History Creator / ToddMcFarlane

** ''Huge'' flowing capes that seem to have more layers than possible and move like they have a life of their own. This was first seen when he penciled the last issue of ''Batman: Year Two'', and was a key feature of Spawn's design.

He started his career in the mid-[[UsefulNotes/TheEighties 80s]] working for both Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} and Creator/{{DC|Comics}}. In 1988 he started doing the art for ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', [[StarMakingRole for which he gained immense popularity]]. The extremely dynamic way in which he drawn Spidey and the overall greater details of his artwork where a big hit with both fans and other artists, and he soon became one of [[TropeMaker the precursors]] of the superstar artist era of UsefulNotes/TheNineties.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/800px_10517toddmcfarlanebyluiginovi1.jpg]]

->''"All of a sudden, the editor sort of gave me heck: 'Todd! You gotta stop doing those--those--spaghetti webbings!' Ohhh, he gave a name to it! Of course, I did what all smart people do, you always say yes, and I actually made the spaghetti webbing twice as long. The next two or three times they called me in, I'm like, 'Why are we having this conversation? Your job is to hire me to sell books. You don't have to like me, you don't have to like my artwork, and we don't have to share burgers. All I have to do is sell books. I am doing that better than anybody in this corporation!', and it was that stuff that eventually drove me away from the company.''

His company, [=McFarlane=] Entertainment, also produced the [[WesternAnimation/{{Spawn}} Spawn animated series]] for Creator/{{HBO}}, and doing the animated sequences for a series of music videos.

He is currently writing and directing a new ''Spawn'' movie, set to be released in 2019.

* BigNameFan: Of ''Manga/{{Akira}}''. In fact, it was the anime adaptation directed by ''Akira''[='s=] own creator, Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo, that inspired Todd to venture into the world of animation and produce the Spawn animated series.

* Claw like hands on demonic and villainous characters.

-->-- '''Todd [=McFarlane=]'''on leaving [[Creator/MarvelComics Marvel]], ''Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle'' ("A Hero Can Be Anyone")

->''All of a sudden, the editor sort of gave me heck: 'Todd! You gotta stop doing those... those... spaghetti webbings!' Ohhh, he gave a name to it!. Of course, I did what all smart people do, you always say yes, and I actually made the spaghetti webbing twice as long. The next two or three times they called me in, I'm like, 'Why are we having this conversation? Your job is to hire me to sell books. You don't have to like me, you don't have to like my artwork, and we don't have to share burgers. All I have to do is sell books. I am doing that better than anybody in this corporation!', and it was that stuff that eventually drove me away from the company.''

Outside of comics, Todd is also responsible for the creation of [=McFarlane=] Toys, a toy company that focus on producing high-end action figures that were ridiculously detailed and made of better quality materials. This pretty much changed the toy industry, [[FollowTheLeader inspiring a host of other companies to produce their own high quality action-figures]].

Todd [=McFarlane=] (born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic-book writer and artist, most famous for being co-creator of ComicBook/SpiderMan’s villain ComicBook/{{{Venom}} and being one of the co-founders of Creator/ImageComics, where he created the character of ComicBook/{{Spawn}}.

** Monsters with their eyes and jaws glowing in the dark.

** In his Marvel days he would often include a hidden Felix the Cat.

Todd [=McFarlane=] (born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic-book writer and artist, most famous for being co-creator of ComicBook/SpiderMan’s villain {{ComicBook/Venom}} and being one of the co-founders of Creator/ImageComics, where he created the character of {{ComicBook/Spawn}}.

He started his career in the mid-[[UsefulNotes/TheEighties 80s]] working for both Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} and Creator/{{DC|Comics}}. In 1988 he started doing the art for The Amazing Spider-Man, [[StarMakingRole for which he gained immense popularity]]. The extremely dynamic way in which he drawn Spidey and the overall greater details of his artwork where a big hit with both fans and other artists, and he soon became one of [[TropeMaker the precursors]] of the superstar artist era of UsefulNotes/The Nineties.

Of course this fact soon made [=McFarlane=] want to have more creative control over his own work. When Marvel failed to provide him with what he wanted, Todd left the company.
He and six other former Marvel artists would later found Image Comics out of their desire to publish "creator-owned" content, independent from a central editor.

