamond
Distributors Top
100 Chart.
Recently, a new
release of a Spawn
figure on
Kickstarter set a
new Kickstarter
record, in its
category, for
raising just under
$3.5 million in 30
days. That figure
was also recently
awarded the
prestigious
People's Choice
2021 Toy of The
Year (TOTY) by The
Toy Association,
Inc.
As part of his
announcement,
McFarlane announced
four new titles
coming out in 2021,
with three of them
continuing as
regular monthly
titles, meaning
that there will be
an opportunity for
fans of the Spawn
character and his
new expanding world
to get their
stories from it on
a weekly basis
instead of just
twelve times a
year.
"The simple
question is this:
DC Comics started a
shared universe in
the late 1930s.
Marvel Comics began
theirs in the early
1960s… so, can
lightning strike a
third time
beginning in 2021?
I personally do not
have the answer to
that question right
now, but the only
way to get an
answer to that
question is to make
the attempt in the
first place, "said
McFarlane, Image
president, and
Spawn Creator.
"This is a
long-intended plan
that will need the
help of dozens and
dozens of creators
to help create
hundreds and
hundreds of
characters. And
then to reward
those creators if
any of their ideas
pay off in a big
way outside of the
comic industry. The
quest isn't to have
our ideas
exclusively live in
the comic book
industry but to
have merit and
value outside of
that industry as
well. My character
Spawn has been an
example of what can
happen with
creation… so, what
are the
possibilities if
hundreds of
creations are
brought together?
Marvel and DC
Comics have shown
us that a
collective group of
characters,
together, in a
shared universe can
resonate globally.
I think it is time
for David to
attempt to join the
same arena as the
Goliaths of the
world."
In June, in what
McFarlane is
calling "2021 the
Year of Spawn,"
comic retailers
will be able to
order
SPAWN'S UNIVERSE #1
.
This will be a book
that will set the
stage with a story
that will then
spill out into the
other new monthly
titles. The first
title will release
in August with a
book called
KING SPAWN #1
.
The character Spawn
will now join the
rare company of
stalwart
characters, like
Superman, Batman,
and Spider-Man,
that will have
multiple monthly
books for the same
title character. It
will also mark the
first time in
twenty-eight years
that anyone can buy
a monthly issue #1
Spawn book. It
gives McFarlane
hope of reaching a
new generation of
readers that missed
out on the initial
launch of the Spawn
back in 1992.
In October comes
the second new
monthly called
GUNSLINGER SPAWN
.
This title
character has been
a huge hit among
the fanbase over
the past year, and
each of his
appearances has
garnered enthusiasm
at the stores and
online.
Finally, there will
be a new #1 team
book, which will
band five
characters together
to fight against
forces too big for
any of them to take
on alone. That book
is titled
THE SCORCHED
. Spawn, Redeemer,
Gunslinger,
Medieval Spawn, and
She-Spawn begins
the group's
adventures.
However, McFarlane
promises a rotating
cast of heroes over
the coming months
to keep the roster
of heroes fresh. He
also said that he
would be bringing
in new major
villains into the
fold, too.
|
|
|
|
SPAWN
300 Cover Jerome
Opena
|
|
To lend a creative
hand on some of
this expanding list
of titles,
McFarlane has
recruited an
all-star list of
comic book creators
such as Art Adams,
Jason Shawn
Alexander, Carlo
Barberi, Brett
Booth, J. Scott
Campbell, Greg
Capullo, Donny
Cates, Jim Cheung,
Mike del Mundo,
Javier Fernandez,
David Finch,
Jonathan Glapion,
Kevin Keane, Aleš
Kot, Puppeteer Lee,
Sean Lewis, Sean
Gordon Murphy, Ben
Oliver, Stephen
Segovia, Paulo
Siqueira, Marc
Silvestri, Marcio
Takara, and Frank
Quitely, as well as
others he will be
announcing in the
coming months.
All of this just
continued to build
on the mythology of
Spawn and his
world. The original SPAWN book
is one of the
world's bestselling
and longest-running
comics, with over
100 million copies
sold in more than
120 countries.
In 2019, McFarlane
made history with
the release of the
historic SPAWN #300
and record-breaking SPAWN #301
. These milestones
have earned
McFarlane the
Guinness World
Records title for
the world's
longest-running
creator-owned comic
book series. SPAWN #300
became the 2nd
highest-selling
comic title and was
also the only
character to place
two of its issues
in the Top 11 for
highest-selling
issues for that
year.
A new movie of
SPAWN is currently
in development with
BlumHouse Studios,
Jamie Foxx, and
Jeremy Renner, all
attached to the
project as
McFarlane will be
making his
directorial debut
on the film when it
goes into
production.
|
|
|
|
SPAWN’S UNIVERSE
Interior pages by
Jim Cheung Artist
and FCO Plascencia
on Colors
|
|
|
|
|
