I've always found it funny that Neil Gaiman had to sue McFarlane for the rights to his characters when the whole point of Image was CREATOR CONTROLLED CHARACTERS.
Neil sued Todd due to not being paid for use of his characters, Gunslinger Spawn, Medeviel Spawn, and Angela. The results of the lawsuit saw Neil retain the rights the characters he created in Todd's book. There was no question of ownership in the lawsuit.
McFarlane in an interview talked about how much he disliked the idea when Marvel released variant covers and thought there is more to comics, than that. (Money) McFarlane years later, with Todd Toys created and released variant versions of the same figures for people to collect and buy. (Money) "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain" - Harvey Dent
Effectively you are saying it is okay to make variants with toys, but not comics. Nice try. Todd became the thing he disliked, just a variant of one.@@hobo7007
Sometimes a character is best portrayed by its creator. On other occasions, a guest contributor can successfully rebuild and retell a story much better than the creator. One example of this is Frank Miller's runs on Batman and Daredevil. It seems that Spawn is in better hands when he's not in the hands of McFarlane. That said, props to McFarlane for creating such an interesting character for others to work with, and props to you, Matt, for another excellent video. Please keep up the great work.
Thats true for most image founding father characters except maybe savage dragon. If you want to read excellent to amazing stories of Prophet, Glory, wild cats, or Supreme. Theyre available, but definitely not made be the original creators of those characters. Oh! i almost forgot about shadow hawk. His creator did a decent job writing him
Yeah Writing wise(alan Moore and neil gaimen have fantastic issues) on art tho McFarlane is an absolute freaken beast. When cappullao took over in those early years I was impressed but its just wasnt McFarlane. Spawn needs McFarlanes art it thrives on those dark shadows, insane linework, incredible almost cartoonish,figures amd gnarly horrific monsters. Just the look of hell is amazing my god
That’s the upside to non creator owned characters. Even though DC & Marvels stranglehold of their characters and just the superhero genre in general has actually been detrimental to the industry not to mention how many artists and writers who were fucked over. On the other hand guys like McFarlane or Dave Sim that can’t let the stuff they own go can ruin the book. Look at how all your favorite heroes have been reinvented or defined by a guy that didn’t originally create them.
It is hilarious to me that people hate the long text and that "nothing happens" for long periods of time, but I love it. He's lost, confused, angry, pulled a dozen directions at once. It's great!
Spawn belongs to a special echelon of comic characters, who have all this fantastic and rich potential. Just inherent to their origin and stuff, but... Merely sit on a corpse chair in an alley.
If you've read spawn there's been an INSANE amount of variety in what's happened in the story. Though 75-95 was awful, 95 is a huge uptick in story quality, then it drops from 110ish to 170ish
It’s hyper violent, but it’s self aware. It knows what it is. It’s like Tarantino. It’s a cosmic gumbo. Me and Todd joked in studio that it is kind of a cosmic gumbo.
Interesting video..whats that old Egyptian river called again.. o yea, Denial lmao the truth is I think most of the criticisms you made Matt about the overall body of work an story can also be found in many mainstream comics within Marvel and DC. The truth is I think the criticisms against the comic book genre in particular are fair (meaning that in the entire spectrum not just image comics it has always been art before substance even if other publishers didnt realize it) in that respect I think when ppl site those problems with Spawn I dont think its any less deep or richly written then Batman or Xmen for to give a few examples, campy storylines or what have you, mediocre writing that isn't close to a shakespearian level, plotholes, characters that are killed off an then magically brought back or fake tension (Supermans death made the cover of every magazine like it was an actual real thing after all), you can even find resolutions that aren't properly resolved. All the same problems Spawn has can be found in all those bigger more popular mainstream comics that ppl love, its still more mature in tone an less campy overall than the marvel and dc character stories and even at its worst the one place where Spawn has always excelled and reigned supreme from beginning to now above all those other superheros without question.. is the art. Happy Spawntember! 🖖😊
I think the big thing about Spawn is the fact that his creator is in love with his creation but he doesn't know how to show it. It's the same kind of love that Stan Lee had with Spider-Man. Both creators adore their creations but that's the problem. I sometimes write characters and I tend to be overly biased because this character that I wrote is one of my favorite characters.
@@guyverjay1289 It's vaguely similar: Ditko claims that Kirby's brief 5-page plot established an Aunt May, Uncle Ben (who was supposed to be a gruff cop), web shooting and wall crawling but he gets it from a magic ring. It's a concept so it's not going to be exactly like the final product, but Kirby does seem to have at least laid the foundations for a few key features.
The fact that Todd is STILL the guy who writes Spawn after 300 issues is staggering when your read them because damn does his style of writing keep changing ever so much. No wonder why half the fan base lost their damn minds when Al Simmons was replaced by Jim Downing.
As a hard core spawn fan this video is pretty accurate. Mcfarlanes writing has improved a lot though, i really liked 296-301 but then he story slowed down to none existence but from 314 and current the story has been very solid with none stop action and actual story progression leading to a bigger universe. Mcfarlane also has caught on to people not liking his style which is why King Spawn will have a different writer and artist behind it and so for Sean Lewis is a far better writer and the reason it is getting as many good reviews. Mcfarlane promised he will give Lewis as much creative freedom as he wants and i hope he stands by it. I want to be optimistic about Gunslinger but it will still primarily by written by Mcfarlane so i guess we will see.
