Straight from spawn.com

Catch Up on Current Spawn Story with New Releases
April 30, 2010
Copyright 2010 TMP International, Inc. Todd McFarlane Productions is proud to release the conclusion of the Spawn: Endgame story arc in trade paperback format.

Spawn: Endgame Volume 2 features the monumental story arc that rocked the Spawn universe to its core. Helmed by award-winning Spawn creator, Todd McFarlane, and joined by all-star artists Whilce Portacio (WetWorks, Batman Confidential) and Greg Capullo (Spawn, The Creech, Haunt), this milestone in the Spawn saga re-imagines the classic character as only Spawn’s creator Todd McFarlane can.

Al Simmons’ death raised more questions than it answered — especially for Jim Downing. After a long journey searching for an explanation to his extraordinary powers, Jim learns he is a true Spawn. With no recollection of his life prior to his coma, Jim is challenged with filling in the gaps to his jumbled past. While answers don’t come easy, they DO come in this revelatory collection.

>> SPAWN: ENDGAME VOLUME 2 COVER ART

Exclusive bonus content includes color and black and white cover galleries, and behind-the-scenes art. This trade paperback has also been re-mastered to include additional story elements never-before seen in the original printing.

Spawn: Endgame Volume 2 is currently available for $14.99 at bookstores and comic shops everywhere. To find a comic shop near you, simply call 1-888-COMIC-BOOK or check online at www.comicshoplocator.com.

Straight from spawn.com

‘SPAWN: ORIGINS’ BOOK 1 IN STORES MARCH 17
New Oversized Hardcover Collection Reprints Spawn 1-12
March 12, 2010
Copyright 2010 TMP International, Inc.

Todd McFarlane Productions is proud to announce the latest addition to our growing Spawn: Origins family of books — Spawn: Origins, Book 1. This oversized, hardbound volume reprints the first 12 previously released, sold-out issues of Spawn — each and every issue in its entirety.

That includes — for the first time ever — issue 10 written by Dave Sim, with a special foreword to issue 10 by Dave Sim himself. Also collected in this volume is the seldom reprinted issue 9, penned by Neil Gaiman. Other exclusive bonus content includes a black/white and color cover gallery, behind-the-scenes art including all the bonus material from the 6-issue TPB volumes and a special wraparound cover painted by master Spawn artist, Greg Capullo.

Join Spawn where it all began. Featuring the stories and artwork that laid the groundwork for the most successful independent comic book ever published, Spawn: Origins, Book 1 includes the introduction not only of Spawn, but also a number of other memorable and menacing characters that helped create the Spawn legacy.

This new addition to the Spawn: Origins family retails for $29.99, and is available at bookstores and comic shops everywhere. To find a comic shop near you, simply call 1-888-COMIC-BOOK or check online at www.comicshoplocator.com.

Todd McFarlane Productions is proud to announce the latest addition to our growing Spawn: Origins family of books. The Spawn: Origins Volume Five trade paperback is slated for release this coming May and contains classic Spawn adventures that helped cement his legacy.

Witness Spawn’s ongoing strife as he battles abusive fathers, the Curse, a new Redeemer and even the KKK! Relive the debut of his new costume! This collectible trade paperback contains Spawn issues 27-32.

This edition features six solid issues of art by the legendary McFarlane/Capullo duo. And with all stories being penned by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, this collection is a must have for Spawn fans.

>> SPAWN: ORIGINS VOLUME 5 COVER ART

Each volume of the Spawn: Origins series includes six previously released, sold-out issues of Spawn, published in an all-new design and format. Exclusive bonus content includes cover galleries, behind-the-scenes art and each trade features a classic cover re-imagined by master Spawn artist, Greg Capullo.

All of the 6-issue Spawn: Origins trade paperbacks retail for $14.99, and are available at bookstores and comic shops everywhere. To find a comic shop near you, simply call 1-888-COMIC-BOOK or check online at www.comicshoplocator.com.

Ask your retailer to order your copy by using Diamond code MAR10 0375.

Todd McFarlane Productions has been hard at work on a brand new mini-series featuring everyone’s favorite sleuths from the Spawn universe.

Sam & Twitch: The Writer, starring NYC’s finest detective duo Sam & Twitch, is the creative child of Luca Blengino (story), Luca Erbetta (pencils), Fabio Bono (inks) and Filippo Rizzu (colors). This team has been crafting a unique crime fiction tale from the boroughs of the Big Apple that sees the detectives stupefied by a strange sequence of events.

Set in the dead of winter with a snowstorm looming, a routine homicide investigation has a literary twist. A suspected drug dealer is found dead, naked and with what seems to be the beginning of a story written all over his body. As the body count rises, the story of Sam & Twitch: The Writer unfolds.

Join this top-notch team of Italian artists and writer as they engage you in a tale — about a tale — that you don’t want to miss.

