1977 Spawn Design is Resurrected in ‘Spawn 77’
Image Comics and Todd McFarlane Productions revealed Spawn 77, a three-issue Spawn Universe miniseries co-written by Todd McFarlane and Mark Spears, with Spears handling fully painted interior art in his Spawn Universe interior debut.
The title points back to 1977, the year McFarlane first sketched the Spawn design as a 16-year-old high school student, years before Spawn #1 hit shelves in 1992. The miniseries marks the first time that earliest version of the character appears in a comic. Rather than retelling old ground, McFarlane and Spears build a new character and story out of Spawn mythology, centered on the danger of knowing too much.
For Spears, the project doubles as a debut and a full-circle moment, stepping in as both co-writer and interior artist while putting his own spin on the original design and widening the lore around the Hellspawns.
"Going back to my roots of when I first developed Spawn as a high school kid, when I was just beginning to feel deeply passionate about collecting comics, and being able to use some of those ideas now 50 years later is really a personal treat for me," said McFarlane. "To be able to do this miniseries alongside the super-talented Mark Spears will only make my enjoyment that much more special. Mark has been on the top of many fans' wish lists to see more of his artwork, and we are all excited to show the readers what we have been looking at, from Mark, this past year. I promise you he will not disappoint anyone who is a fan of quality, sophisticated artwork."
Spears added: "Getting to work with Todd McFarlane is the main reason I wanted to work in comics. I read every book, watched every video, and studied every panel he created. He inspired me to become both a writer and an artist, and with Spawn 77, everything feels like it has come full circle. Creating new characters within the Spawn Universe is something I've dreamed about ever since I picked up Spawn #1 off the rack at my local comic book store. I can't wait for readers to see what we have in store."
The debut issue carries a large cover lineup from McFarlane, Spears, and Emma Ríos, including several built on McFarlane's original 1977 design: a redrawn and recolored take by McFarlane, an incentive variant featuring the untouched 1977 piece, and a retro logo incentive cover. There will also be a McFarlane-signed foil variant and a double-signed foil edition signed by McFarlane and Spears.
The extra-length, 64-page Spawn 77 #1 is on sale this September, with more cover reveals to follow in the coming months.