@@dankusmemeus7093 Yeah, I loved gunslinger. I havent read the original series as im going to, but I wonder if the criticisms of the story and character are basically just things that people that read books about how stories are supposed to go, base these so called rules after which the average reader that doesn't read books about how to write dont even care about. Sometimes breaking the rules or going against the norm can be a good thing in my opinion.
I just started reading Spawn comics and I'm still new to comics in general. I liked it very much, though the story going very slowly annoys me, when guest writers like Grant Morrison come in and shit hits the fan it's very cool. I'm glad that the newer issues and titles are successfull, deducti g from the replies.
I mean we can debate the quality of Spawn's comic run all we want. But no one can say the HBO cartoon and Keith David's performance as Spawn (including Mortal Kombat) ever sucked whatsoever.
I can very much appreciate the fact that in almost 25 minutes of well written, insightful, if not truthfully critical content, I only realized you actually weren't a Spawn fan when you began iterating it at the end. That's the sign of a very impressive writer/essayist. While I disagree about the series sucking as a blanket statement, your more apt criticisms are things I've either personally felt, or openly discussed since the nineties. What Spawn is for me, other than an ostentatious breakthrough in comics (it opened so many doors for the industry as a whole to really let loose; for better or worse), was the certain... je ne sais quoi. It had a charm to it that seeded its self very early, and almost guided my taste in the macabre as a kid/ young teen. Overall, though, great video! Definitely got a follow out of me.
It's almost as though his powers have limited fuel and when it reaches 0 he goes back to hell to serve as a general, so Al Simmons decides to be smart about it and use his military training. If Spawn could use his powers willy nilly there would be zero drama and tension.
@@anthonykarnes6804 I know smartass, which is in-universe explanation for him to still use guns, because all of McFarlane's ideas for the character have been based on "Man, wouldn't it be fuckign rad if".
I feel like the show was written better, but even then I feel like spawn is very passive in that as well. I honestly never noticed until Matt said something. I guess Todd’s art is that distracting
@@ItsButterBean1020 that makes sense. I feel like sometimes a passive character works like Dream in the Sandman series, but a character like Spawn feels like he should at least be motivated by revenge but isn’t necessarily.
Apparently that was an intentional decision by Todd McFarlane, he wanted Spawn to be less of a main character and more of a force that affects the story, kinda like Dream from Sandman (which McFarlane was also reading at the time) and Batman from Year One
But he isn't passive the stuff he does have extreme rippe effects of the world killing Kincaid changed the whole spawn universe it drives Sam and twitch's story the looking into the CIA with Wynn. Every movement he makes effects everything in the world.
You spent 20 minutes trying to convince us that Spawn sucks and all you've done is forged our fandom in the fires of Hell. This was a great video, and Spawn rules.
I only know Spawn on surface-level, but yeah this video somehow just made me like the series more lol. Granted I probably won't read the comics...but I was always a sucker for the art
Your hypothesis that Spawn sucks is interesting but have you considered that actually Spawn rules? I'm so happy this video exists and I loved every minute of it. Happy Spawntember to you, Matt!
No. This is not a thing one can hold in their mind. You've brought a terrible, doomed premise upon this house. Heaven and hell will fall. In like 700 issues.
There are two Grant Morrison issues of Spawn where they elevate the material as much as humanly possible. I enjoyed those. That's about all i csn say for the series despite it's importance to comics as a whole.
Neil Gaiman and Allan Moore also wrote issues. When put in the right hands, spawn could work. Is honestly wild that spawn hasn’t been hard rebooted and worked into the witch-blade/the darkness universe.
@@qwellen7521 I have not read the Morrison issues, but honestly, Gaiman and Moore's weren't very good. They weren't as terrible as Frank Miller's issue, but they weren't anything special either. Even though Matt criticizes it, I thought the Dave "Misogynist" Sim issue was the only good one and that's because it had nothing to do with Spawn.
The 3rd issue by Morrison is a massive let-down based on the first two he wrote...particularly the first one which (and I've only read the first Compendium worth and some of the more recent issues) is probably one of the best issues of the entire series. The Neil Gaiman issues (9 and the Angela miniseries) are fun comics, any disappointment is based on the fact that Gaiman's name is on it imo if they were written by a nobody people would be like "that guy was pretty good".
Now as a fan of spawn I agree with most points every story has ups and downs and spawns got them to but I think the story is awesome for a reason everyone has different tastes and that’s awesome too. Great job Matt Keep it up
I first picked up Spawn when I was 8 years old around issue 20; I loved the art and dark content. I was also drawn to it for being a comic without a long convoluted history with multiple monthly comics in its universe. I read everything Spawn until i was about 17 before being disappointed that it wasn't going to come to any kind of conclusion that was implied at the beginning
"Famously, Masters of the Universe were toys first and cartoon second." While that was the intent on Mattel's part, Filmation to their credit put a lot of effort making the characters memorable as iconic cartoon characters and even came up some of their own lore that Mattel themselves don't really own.