His company, [=McFarlane=] Entertainment, also produced the [[{{WesternAnimation/Spawn}} Spawn animated series]] for {{Creator/HBO}}, and doing the animated sequences for a series of music videos.

* BigNameFan: Of ''Manga/{{Akira}}''. In fact, it was the anime movie directed by Akira’s own creator, Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo, that inspired Todd to venture into the world of animation and produce the Spawn animated series.

Todd [=McFarlane=] (born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic-book writer and artist, most famous for being co-creator of {{ComicBook/Spider Man}}’s villain {{ComicBook/Venom}} and being one of the co-founder of {{Creator/Image Comics}}, where he created the character of {{ComicBook/Spawn}}.

He started his career in the mid-[[{{UsefulNotes/TheEighties}} 80s]] working for both [[{{Creator/MarvelComics}} Marvel]] and [[{{Creator/DcComics}} DC]]. In 1988 he started doing the art for The Amazing Spider-Man, [[{{StarMakingRole}} for which he gained immense popularity]]. The extremely dynamic way in which he drawn Spidey and the overall greater details of his artwork where a big hit with both fans and other artists, and he soon became one of [[{{TropeMaker}} the precursors]] of the superstar artist era of {{UsefulNotes/The Nineties}}.

Of course this fact soon made [=McFarlane=] want to have more creative control over his own work. When Marvel failed to provide him with what he wanted, Todd left the company.
He and six other former Marvel artists would later found Image Comics out of their desire to publish “creator-owned” content, independent from a central editor.

He is currently writing and directing a new Spawn movie, set to be released in 2019.

!! This Creator contains examples of:

* {{Nineties Anti Hero}}: His company, Image Comics, helped created a lot of these characters. Hell, Spawn himself is one of the [[{{Trope Codifier}} Trope Codifiers]]!
* {{Big Name Fan}}: Of {{Manga/Akira}}. In fact, it was the anime movie directed by Akira’s own creator, {{Creator/Katsuhiro Otomo}}, that inspired Todd to venture into the world of animation and produce the Spawn animated series.
* {{Executive Meddling}}: He struggled a lot with this during his time writing for Marvel, and it was his desire to avoid it that led him and other artists to create Image Comics.
* {{The Merch}}: [=McFarlane=] Toys was created to capitalize on Spawn’s success by making collectables based on the characters from the comic. It eventually expanded its portfolio, though, producing toys based on other intellectual properties and even based on original designs.
* {{SignatureStyle}}: Some of his signatures include monsters with their eyes and jaws glowing in the dark, recreating classic comic covers with his own characters, and in his Marvel days he would often include a hidden Felix the Cat.

Outside of comics, Todd is also responsible for the creation of [=McFarlane]= Toys, a toy company that focus on producing high-end action figures that were ridiculously detailed and made of better quality materials. This pretty much changed the toy industry, [[{{FollowTheLeader}} inspiring a host of other companies to produce their own high quality action-figures]].

Todd Mcfarlane (born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic-book writer and artist, most famous for being co-creator of {{ComicBook/Spider Man}}’s villain {{ComicBook/Venom}} and being one of the co-founder of {{Creator/Image Comics}}, where he created the character of {{ComicBook/Spawn}}.

Of course this fact soon made Mcfarlane want to have more creative control over his own work. When Marvel failed to provide him with what he wanted, Todd left the company.

Outside of comics, Todd is also responsible for the creation of Mcfarlane Toys, a toy company that focus on producing high-end action figures that were ridiculously detailed and made of better quality materials. This pretty much changed the toy industry, [[{{FollowTheLeader}} inspiring a host of other companies to produce their own high quality action-figures]].

His company, Mcfarlane Entertainment, also produced the [[{{WesternAnimation/Spawn}} Spawn animated series]] for {{Creator/HBO}}, and doing the animated sequences for a series of music videos.

* {{The Merch}}: Mcfarlane Toys was created to capitalize on Spawn’s success by making collectables based on the characters from the comic. It eventually expanded its portfolio, though, producing toys based on other intellectual properties and even based on original designs.