Sam & Twitch: The Writer will ship bi-weekly starting in May with the final two issues finishing this four issue series in June.

>> SAM & TWITCH: THE WRITER PREVIEW ART (4 pages)

On Feb 12th, over on spawn.com made an official announcement who the new creative team is going to be post spawn 200.  nothing to the spawn army thanks to monthly previews. read on for full article-

NEW CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR FLAGSHIP COMIC BOOK TITLE
Spawn Receives a Creative Makeover After Anniversary 200th Issue
February 12, 2010
Copyright 2010 TMP International, Inc.

After an amicable parting with artist Whilce Portacio, Todd McFarlane needed to find a new artist for his ongoing comic series, Spawn. McFarlane got creative and used the popular site Twitter to promote his interest in new talent. An extensive search on the social media site led McFarlane to his next Spawn artist, Szymon Kudranski.

“I placed a post on my page that I was looking for artists. I got about 200 responses or so. I’m pretty particular about what I’m looking for. I’m looking for that true diamond in the rough that can hit the ground running and is only going to get better, instead of someone whom I’m going to have to do a lot of work with from the start. I don’t have that luxury,” McFarlane said, “I wasn’t looking for a Spawn artist per se. I was just looking for artists. You can always put good talent to work, and so I was looking for artists whose style would sync up creatively with where I wanted to take my books. Szymon was that talented artist that melded into my creative plans.”

Looking for a more photo-realistic style for his title after issue #200, McFarlane was happy he found the skill set in Kudranski. “Since I was going to take over Spawn myself after #201, and go into this style anyway, this more cinematic approach, it was nice to open up Szymon’s submission and say, “Wow! There’s already a guy doing what I want!”

Also joining the talented new Spawn artist is writer Will Carlton. Carlton works for the entertainment mogul, and after numerous pitches, McFarlane decided to give him a chance. “Will has shown me that he has a huge creative imagination. I thought I could shepherd him a bit by being involved in the plotting, but give him a crack at doing some cool dialogue, and come up with some great story ideas,” McFarlane stated. “Szymon will be adding his two cents, too. He’s a very involved artist. Kudranski and Carlton take over the title starting with Spawn #201, scheduled to hit comic book shops later this year.

Spawn #196 releases Wednesday, March 3rd, featuring guest artist Rob Liefeld, with many pages drawn by McFarlane himself.

Other guest artists on the road to issue #200 include Whilce Portacio in an encore issue (#197), Adventures of Spawn artist, Khary Randolph (#198), and Image Founder and Savage Dragon creator, Erik Larsen (#199). Stay tuned to spawn.com for announcements on release dates.

>> SPAWN #196 PREVIEW, art by Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld
>> SPAWN #197 PREVIEW, art by Whilce Portacio
>> SPAWN #198 PREVIEW, art by Khary Randolph
>> SPAWN PREVIEW, art by Szymon Kudranski

Spawning a Legend

This week, Todd touches upon his most famous creation and what his plans are to catch up on Spawn. Oh, and there’s that milestone issue (Spawn #200) right around the corner.

McFarlane’s Mark is produced by Sam Moyerman and Frederik Hautain.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Spawning (if you’ll pardon the pun) from our discussion of Wolverine and how the mysteries behind the character kept him going for so long, it seems like a good time to switch over to the character you are most famous for creating, one whose next release will be issue #196.

Was that building of a mystery behind the character something you have been going for all along with that character to keep the readers asking questions about Spawn?

TODD MCFARLANE: Well, as of issue #185 we made a change and now there’s a new Spawn.  So it allows me to put him into positions that are dramatically different from the first Spawn.  We’ll see whether that’s good or bad to the readers, as they will ultimately make the choice there.  I thought some of the stories (with Al Simmons as Spawn) were getting a bit repetitive.  And since you can’t change a character’s personality… well, maybe you can, this is comic books after all, and you can do whatever you want.  It was more of a decision to bring someone new in, give them the same powers and situation and see how they would react.

You and I, in the exact same situation, would function differently.  Why?  Because we are bringing the baggage of our life and our history, experiences, and whatever else we have to that moment.  We would problem solve the same thing in completely different ways.

For Spawn, this meant I could bring back old characters (i.e. The Clown) and it will still feel new because The Clown will know and/or realize that this isn’t the same guy.  He can say, “Instead of being a bad guy, maybe I’ll try and act nice and convince this new Spawn that I’m a good guy and get him to be my pal.”  So now The Clown starts to act differently than what we’ve seen for 185 issues.  Having a new main character also allows me to bring in new villains and a brand new supporting cast to the series as well.

read the full article here

Review for Spawn #1

“Questions”

Story, Pencils and Inks: Todd McFarlane

Letters: Tom Orzechowski

Colors: Steve Oliff

Editor: Wanda Kolomyjec

Recap:

The book starts with the character of Spawn being introduced and we quickly start to get some flashbacks covering the death and funeral services for Lt. Colonel Al Simmons (Spawn) of the US Marine Corps.   And we also learn about Wanda Blake, widow of the late Al Simmons and we get all this information from what appears to be TV reporters.

After the reporter coverage we learn that Al remembers dying and that someone he knew and trusted turned on him but that the details are very fuzzy at this point in time.  We also quickly learn that Al apparently made some kind of deal with someone or something and that he came back for “her”.

Two detectives are introduced with them investigating a murder where a victim’s heart was removed.  The one detective is pretty fat and clearly enjoys food while the other detective is much smaller and leaner and is called “Twitch”.  The murder victim was a hitman and this is the third hitman found dead in a two day period.

Spawn’s big moment in this first issue comes when he saves a woman from being raped by several thugs in a street.  The street thugs start talking crap to Spawn and Spawn quickly calls one of the thugs “Fat Boy” and quickly defeats the thugs which not only shows that he is a force to be reckoned with but also proves that he has some heroic qualities.

After the big fight Al gets some memories back of his funeral and wife but he doesn’t piece together that the woman in his funeral flashback was his wife, Wanda.  He also starts to ponder the obvious which is how does he have memories of his own funeral?  Soon after the flashback sequence Al wakes up and we move to news coverage again discussing the hitman murders.

At this point Spawn takes off his hood and realizes how ugly and deformed he is but in a big revelation he pieces together that the woman from the funeral flashback was indeed his wife.

We move back to the detectives who are at their police precinct discussing their hitman death case.  With some witty dialogue one has to think early on that Twitch is a pretty funny guy as he suggests the fat detective must be dieting since he’s only had 13 doughnuts that day.

The issue closes with a demon or devil of some sort being shown.

My Thoughts:

This first issue was a strong introduction.  Some argue that Todd McFarlane tried to stuff too much in his early issues of Spawn but I think the exact opposite.  I have no problem with getting more story as long as you can follow it and the art tells the story properly with reasonable pacing.  In a nutshell I think it was a very serviceable story with good pacing and fantastic colors but I think the fat detectives name should have been revealed.  One thing that I really liked in this first issue was using the newscasters to help move the story along by giving us some outside insight.  I also find it very interesting that early on the Spawn series the book was edited by Todd’s wife, Wanda Kolomyjec.  As far as the art goes, it was a little “sketchy” but I mean that in a good way.  Obviously Todd is known for having a bit of a “sketchy” style and personally I really like that and it works fantastic for a darker character like Spawn.

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being dreadful and 10 being perfect I give this first issue a rating of 7.  First issues tend to have a lot of problems and this first issue avoided many of those problems proving to be rock solid.

Reviewed by: Nightcrawler

Spawncast 3 is here and we talk about the latest news from the last month and where is spawn issue 196?  We also talk about spawn gear that we would like to see.  so join us, The Spawn Army is listening……….

spawncast on forum discuss

PHOENIX COMICON TO HOST NEW FILM COMPETITION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TODD MCFARLANE PRODUCTIONS
Grand Prize Winner to Receive One-on-One Film Review from Todd McFarlane
January 29, 2010
Copyright 2010 TMP International, Inc.

Todd McFarlane Productions and Phoenix Comicon are partnering to create ‘The McFarlane Phoenix Comicon Film Challenge’. This unique event will feature independent fan films set in the McFarlane universe with McFarlane created characters. Films will be screened during the Phoenix Comicon, to be held May 27th- 30th at the Phoenix Convention Center.

“McFarlane characters such as Spawn and Violator have inspired a generation of fans and creators alike,” said Programming Director Joe Boudrie. “This competition will bring those characters into Phoenix Comicon in new and interesting ways, providing filmmakers their first-ever opportunity to enter the McFarlane universe as creators.”

Phoenix Comicon is seeking original films to be shown at Phoenix Comicon in a film competition judged by the McFarlane Companies and Phoenix Comicon. In addition to the opportunity to screen films in front of an audience at the Phoenix Comicon, prizes will be awarded, with the Grand Prize winner receiving a one-on-one film review from Todd McFarlane personally.

Submissions must include McFarlane created characters (from Spawn, Cy-Gor, Violator, Sam & Twitch) in leading roles, and the scripts and films must be original work. Films of any type (animated, live action, CGI, etc.) or style (horror, drama, comedy, action, noir, etc.) will be accepted. See official submission form for further details.

Submissions may be up to 15 minutes long. Submissions will be accepted through April 27th and jointly judged by McFarlane and Phoenix Comicon staff. No unlicensed copyrighted material may be used in the entries (including music, images and any other copyrighted content). All Submissions need to be submitted in standard (US) DVD format. All submitted films become sole property of Todd McFarlane Productions. Films will be screened during the Phoenix Comicon which will be held May 27th – 30th at the Phoenix Convention Center. Prizes will be awarded during the convention, but filmmakers do not need to be present to win.