@Shin Shaman I'll jump in as a fan of both. I've only recently started buying them (Started with Spawn 300, and Extreme Carnage and Al Ewing's Venom), but it's more complicated. Venom did have some strange moments. Eddie Brock post-separation very much feels like they didn't know what to do with him, and Gargan era Venom is hit or miss. It wasn't until Agent Venom started getting published did the character start to feel more consistent and well-done. Mike Costa also had a good run, but Donny Cates was a little hit or miss on a lot of issues. Spawn also was really good in the early bits, but once he starts fighting Vampires like John Sansker, and stuff like that, it gets...wild, and kinda dragged the series down. The constant soft retcons and snap backs like "Oh, Spawn was actually abusive the whole time!" "Oh, Caligostro was really Cain and used Spawn to rule Hell!" "Oh, he actually caused his wife to miscarry and his unborn daughter became an even stronger Hellspawn!". This kinda drags the series down. A lot of good ideas rarely get any foreshadowing or build-up. Resurrection and the current run is much better at focusing and tightening the story, but right now, it doesn't feel like it's going anywhere. Spawn is just kinda...here and there, gathering resources, but it feels meandering, like Tod's more busy setting up stories with Gunslinger and the like then making a focused story. So, to both of you, I'd say Spawn and Venom have had issues with writing. They're both long runners. But their issues are slightly different.
Whether you like him or not (but you like him, be honest with yourself), you really have to respect Matt for spending quite a number of hours researching and creating a video about a character/series that he hates. Thanks for putting this out! While Spawn’s quality is certainly debatable (McFarlane’s dialogue is questionable at best), its impact on independent comics was absolutely revolutionary for the industry
Another GREAT video Matt.WELL DONE.I've never been a fan of Spawn,but I'm a McFarlane fan,he once lived in a trailer home,now he's a multimillionaire.He owns 2 of the top-selling comicbook records in history,he worked hard and smart to make his dreams come true.A few mis-steps here and there-HE'S HUMAN after all???Lost respect for him the way he treated Neil Gaiman tho.Those checks must have been BIG!!! Greed can over whelm anyone.I like how and why Image was formed.Todd is BRASH,BOLD,OPINIONATED,yet treats his comic fans well.Keep'em coming Matt,love your channel BUB.
Spawn definitely doesn't suck. Very creative character! Definitely glad to see all the renewal for him, especially after being so long. I'm excited to what else comes out!
LMFAO yeah Spawn really does suck....Its sucked for decades. Everything beyond the first 10 issues just gets worse and worse....The only people that still love that shit are the same people who were those annoying emo edge lords in high school and thought they were "cool". It was even worse then McFarlane stopped writing or drawing it.
Spawn isn’t a bad character…it’s the writer behind him. As much as I like Mcfarlanes art, he shouldn’t be writing. This also shows in the Batman/Spawn crossover, which is terrible.
@@jimmyju76 I thought the first 100 issues were cool but should have ended there. Things definitely went to shit though. The whole 90s era was extreme. We had short jacket Wonder Woman, Azrael, Adam X The "X-treme" lol
SPAWN made me really focus on detail as an artist I still come back with inspiration from reading an issue. Thank you for the motivation to keep drawing and painting in a way I can't express.
I once created an OC villain based on Todd McFarlane (because I think he looks like one), but who am I to judge? He was good at what he was doing and built an entertainment empire from scratch
Amazing video!👍👏 I just began my comic book collection and found Toon Haven. They have an incredible range of digital comics for every genre, including the hard to find ones. Lifetime updates too!😁
WOW....I can't believe you brought up Faust as an influence, awesome! Your the first person I've seen that brings up Quimm and Vigils Faust on anything.
I remember buying Spawn/Batman and being SO excited to get home and read it. Imagine the disappointment. Of all the comic books I have sadly lost over the years, that isn't one of them. I sometimes forget I ever owned it.
Happy Spawntember! For more Spawntember goodness, read the full essay at Comic Book Herald: www.comicbookherald.com/how-spawn-changed-comic-books-even-though-it-sucks/ and check out Diego Rivera's channel: ua-cam.com/users/DiegoRiveraYT
OMG I love you. I feel like I've been waiting a lifetime for someone to make a comic book UA-cam video with an actual critical eye, not fawning praise for some nostalgia of their childhood. #thankyou (is that still a thing?) SO much!
Matt: "Spawn sucks!" Me: "YOU SUCK!!! ... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that..." Even when I disagree, your videos continue to fuel my passion for comic books. Keep up the great work, man.
I've been a fan of Spawn since the mid 90s and over the recent years McFarlane has been reminding me of a little bit Zack Snyder. Awesome at giving visuals to a world they love but needs to stay away from writing at all cost.
I think that Spawn is experiencing a slight boost in popularity because of its' place in comics history as having the ability to redefine the medium, and people kind of want to see that happen again. Also great video Matt! Even if Spawn isn't your thing
1:55 Good god, man - it's either "shouldn't be understated" (as in: we shouldn't undervalue this) or "can't be overstated" (so big it can't be exaggerated.) "Can't be understated" makes it sound - at best - like you're missing an "enough" at the end.
Even though I’m a die hard Spawn fan, this was still a great video. I’d be interested to hear your take on a series like Savage Dragon or John Constantine: Hellblazer
Yeah I still like it,those first 15 or so issues maybe seem sillier now but I still have a fondness for it. It’s probably just nostalgia but that’s fine with me. Shadow Hawk was better though,that should’ve been the flagship character(literally a poor man’s Batman)
The issue with spawn is the exact way the new movie is being pitched. That Spawn would be a background character, a rumor not taking the spot light. The HBO show does exactly the same thing, brooding in an alley as people ask him to do literally anything.
