Comic book icon Todd McFarlane is taking his creation Spawn back to “when and where it all began”—1977 in Calgary. He recently revealed a new, special comic book cover paying tribute to one of his most famed artworks as well as his hometown. Spawn ’77 has been talked about for a while. The series features a new version of his character based on his now-near-50-year-old designs. It’s set to launch next month, by McFarlane, as well as fellow artist and writer Mark Spears. Thursday on social media, McFarlane posted an image he’s drawn to serve as various variant covers for the series’ first issue. He wrote: “I homaged my AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #300 cover with SPAWN as I first imagined him in 1977, flying over photos of Calgary from that SAME YEAR, when and where it all began!” McFarlane was artist on The Amazing Spider-Man from 1988 to 1990, where he co-created the villain and anti-hero character Venom. He was writer and artist on the then-new series Spider-Man from 1990 to 1991. He launched Spawn in 1992, building a modern mythos around drawings that first appeared in his sketchbook in 1977. That original Spawn series is still running, quickly nearing its 400th issue. Multiple spin-off series have also been released over the years. McFarlane has lived in the United States for decades, but he has said Calgary feels just like “a robe and slippers.” During the 2024 Calgary Comics and Entertainment Expo, he spoke with CTV News about how much he enjoys coming back. “Every time I cross the border, it’s just home,” he said. “This is where I’m the most comfortable.”
