In the vast cold of space lurks a terrifying evil that knows no mercy. And soon, that evil will be inside you.
In James Stokoe’s Aliens: Dead Orbit
How Spawn Changed Comic Books (Even Though It Sucks)
In the late 1980s, artist Todd McFarlane exploded onto the comic book scene with his dark, hyper detailed superhero art. Alongside several other up-and-coming young artists, McFarlane represented the new age of comic books, and his art not only helped usher in an era of dark, edgy superhero stories, but also rode the massive financial wave of the speculator boom.
Eventually, McFarlane’s popularity led to him debuting his own new Spider-Man title as writer and artist, with Spider-Man #1 selling a whopping 2.5 million copies in 1990 thanks to a media blitz, variant covers, and collectors HILARIOUSLY thinking that owning a comic that had millions of copies in print would make them a millionaire. It did, however, make McFarlane a millionaire.
And in 1992, McFarlane and 6 other high profile comic book creators founded Image Comics as a place for their creator-owned books without ever giving up their rights and financial stake in the characters they made. The publication launched with several high profile, ultra-90s series – Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood, Eric Larsen’s The Savage Dragon, Jim Lee’s WildC.A.T.s. – but the Image flagship would be Todd McFarlane’s Spawn.
Spawn
Spawn may be most well known for its chains, goo, and ’90s extremity, but the impact of the right comic at the right time can’t be understated, even if the years haven’t been kind to McFarlane’s signature creation.
As of this video’s publication, Spawn has published more than 300 issues and become the longest running creator-owned comic book in history. Along the way, it’s produced an animated series, a movie, many video games, and an entire toy company. And from its massive debut through its constant ups and downs both creatively and financially, Spawn has changed the comic book industry, even though it sucks. [Read more…] about How Spawn Changed Comic Books (Even Though It Sucks)
Spider-Man by Roger Stern: Unstoppable Highs & Unfinished Business
What’s a great run on Spider-Man without adversity, for both its hero and its creator?
Under the pen of Roger Stern from 1980 through 1984, Spider-Man met some of his greatest physical and emotional challenges while his author left behind a legacy of unfinished business. [Read more…] about Spider-Man by Roger Stern: Unstoppable Highs & Unfinished Business
The Suicide Squad – A Gruesome Ode to the Outcast
Even the lowliest of creatures have purpose in the world.
In a nutshell, that’s the driving idea behind James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad – a return to the deadly adventures of Task Force X and one of the goriest, most subversive, most heartfelt comic book movies ever made. [Read more…] about The Suicide Squad – A Gruesome Ode to the Outcast
Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: The Stories Within Us
They say if you want to bore someone, tell them about your dreams.
But for Neil Gaiman, the world of dreams was everything to his hugely popular comic The Sandman
The Sandman follows Morpheus, the lord of dreams and one of the 7 members of The Endless – an eternal family who each embody an aspect of life and have existed since the universe began. They are, alliteratively, Dream, Death, Destiny, Despair, Desire, Delirium, and Destruction. The story begins with Morpheus escaping from a 70-year imprisonment and quickly trying to rebuild his kingdom of The Dreaming, that amorphous realm of the subconscious from which all our dreams come from, which has fallen into disrepair in his absence. [Read more…] about Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: The Stories Within Us