I love Spawn I think he's a great character in itself. Definitely a misunderstood loner with supernatural powers. I loved Greg Capullo's early Spawn work with his art style from Marvel before copying Todd's style. Todd to me just wanted to quit drawing after 16 or 17 issues. I think he wanted to make toys and do the get rich scheme on us fans and the world. The Satan Lee of Image.
Spawn’s best issues were the ones with Al Simmons when Jim Downing replaced Al I refused to buy them but when Al came back I bought the ones with him because Al Simmons was good
To say it sucks is just straight up wrong. I get that everyone has their own taste but the first 100 issues (at least) were fantastic. Sure it had weak points and there are plenty of paper thin characters but the core of the story and the way it’s delivered is very enjoyable for the reader and was unique for the time. Not to mention the art style and structuring which helps to tell the story in the perfect manner. The series definitely loses itself after a while but the first third of the series is a great read especially if you’re looking for a peak 90s comic. I will say though that once it gets bad it gets really bad really fast like one of the steepest quality drops I’ve ever seen in a series
I dont care about spawn at all as a character, I'm just glad that McFarlane is still making the most affordable collectable figures while other toy companies are increasing their price
This is one of my favorite franchises of all time. And quite possibly my favorite super hero of all time. I love spawn. It's one of the things close to my heart.
Spawn may be hard to read and slow, but it got me into comics and its still a personal favorite of mine. But you can’t deny that the art is amazing no matter who’s doing it
Your reasons for why Spawn sucks are actually the things that make it so special to me. It's so violent, nasty, dark, bizarre, vintage, and demonic. The various philosophies about good, evil, and existence-how can you not like it? I think you never got what Spawn was trying to communicate. To be honest, Spawn rules. It's just that you value other things.
@@MutantsInDisguise Not being a teenager anymore doesn't mean you have to be allergic to anything that's cool. Also, Spawn is one of the most maturely written stories I've ever read.
Todd seems like a neat idea guy. He just needs a good... would editor be the right word here? I dunno, he just needs someone able and willing to veto him and take his ideas and change them when needed.
Saying Spawn sucks is crazy. Especially the first 100 issues. It’s did fall off comic wise but damn the toys were 🔥🔥🔥. Shout out to you for this vid bc I never seen the toys commercial and I had all of them except Malebogia 😩
I've always loved the concept behind the character but I've never been able to actually be all that invested in the actual comics. Really, I tried to read it and pretty much put it down after the first talking heads section.
Spawn is a character with potential and there have been good stories,and the mythology sounds good on paper,but the way it has turned out is not so good,but the art has always been awesome
agreed if your into dark fantasy Read Elric novels By Michael Moorcock. on his Multiverse novels & and eternal champion with a black sword called Stormbringer & black sword Mourned blade soul eater swords. if like spawn. Try reading some dark fantasy Elric
20:31. Given that Todd didn’t write spawn for a significant chunk of that 300 issues I don’t see it as an achievement on the same level as Sims Cerebus which he did write all 300 issues of. To me, it’d be like if Eastman and Laird got to count all the TMNT comics they didn’t write to their overall count of comics they wrote for the past 40 years.
Rewatching this in prep for the collective episode/read a bit. It’s interesting how even though it’s not deep, it’s engaging to look at with its designs, how it uses its issues to tell the story. And how engaging how the designs look/iconic. While I read it I could see how a 13 year old would love it.
While I liked the HBO Spawn animated series as a kid, I used to hate how slow paced it was. The plot took so long to progress that when I thought some cool was going to happen, the series was cancelled. I'm a bit surprised Todd hasn't made a Netflix series by now. But I guess he's more concerned w/ the toy line.
I LOVE the writing in Spawn. Sure, it's a little over the top and tells more than it shows, but it's fucking badass imo. I genuinely have no problem with it and really do not get the dislike for it.
Thank you. Thank you for reminding us not too spend a waking second on something we truly despise. Much less spend 24 minutes and 4 seconds on something you obviously loathe....
I never read comics but the HBO series was fire with the whole gritty R rated superhero thing becoming a trend they should pick it up where it left off. With Spawn being in Mortal Kombat it's clear the voice actor would probably be down.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I've always found it funny that Neil Gaiman had to sue McFarlane for the rights to his characters when the whole point of Image was CREATOR CONTROLLED CHARACTERS.
Neil sued Todd due to not being paid for use of his characters, Gunslinger Spawn, Medeviel Spawn, and Angela. The results of the lawsuit saw Neil retain the rights the characters he created in Todd's book. There was no question of ownership in the lawsuit.
McFarlane in an interview talked about how much he disliked the idea when Marvel released variant covers and thought there is more to comics, than that. (Money)
McFarlane years later, with Todd Toys created and released variant versions of the same figures for people to collect and buy. (Money)
"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain"
- Harvey Dent
You, and everyone else who hears the story
@@alanguagessorry to break it to you. But toys are not comics.
Effectively you are saying it is okay to make variants with toys, but not comics. Nice try.
Todd became the thing he disliked, just a variant of one.@@hobo7007
Sometimes a character is best portrayed by its creator. On other occasions, a guest contributor can successfully rebuild and retell a story much better than the creator. One example of this is Frank Miller's runs on Batman and Daredevil. It seems that Spawn is in better hands when he's not in the hands of McFarlane. That said, props to McFarlane for creating such an interesting character for others to work with, and props to you, Matt, for another excellent video. Please keep up the great work.
