Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane is a prominent Canadian comic book artist, writer, and entrepreneur, born on March 16, 1961, in Calgary, Alberta. Growing up in Southern California and later returning to Canada, McFarlane developed a passion for drawing comic book characters in high school. After a brief career in baseball was cut short by an injury, he pursued his artistic ambitions, eventually landing a significant role with Marvel Comics, where he gained fame for his work on "Spider-Man," notably introducing the character Venom.
In 1991, he co-founded Image Comics, launching the highly successful "Spawn" series, which became the best-selling independent comic book at that time. McFarlane's influence extended beyond comics; he established a toy company, produced animation for films, and directed music videos, winning awards in the process. He has continued to expand his projects, with upcoming adaptations of "Spawn" in film and television, as well as new comic book ventures. McFarlane's work has made a lasting impact on the comic book industry, and he remains an influential figure in popular culture.
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Todd McFarlane
- Born: March 16, 1961
- Place of Birth: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Biography
Todd McFarlane was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on March 16, 1961. His childhood was spent in Southern California, but he moved back to Canada when he was fourteen. He began drawing comic book characters when he was still in high school. He returned to the United States to attend Spokane Falls Community College in 1979 and then went to Eastern Washington State University on a baseball scholarship. He supplemented the scholarship by working as a janitor and a clerk in comic book store.
One summer, a scout for the Seattle Mariners baseball team arranged for him to play on a semiprofessional team in Kamloops, British Columbia, but he broke his ankle and lost his opportunity to play in the Major Leagues. It was in Kamloops that he met Al Simmons, whose name McFarlane would later use for the protagonist of the Spawn series. After graduating in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in general studies, with an emphasis on graphics arts and communication, he received seven hundred rejection letters before getting an assignment from Marvel Comics to draw a backup story. This led to more assignments, and he eventually became a top comic book artist, drawing the Incredible Hulk for Marvel and Batman for DC Comics, among others.
In 1985, he married his high school sweetheart Wanda, whose name he would use for the main female character in Spawn, and moved to a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia. The couple eventually had three children and moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1990. Also in 1990, Marvel gave McFarlane the responsibility of writing, penciling, and inking a new Spiderman title. Normally, these duties are divided among at least three people. McFarlane was the first to draw the full appearance of Venom, a supervillain featured in the comic. His work on Spiderman led to widespread recognition and financial success.
He left Marvel in 1991 and cofounded Image Comics, where he started writing and drawing the Spawn series in 1992. He had originally created the concept when he was in high school and never sold the copyright. Spawn became the best-selling independent comic book series to that time. Both a live-action film adaptation and an animated television series of Spawn appeared in 1997; the television series won an Emmy and the DVD of the film won a Gold DiVi award. In 1993, Hero Illustrated named McFarlane the Most Important Person in Comics. Image Comics surpassed DC Comics in sales in 1995, making it the number two comic book publisher after Marvel.
McFarlane continued to be prolific throughout the 2000s, expanding his business into buying and selling sports teams and collectibles. In 2004, McFarlane created a toy company to merchandise action figures. In 2006, he was hired as the art director of the gaming company 38 Studios, which went bankrupt in 2012.
Branching out into other media, McFarlane produced the animation sequences for the film The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, and he directed music videos and wrote video games. He won both a Grammy and an MTV Video Award for directing Korn’s Freak on a Leash music video and was nominated for another Grammy for the animation in Pearl Jam’s Do the Evolution music video.
In 2017, McFarlane announced that Spawn would be made into a darkly realistic feature-length film that he would write and direct for a 2018 release. After several delays, work on the film finally began with McFarlane serving as executive producer, but not directing or writing the screenplay. By mid-2024, the film with the title King Spawn was cast with Jamie Foxx in the title role and scheduled for a 2025 release. In interviews, McFarlane noted that the success of the 2024 release Deadpool vs. Wolverine indicated that there is a strong market for R-rated comic book movies, and that this format was necessary for projects like King Spawn.
In the meantime, McFarlane's characters appeared in several shorts and in video games, including Marvels Midnight Suns and Spider-Man 2. McFarlane was also working on a television series, Sam & Twitch, based on the two detectives from the Spawn universe. McFarlane also launched a new project, a comic book entitled "Knights vs. Samurai," on which he is collaborating with David Dastmalchian
Bibliography
Couch, Aaron. "‘Spawn’ Movie on the Hunt for a Director." Hollywood Reporter, 25 July 2024, www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/spawn-movie-director-todd-mcfarlane-1235958221/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Dietsch, TJ. "Interview: Todd McFarlane on David Bowie, Spawn and Steven Universe." CBR.com, 22 Feb. 2017, www.cbr.com/new-york-toy-fair-2017-todd-mcfarlane-interview/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Evans, Greg. "Todd McFarlane Confirms February Start for 'Dark, R-Rated' Spawn; Pledges Daily Facebook Updates–Comic Con." Deadline Hollywood, 5 Oct. 2017, www.deadline.com/2017/10/todd-mcfarlane-february-production-spawn-pledges-facebook-updates-1202182430/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Hall, Ben. "Spawn." Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: Heroes & Superheroes, May 2013, pp. 554–8, Literary Reference Center Plus, www. search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=88158757&site=lrc-plus. Accessed 28 Dec. 2017. (((((I couldn't access this to check it--JU)))))
Jackson, Angelique. "‘King Spawn’ Creator Todd McFarlane is Searching for a Director for Reboot, Says Hollywood Will Make More R-Rated Comic Book Movies Thanks to ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ ‘Joker 2’." Variety, 25 July 2024, variety.com/2024/film/news/king-spawn-direc-todd-mcfarlane-comic-con-1236084949/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Tempe, Arizona. "Todd McFarlane Productions."Publisher's Weekly, 6 Jan. 2003 Supplement, vol. 250, no. 1, p. S4, Literary Reference Center Plus, www./search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=8902771&site=lrc-plus. Accessed 28 Dec. 2017.(((((I couldn't access this to check it--JU)))))
"Todd McFarlane." Official Website of Todd McFarlane. https://mcfarlane.com/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.