Well, this is a surprise. Todd McFarlane returns to the podcast to discuss why he’s suddenly switching up the creative rosters on several Spawn universe titles. Starting with issue 376, friend of the show Matthew Rosenberg will script alongside artist Stephen Segovia. Roseberg will also serve as writer on the sibling series, King Spawn, with Thomas Nachlik on art. In Gunslinger Spawn #54, writer Erica Schultz joins returning artist Carlo Barberi. And starting today, She-Spawn #1 launches with Gail Simone as writer and Ig Guara as artist.

He’s said it before, and he states it emphatically on this week’s show: Todd McFarlane sees Spawn as his creative child, and as all parents want for their kids, Todd hopes to see him live long after he’s gone. To secure that reality, he needs to let go of the reins. So, today, he’s reflecting on his favorite comics and how regime changes propelled those books into legend.

Before all that, however, we banter back and forth about this past weekend’s Free Comic Book Day, and the awe-inspiring Charity Sketch Cover Auction Four Color Fantasies pulled off on Saturday, raising nearly $12,000 for the Literacy Volunteers of the Winchester Area. We discuss how we took that radical energy and moved it into our Comic Book Club on Sunday, and then work both events into the theme of community and how it bolsters the comic book industry, which leads directly into what Todd McFarlane is doing with his baby, Spawn.

This week, it’s all about the power of comics. Todd McFarlane details why he’s always happy to have others play in his playground, how he still has an ending for Spawn even though he never wants to use it, and why there are nuances to that tired artist vs. writer debate.

Spawn #376 arrives in shops from Image Comics on June 3rd, with Final Order Cutoff happening this upcoming Monday, the 11th. If you want to continue our discussion with Todd McFarlane, you can find him on BlueSky and Instagram, as well as his Website.

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Todd McFarlane on Spawn