Thats true for most image founding father characters except maybe savage dragon. If you want to read excellent to amazing stories of Prophet, Glory, wild cats, or Supreme. Theyre available, but definitely not made be the original creators of those characters.
Oh! i almost forgot about shadow hawk. His creator did a decent job writing him
Yeah Writing wise(alan Moore and neil gaimen have fantastic issues) on art tho McFarlane is an absolute freaken beast. When cappullao took over in those early years I was impressed but its just wasnt McFarlane. Spawn needs McFarlanes art it thrives on those dark shadows, insane linework, incredible almost cartoonish,figures amd gnarly horrific monsters. Just the look of hell is amazing my god
Yeah but at the same time nobody can screw with Spawn. Creator control is a double edged sword.
I hope something in the same lines happens with miura and berserk manga …
That’s the upside to non creator owned characters. Even though DC & Marvels stranglehold of their characters and just the superhero genre in general has actually been detrimental to the industry not to mention how many artists and writers who were fucked over. On the other hand guys like McFarlane or Dave Sim that can’t let the stuff they own go can ruin the book. Look at how all your favorite heroes have been reinvented or defined by a guy that didn’t originally create them.
It is hilarious to me that people hate the long text and that "nothing happens" for long periods of time, but I love it. He's lost, confused, angry, pulled a dozen directions at once. It's great!
Whats funny is this guy liked every other comment that was agreeing with him and didn't like the ones the were disagreeing with him😂
@@JELLOBOY6-6-6its as if he cannot handle criticism and people not agreeing 😂
@@Dhampire1976 fr
Spawn belongs to a special echelon of comic characters, who have all this fantastic and rich potential. Just inherent to their origin and stuff, but... Merely sit on a corpse chair in an alley.
If you've read spawn there's been an INSANE amount of variety in what's happened in the story.
Though 75-95 was awful, 95 is a huge uptick in story quality, then it drops from 110ish to 170ish
It's a nice corpse chair!
@@MattDraper do a video about hellblazer
@@MattDraper i mean its extremely pretty....
Being a Creeper fan is pain and suffering indeed 😔
It’s hyper violent, but it’s self aware. It knows what it is. It’s like Tarantino. It’s a cosmic gumbo. Me and Todd joked in studio that it is kind of a cosmic gumbo.
This comment is totally in my Q zone
Perfectly worded, my friend!
This is everything I hoped for and beyond! Don't kid yourself, Matt. You're a Spawn fan now and you know it. Happy Spawntember!
My life has been forever changed. Happy Spawntember!
Interesting video..whats that old Egyptian river called again.. o yea, Denial lmao the truth is I think most of the criticisms you made Matt about the overall body of work an story can also be found in many mainstream comics within Marvel and DC. The truth is I think the criticisms against the comic book genre in particular are fair (meaning that in the entire spectrum not just image comics it has always been art before substance even if other publishers didnt realize it) in that respect I think when ppl site those problems with Spawn I dont think its any less deep or richly written then Batman or Xmen for to give a few examples, campy storylines or what have you, mediocre writing that isn't close to a shakespearian level, plotholes, characters that are killed off an then magically brought back or fake tension (Supermans death made the cover of every magazine like it was an actual real thing after all), you can even find resolutions that aren't properly resolved. All the same problems Spawn has can be found in all those bigger more popular mainstream comics that ppl love, its still more mature in tone an less campy overall than the marvel and dc character stories and even at its worst the one place where Spawn has always excelled and reigned supreme from beginning to now above all those other superheros without question.. is the art. Happy Spawntember! 🖖😊
Spawn is that ONE friend you always think is very cool and charismatic, but you don't want to personally invite for a hangout.
I defenetly would invite spawn to my birthday
I’ll Invite Him He’s The🐐💯🔥
I think the big thing about Spawn is the fact that his creator is in love with his creation but he doesn't know how to show it. It's the same kind of love that Stan Lee had with Spider-Man. Both creators adore their creations but that's the problem. I sometimes write characters and I tend to be overly biased because this character that I wrote is one of my favorite characters.
Stan Lee was in love with a Steve Ditko creation.
@@ioannisfugazi6952 truth . And Jack kirby thought of the idea first but ditko perfected it
Jack Kirbys "idea" was literally nothing like the character that debuted in amazing fantasy 15, gtfo
@@guyverjay1289 jack kirby's had the idea and steve ditko put it into fruition
@@guyverjay1289 It's vaguely similar: Ditko claims that Kirby's brief 5-page plot established an Aunt May, Uncle Ben (who was supposed to be a gruff cop), web shooting and wall crawling but he gets it from a magic ring. It's a concept so it's not going to be exactly like the final product, but Kirby does seem to have at least laid the foundations for a few key features.
The fact that Todd is STILL the guy who writes Spawn after 300 issues is staggering when your read them because damn does his style of writing keep changing ever so much. No wonder why half the fan base lost their damn minds when Al Simmons was replaced by Jim Downing.
I have a feeling he does the stan lee style writing. This happens, then he fights this guy, now draw it lol
@@Htownblokhedz It works for the past 30 years
Tbh you gotta give him credit since it’s clearly working
Every fanbase loses their mind when the character they like is replaced. Where have you been?
