Amazing Spider-Man to Spawn 1

Last updated on May 13th, 2025 at 07:57 pm

Amazing Spider-Man To Spawn

This Amazing Spider-Man To Spawn 1 article is a brief summary of Todd McFarlane's artistic journey in the world of comic books from Spider-Man to Spawn.

Pre Spider-Man to Spawn

As a hobby, McFarlane began drawing when he was a child. He was heavily influenced by the artwork in comic books, especially with those published by Marvel and DC.

By copying the characters in the comic books, he learned how to draw parts of the character's anatomy, their poses, and their different costume styles.

McFarlane never received formal art training. He developed his skills through constant practice and studying the work of artists he admired, like John Byrne and George Pérez.

In 1981, he attended Eastern Washington University to study graphics and art while also working at a comic book store which helped pay for his education.

Halfway through college, he submitted over 700 sample art packets to various comic book publishers. He was finally hired by Epic Comics to work on a backup story in Coyote #11.

Unfortunately, after 16 issues, Coyote was cancelled. Luckily, from 1985 to 1987, McFarlane was hired by both DC and Marvel for some small assignments on:

• Detective Comics
• Batman: Year Two
• Infinity

Path From Spider-Man to Spawn

In 1987, after he illustrated the last three issues of Detective Comics' four-issue "Batman: Year Two" storyline, he drew for Marvel's "Incredible Hulk" until 1988.

Then in 1988, McFarlane's big break came when he worked on issue 298 of Marvel's "The Amazing Spider-Man". His dynamic style quickly made him a fan favorite including the way he:

• Enlarged the eyes on Spider-Man's mask
• Depicted Spider-Man's aerial web-swinging

But is was the elaborate detail of Spider-Man's webbing (which the industry referred to as "spaghetti-webbing") which really got McFarlane noticed.

Because of his innovative designs, Marvel gave him a shot at the cover art for issue 313 of The Amazing Spider-Man. It was so well received, McFarlane became a high-profile artist.

Then 15 issues later, frustrated with creative limitations, he told Marvel that he wanted more control over his creative work as well as over the storyline.

So in 1990, Marvel gave him his own title, Spider-Man, for which McFarlane could both draw and write. It debuted to record-breaking sales.

Although the comic book was initially a success, because its storylines were controversial, McFarlane's run with Marvel ended in November of 1991.

After leaving Marvel, McFarlane and six other artists co-founded Image Comics in 1992 which enabled him the creative freedom to bring to life the character he envisioned as a teenager.

As a teenager, McFarlane was inspired by darker comic book themes so the character he imagined was a superhero mixed with horror, supernatural, and antihero elements.

The character he imagined was named "Spawn". While working as a comic book artist from Spider-Man to Spawn, McFarlane was constantly perfecting his character in the background.

Spawn's backstory and visual style (including the dark costume, cape, and chains) evolved over the years as McFarlane matured as an artist and storyteller.

QUICK NOTE ABOUT "SPAWN"

Spawn had an alter-ego who was a national security assassin for the USA named Albert Simmons who dies, goes to hell for crimes against humanity, makes a deal with the supervillain Malebolgia to return to earth, is given new life as hellspawn, is caught between both worlds, and with newfound powers becomes an antihero.

Spider-Man to Spawn Success

McFarlane's journey working as a artist in the comic book world for four years from Spider-Man to Spawn gave him experience and notoriety which contributed to his success.

The release of the Spawn comic book in May of 1992 was explosive. Issue #1 with its cutting-edge artwork sold over 1,700,000 copies in its first year.

Lasting 27 years, Spawn was number one in industry-wide sales 4 years in a row making it one of the highest-selling and longest-running independent comics of all time.

Also, Image Comics was built on the revolutionary idea that the creators would own their characters instead of the comic book publisher owning the characters.

Therefore, McFarlane's Image Comics Spawn comic book series is also one of the most successful creator-owned comics in history.

Spawn did so well that Mattel joined forces with McFarlane to create a unique, officially licensed, Hot Wheels diecast 1:64 scale Al Simmons funny car.

They called it the "Spawn Mobile" and it was released with issue #2 of the Spawn comic book. Check out the Spawn Mobile for sale in our collectibles store.

This concludes our summary of Todd McFarlane's journey from Spider-Man to Spawn. We hope you enjoyed reading this "Amazing Spider-Man to Spawn" article. Check out more content from our store: