Title: King Spawn #1
Publisher: Image Comics
Release date: August 25, 2021
Congratulations to comic artist and uber-entrepreneur Todd McFarlane on achieving a landmark launch with the first issue of King Spawn. With nearly a half-million comic retailer pre-orders to date, this Image Comics title becomes the single highest selling new superhero monthly in 25 years.
King Spawn represents the second title in McFarlane’s expansion of the popular character’s universe. The aptly titled Spawn Universe #1 hit comic store shelves this past June to record sales, but King Spawn has already eclipsed it by more than double
It must be noted that McFarlane’s creation is no stranger to noteworthy sales and special recognition. In 1992 Spawn #1 sold an astonishing 1.7 million copies, a record that still stands for any creator owned comic. It also holds a Guinness World Records honor for being the longest running creator owned character, an achievement reached when issues 300 & 301 were published a couple of years ago.
“The numbers that came in were much higher than what I had projected. With sales that now have a historical impact in our industry. It proves that the character Spawn and the world he lives in still resonates to fans almost thirty years after I first introduced him,” noted McFarlane about the achievement.
“But the biggest thing for me is having King Spawn becoming another example to the creative community that you can have creator-owned success outside of the two huge publishing giants, Marvel, and DC Comics. Every story that shows you can make a career on your own will hopefully inspire other talented people to try. As President of Image Comics, advocating for the creators has been our goal since its inception in 1992.”
King Spawn #1 arrives on August 25, 2021 with interior art by Javi Fernandez and colors by FCO Plascenci. There’s also a huge selection of beautifully rendered variant covers for fans to choose from. In addition to Todd’s own work, artists David Finch, Puppeteer Lee, Shawn Gordon Murphy, Greg Capullo, Brett Booth and Donny Cates apply their talents.
Toy collectors also know McFarlane Productions for their high quality action figures. I have fond memories of local shopping mall video and gaming stores overflowing with the company’s display boxes. The Beatles‘ psychedelic alter-egos from the Yellow Submarine cartoon are still favorites of my personal collection.
McFarlane Toys has continued to offer a full array of heroes and villains from Game of Thrones, FortNite, Mortal Kombat and Borderlands, through Five Nights At Freddy’s, Cuphead and Disney‘s new Mirrorverse video game.
In 2020 the company paid homage to its own origins with an upgrade of the 1995 Spawn action figure, the production of which was funded with a Kickstarter program.
Most recently, they’ve announced an affiliation with DC Comics to continue production of fan-favorite collectibles under the DC Direct umbrella.
SkeletonPete Says…
It’s always a treat to visit the McFarlane folks at The Toy Association’s Annual Toy Industry Fair in NYC. Of course world wide health concerns precluded that gathering this year and we greatly missed the opportunity to hear about these upcoming plans directly from the very personable Mr. McFarlane himself. Nonetheless, it’s a pleasure to pass along this news of McFarlane Productions’ continuing success.