Bro I couldn't read all those issues with jim downing
As a hard core spawn fan this video is pretty accurate. Mcfarlanes writing has improved a lot though, i really liked 296-301 but then he story slowed down to none existence but from 314 and current the story has been very solid with none stop action and actual story progression leading to a bigger universe. Mcfarlane also has caught on to people not liking his style which is why King Spawn will have a different writer and artist behind it and so for Sean Lewis is a far better writer and the reason it is getting as many good reviews. Mcfarlane promised he will give Lewis as much creative freedom as he wants and i hope he stands by it. I want to be optimistic about Gunslinger but it will still primarily by written by Mcfarlane so i guess we will see.
Gunslinger turned out to be massively successful and it’s a good story imo
@@dankusmemeus7093 Yeah, I loved gunslinger. I havent read the original series as im going to, but I wonder if the criticisms of the story and character are basically just things that people that read books about how stories are supposed to go, base these so called rules after which the average reader that doesn't read books about how to write dont even care about. Sometimes breaking the rules or going against the norm can be a good thing in my opinion.
I just started reading Spawn comics and I'm still new to comics in general. I liked it very much, though the story going very slowly annoys me, when guest writers like Grant Morrison come in and shit hits the fan it's very cool. I'm glad that the newer issues and titles are successfull, deducti g from the replies.
"Just read 300 issues and then it gets good" LMAO
"I really liked 296-301" is such a funny statement to me. No hate if you like spawn but it has such "It gets good, I promise." vibes
I mean we can debate the quality of Spawn's comic run all we want. But no one can say the HBO cartoon and Keith David's performance as Spawn (including Mortal Kombat) ever sucked whatsoever.
I'm pretty sure we could. The cartoon is a polished version of a shit story
@@mysteryperson1958 It's not your fault that your brain doesn't work properly. Hopefully they find a cure one day :)
@@libertyprime6932 no spawn sucks, you’ve just only read superhero event comics so you think it’s good
facts
@@m4tt.jpg22 the truth is its objective.
I can very much appreciate the fact that in almost 25 minutes of well written, insightful, if not truthfully critical content, I only realized you actually weren't a Spawn fan when you began iterating it at the end.
That's the sign of a very impressive writer/essayist. While I disagree about the series sucking as a blanket statement, your more apt criticisms are things I've either personally felt, or openly discussed since the nineties. What Spawn is for me, other than an ostentatious breakthrough in comics (it opened so many doors for the industry as a whole to really let loose; for better or worse), was the certain... je ne sais quoi. It had a charm to it that seeded its self very early, and almost guided my taste in the macabre as a kid/ young teen.
Overall, though, great video! Definitely got a follow out of me.
To me, nothing sums Spawn as a character better than him being a literal Spawn of hell with vast magical demon powers-and he still uses GUNS.
Yeh
Very apparent reason why he uses guns lol
It's almost as though his powers have limited fuel and when it reaches 0 he goes back to hell to serve as a general, so Al Simmons decides to be smart about it and use his military training. If Spawn could use his powers willy nilly there would be zero drama and tension.
Spawn has limited use of his power, read the comic if you want to have an opinion aboutvit
@@anthonykarnes6804 I know smartass, which is in-universe explanation for him to still use guns, because all of McFarlane's ideas for the character have been based on "Man, wouldn't it be fuckign rad if".
I feel like the show was written better, but even then I feel like spawn is very passive in that as well. I honestly never noticed until Matt said something. I guess Todd’s art is that distracting
The passiveness kinda works with Spawn being more of a presence there with the focus being on the greater machinations of the other characters
@@ItsButterBean1020 that makes sense. I feel like sometimes a passive character works like Dream in the Sandman series, but a character like Spawn feels like he should at least be motivated by revenge but isn’t necessarily.
@@spawnpoint215 I mean isn’t he? He’s more passive because he’s not got a lot to live for beyond just vengeance
Apparently that was an intentional decision by Todd McFarlane, he wanted Spawn to be less of a main character and more of a force that affects the story, kinda like Dream from Sandman (which McFarlane was also reading at the time) and Batman from Year One
But he isn't passive the stuff he does have extreme rippe effects of the world killing Kincaid changed the whole spawn universe it drives Sam and twitch's story the looking into the CIA with Wynn. Every movement he makes effects everything in the world.
You spent 20 minutes trying to convince us that Spawn sucks and all you've done is forged our fandom in the fires of Hell. This was a great video, and Spawn rules.
Search your feelings, you know it to be true!
@@MattDraper NOOOOOOO
I only know Spawn on surface-level, but yeah this video somehow just made me like the series more lol. Granted I probably won't read the comics...but I was always a sucker for the art
For reall
Greg Capullo is basically my favorite Western comic artist. His work on Batman is legendary.
Todd best creation is Spawn but his work on spidey reimagine which made him a legend .
Your hypothesis that Spawn sucks is interesting but have you considered that actually Spawn rules?
I'm so happy this video exists and I loved every minute of it. Happy Spawntember to you, Matt!
This is a devastating counter argument. Happy Spawntemer to you, too, Josh! So glad you loved it!
No. This is not a thing one can hold in their mind. You've brought a terrible, doomed premise upon this house. Heaven and hell will fall. In like 700 issues.
Spawn def doesn’t suck haha.
Naw it sucked, nothing happened for 50 issues, the first 50 issues 😒
@@jimmyju76 its not a show, not everything needs to be solved at the end of each comic
There are two Grant Morrison issues of Spawn where they elevate the material as much as humanly possible. I enjoyed those. That's about all i csn say for the series despite it's importance to comics as a whole.