Todd McFarlane, the creator of Spawn, is a multi-faceted artist and businessman with a broad range of experience in entertainment, sports and publishing. McFarlane originally became a superstar among comic book fans and creators due to his work on Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man franchise. The Spawn series has inspired a generation of artists and helped encourage a trend in creator-owned comic book properties. He’s also a high-profile collector of history-making baseballs.

Phoenix Comicon is the signature pop culture event of the Southwest. For more information visit phoenixcomicon.com.

Greg is back!!!!! but um……………on Haunt!  yup spawn fan favorite artist is drawing again but not on spawn, he’s doing haunt monthly from image comics.

yea, i am with you all on this.  why not on spawn??? but hey lets look on a bright side, we had him and now he might not be spawn but his haunt is really really really cool!!!!  read the article from spawn.com and CBR.

GREG CAPULLO TAKES OVER ART DUTIES ON ONGOING COMIC SERIES, ‘HAUNT’
Current Artist, Ryan Ottley, to Focus on ‘Invincible’ and Family
January 18, 2010
Copyright 2010 TMP International, Inc

We promised big news this past week, and Comic Book Resources delivered it earlier this morning. After five issues on the new ongoing series, Haunt, Ryan Ottley is leaving to focus on Invincible and his family. “My main focus has always been Invincible, so Haunt was more of a side thing that turned into more work than I imagined,” said Ottley. “I’ll probably still do an occasional side project here and there, but to take on another ongoing is something I won’t do again. I did 14 comics in 2009, and I need to keep it at around 10 to 12 a year in order to keep my sanity and keep the books looking as fresh as possible. Not that I think the issues I did look horribly bad or anything, because I did do my best on them, but being able to spend more time on each page and get proper rest would be nice.”

Robert Kirkman, co-creator of the title added, “Ryan got a little bogged down as he neared the work on issue #5 of Haunt. It got to a point where doing the two books monthly was possible, but not necessarily beneficial to the enjoyment of his life. He had to work a little bit more than he cared to. He said that he had to leave one book, and Invincible was the one he was doing the longest. He was really enjoying working on Haunt with myself, Greg and Todd, and we were all sorry to see him go, but we certainly understand the need to squeeze as many minutes out of the day as possible.”

While the remaining creative team of Haunt is supportive of Ottley’s decision, they’ll miss collaborating with the artist on the series. “I’m going to miss his work,” said McFarlane. “He said that from time to time, he might rear his head and be able to do something for us, like a cover. He even said he might take a stab at a couple of covers for Spawn, and I’d like to see what that looks like. But it was just that monthly grind of two books – he’s just being realistic about it.”

Although Ottley’s departure comes as a surprise, the aspect of veteran artist Greg Capullo taking the reigns is an exciting prospect. “I’ve been a huge fan of Greg’s work for a long time,” Kirkman gushes. “I’ve been dying to see more work from him, so the fact that I’m going to be writing that work for him is pretty exciting. It’s very much like starting a new book, even though I’ve already been working with the guy already, but my excitement level is about up there with starting a new series with a new collaborator. I’m pretty stoked.”

For McFarlane, long time collaborator of Capullo’s, it was no question who would take over artist duties on the title, “I think it makes the transition very easy, because the guy taking over the book has actually been involved since the beginning,” he said. “Although it’s a new penciler, by no means is it a new artist or new look to what you’re used to on some of the visual aspects.”

As Ottley prepares to leave the title after issue #5, ironically, the reason he’s most sad to leave is due to the collaborative work with the new series artist. “I am really going to miss working over Greg Capullo,” he said. “The guy is a master storyteller and sets up some great compositions, but the thing I have the most fun with is his figure work. I’m amazed at the structure he quickly lays out for each figure, even the small background people. He has so much information of anatomy in those so few lines and he chooses them perfectly. The guy’s got some serious skills from years of experience and hard work, and I try to siphon as much knowledge from his layouts as possible.”

Capullo takes over artist duties full time starting with Haunt #6, which was supposed to be a stand-alone fill in issue for him. “It’s been a really long time since I’ve done a monthly title,” admitted Capullo. “My speed is way down, but that will come back. I just have to get my flow back. Laying out the book for Ryan and doing layouts for Spawn has helped to get my mind back into storytelling.”

“That said, I’m very eager to get back in the ring and show that I can still throw knockout punches,” he added. “I’m ready to lace ‘em up.” And we’ll all be there to watch the main event!

Haunt #5, Ryan Ottley’s final issue as the book’s full-time penciler, hits stores on February 10th, 2010. Greg Capullo takes over as new monthly artist on Haunt #6.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24445