In the late 1990s, Spawn had a bigger presence in non-comic book media than most superheroes, featuring in both a live-action film AND an animated series. He’s mostly been absent from our screens since then (aside from a few video games), but that will soon change. Today, creator Todd McFarlane teased a new Spawn animated project by releasing several pieces of early concept art. Check it out, below.
Post by Todd McFarlane.
The most prominent of the images posted on McFarlane’s Facebook page are of NYPD detectives Sam Burke and Maximilian “Twitch” Williams. Sam and Twitch have been part of the Spawn book since the beginning, and while they originally found themselves at odds with original Spawn Al Simmons, eventually they developed a respect for him and assisted the anti-hero from time to time. As their appearances suggest, Sam and Twitch are foils for each other, Sam being the tough, headstrong “brawn” of the partnership, while Twitch is the slender, calculating “brains” who consistently calls his partner “sir.” The characters were so popular that they starred in their own series spinoff series from 1999-2003 called Sam and Twitch, which lasted 26 issues. If Spawn is returning to the screen, it makes sense to include these two. They may not be demons or angels or any of the other weird entities running around, but they’ve more than proved their worth over the years to earn a place in the main cast.
Post by Todd McFarlane.
One of the primary locales in the Spawn book is New York City, and while McFarlane didn’t say where this animated project would take place, this filthy environment certainly bears resemblance to one of NYC’s mean streets. It’s the perfect locale for a story about a Hellspawn fighting the forces of evil...well, other than Hell itself. The image below is a detailed sketching of the same gritty area with what look like 70s era cars.
Post by Todd McFarlane.
Spawn debuted in May 1992 in the first issue of his self-titled book, which will release its 250th issue in the coming months. Although the live-action movie was released in August 1997, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn premiered on HBO in May 1997, where it aired for three seasons and won two Primetime Emmys. For years there have been efforts to create new Spawn content, but this is one of the few concrete pieces of proof that something is in the works. It’s unclear whether this project is a TV series or show for the Web, but with an audience still interested in what is arguably Image Comics’ most famous character, anticipation is likely to be high to get Spawn back on our screens. Now McFarlane just needs to post an image of Spawn himself!