Neil Gaiman and Allan Moore also wrote issues. When put in the right hands, spawn could work. Is honestly wild that spawn hasn’t been hard rebooted and worked into the witch-blade/the darkness universe.
@@qwellen7521 I have not read the Morrison issues, but honestly, Gaiman and Moore's weren't very good. They weren't as terrible as Frank Miller's issue, but they weren't anything special either. Even though Matt criticizes it, I thought the Dave "Misogynist" Sim issue was the only good one and that's because it had nothing to do with Spawn.
The 3rd issue by Morrison is a massive let-down based on the first two he wrote...particularly the first one which (and I've only read the first Compendium worth and some of the more recent issues) is probably one of the best issues of the entire series. The Neil Gaiman issues (9 and the Angela miniseries) are fun comics, any disappointment is based on the fact that Gaiman's name is on it imo if they were written by a nobody people would be like "that guy was pretty good".
@Shin Shaman wow. Never thought I’d find a real world cryptid.
3 grant Morrison issues.
Now as a fan of spawn I agree with most points every story has ups and downs and spawns got them to but I think the story is awesome for a reason everyone has different tastes and that’s awesome too.
Great job Matt
Keep it up
I first picked up Spawn when I was 8 years old around issue 20; I loved the art and dark content. I was also drawn to it for being a comic without a long convoluted history with multiple monthly comics in its universe. I read everything Spawn until i was about 17 before being disappointed that it wasn't going to come to any kind of conclusion that was implied at the beginning
"Famously, Masters of the Universe were toys first and cartoon second."
While that was the intent on Mattel's part, Filmation to their credit put a lot of effort making the characters memorable as iconic cartoon characters and even came up some of their own lore that Mattel themselves don't really own.
So Spawn is just everything wrong with the Eddie Brock Venom amped up to 11? That actually makes a lot of sense.
@Shin Shaman okay Spawn fanboy
@Shin Shaman I'm not a Venom fanboy, Spawn fanboy. Obviously Spawn is more powerful, but Venom has had more consistently good writing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@Shin Shaman I'll jump in as a fan of both. I've only recently started buying them (Started with Spawn 300, and Extreme Carnage and Al Ewing's Venom), but it's more complicated.
Venom did have some strange moments. Eddie Brock post-separation very much feels like they didn't know what to do with him, and Gargan era Venom is hit or miss. It wasn't until Agent Venom started getting published did the character start to feel more consistent and well-done. Mike Costa also had a good run, but Donny Cates was a little hit or miss on a lot of issues.
Spawn also was really good in the early bits, but once he starts fighting Vampires like John Sansker, and stuff like that, it gets...wild, and kinda dragged the series down. The constant soft retcons and snap backs like "Oh, Spawn was actually abusive the whole time!" "Oh, Caligostro was really Cain and used Spawn to rule Hell!" "Oh, he actually caused his wife to miscarry and his unborn daughter became an even stronger Hellspawn!". This kinda drags the series down. A lot of good ideas rarely get any foreshadowing or build-up.
Resurrection and the current run is much better at focusing and tightening the story, but right now, it doesn't feel like it's going anywhere. Spawn is just kinda...here and there, gathering resources, but it feels meandering, like Tod's more busy setting up stories with Gunslinger and the like then making a focused story.
So, to both of you, I'd say Spawn and Venom have had issues with writing. They're both long runners. But their issues are slightly different.
@Shin Shaman It’s okay man, I don’t like either of them.
You have to love that early 90s heavy metal album cover and meathead action movie aesthetic that also gave us Mortal Kombat.
Todd McFarlane was meant to be a comic book artist, toy designer and entrepreneur. Writing was never his strong point but he changed things forever!
I could have told you that from the way he wrote ghost rider in his Spider-Man comics.
But he wrote one of the stories ever told. WTF are you talking about?
Whether you like him or not (but you like him, be honest with yourself), you really have to respect Matt for spending quite a number of hours researching and creating a video about a character/series that he hates.
Thanks for putting this out! While Spawn’s quality is certainly debatable (McFarlane’s dialogue is questionable at best), its impact on independent comics was absolutely revolutionary for the industry
Another GREAT video Matt.WELL DONE.I've never been a fan of Spawn,but I'm a McFarlane fan,he once lived in a trailer home,now he's a multimillionaire.He owns 2 of the top-selling comicbook records in history,he worked hard and smart to make his dreams come true.A few mis-steps here and there-HE'S HUMAN after all???Lost respect for him the way he treated Neil Gaiman tho.Those checks must have been BIG!!! Greed can over whelm anyone.I like how and why Image was formed.Todd is BRASH,BOLD,OPINIONATED,yet treats his comic fans well.Keep'em coming Matt,love your channel BUB.
Spawn definitely doesn't suck. Very creative character! Definitely glad to see all the renewal for him, especially after being so long. I'm excited to what else comes out!
LMFAO yeah Spawn really does suck....Its sucked for decades. Everything beyond the first 10 issues just gets worse and worse....The only people that still love that shit are the same people who were those annoying emo edge lords in high school and thought they were "cool". It was even worse then McFarlane stopped writing or drawing it.
I agree with you
Opinions
Spawn isn’t a bad character…it’s the writer behind him. As much as I like Mcfarlanes art, he shouldn’t be writing. This also shows in the Batman/Spawn crossover, which is terrible.
All I know is I liked it a lot at first and wouldn't shut up about it. I've made it to issue 17 now and I kinda feel like backing out.
Trash talking my Spawn? That HBO series was my life as a kid! Lol
The HBO series is good!
So I guess you are a fan after all huh.. lol
Key words are HBO series, the comic sucked, hell most of Image pretty much sucked they were just given props for being edgy
@@jimmyju76 I thought the first 100 issues were cool but should have ended there. Things definitely went to shit though. The whole 90s era was extreme. We had short jacket Wonder Woman, Azrael, Adam X The "X-treme" lol
SPAWN made me really focus on detail as an artist I still come back with inspiration from reading an issue. Thank you for the motivation to keep drawing and painting in a way I can't express.
I once created an OC villain based on Todd McFarlane (because I think he looks like one), but who am I to judge? He was good at what he was doing and built an entertainment empire from scratch
Amazing video!👍👏 I just began my comic book collection and found Toon Haven. They have an incredible range of digital comics for every genre, including the hard to find ones. Lifetime updates too!😁
WOW....I can't believe you brought up Faust as an influence, awesome! Your the first person I've seen that brings up Quimm and Vigils Faust on anything.
I remember buying Spawn/Batman and being SO excited to get home and read it.
Imagine the disappointment.
Of all the comic books I have sadly lost over the years, that isn't one of them.
I sometimes forget I ever owned it.
The new Spawn/Batman crossover or the older one?
@@austinroundsgallery83the old frank miller one
Spawn is in my top five favorite comic book superheroes, so I greatly appreciate this analysis.
Happy Spawntember! For more Spawntember goodness, read the full essay at Comic Book Herald: www.comicbookherald.com/how-spawn-changed-comic-books-even-though-it-sucks/ and check out Diego Rivera's channel: ua-cam.com/users/DiegoRiveraYT
Please do a video about hellblazer
Glad u agreed it sucked. Or I’d have lost respect. Terrible 90’s extreme leifeldish garbage
Thanks for the info Matt 👍. Much ❤ as always
Its clearly an example of the 90s TO THE EXTREME...has that air of the 90s,the comic,the cartoon and the movie has the air of the 90s.
Just started watching the HBO show and I gotta say that while everything I know about Spawn is surface level I can’t help but love it.
OMG I love you. I feel like I've been waiting a lifetime for someone to make a comic book UA-cam video with an actual critical eye, not fawning praise for some nostalgia of their childhood. #thankyou (is that still a thing?) SO much!
Wow, Spawntember is starting out strong this year.
Matt: "Spawn sucks!"
Me: "YOU SUCK!!! ... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that..."
Even when I disagree, your videos continue to fuel my passion for comic books. Keep up the great work, man.
I've been a fan of Spawn since the mid 90s and over the recent years McFarlane has been reminding me of a little bit Zack Snyder. Awesome at giving visuals to a world they love but needs to stay away from writing at all cost.
I’m a spawn fan with a big run…and I found this video entertaining and hilarious with the criticism. Well done
For me it's more interesting the behind the scenes stories and the creation of Spawn than the fictional history of the character.
Spawn Rules!!!
Hes stood the test of time and has earned his spot in the comic book hall of fame .
Spawn is here to stay
Facts spawn is underrated 🔥
@jamichealruiz8640 he's got his cult following...this Kool Aid so good
Digging the MonoMemory Resident Evil cover song in the background 13:00
I think that Spawn is experiencing a slight boost in popularity because of its' place in comics history as having the ability to redefine the medium, and people kind of want to see that happen again. Also great video Matt! Even if Spawn isn't your thing
I had always known about Spawn, but I've never known him like this. great video.
1:55 Good god, man - it's either "shouldn't be understated" (as in: we shouldn't undervalue this) or "can't be overstated" (so big it can't be exaggerated.) "Can't be understated" makes it sound - at best - like you're missing an "enough" at the end.
Todd McFarlane was already doing multiple splash page minimal plot and story books with the Spider-Man series prior to Image being formed.
You know what...an anthology of Spawn shorts with 40% anime/manga creators could create crazy sale numbers.
Even though I’m a die hard Spawn fan, this was still a great video. I’d be interested to hear your take on a series like Savage Dragon or John Constantine: Hellblazer
Spawn does not suck
Yeah I still like it,those first 15 or so issues maybe seem sillier now but I still have a fondness for it. It’s probably just nostalgia but that’s fine with me. Shadow Hawk was better though,that should’ve been the flagship character(literally a poor man’s Batman)
Great video as always, keep up the great work
Matt u do such a great variety of topics and being ur A game in such a dominant way
So cool that you're a synthwave fan. What a good surprise to hear Dance With The Dead in the background. And The Midnight in the outro.
Spawn was the first comic I bought on a regular basis that wasn't a dc or marvel property.
The issue with spawn is the exact way the new movie is being pitched. That Spawn would be a background character, a rumor not taking the spot light. The HBO show does exactly the same thing, brooding in an alley as people ask him to do literally anything.
Spawn is exactly the kind of comic book movie we need. Marvel may “propel” the narrative but it just propels it to mediocre lukewarm endings
Spawn brought me here and I'm subscribing to this channel because of this content :D
Spawn is one of the most iconic series of all time
I began reading the comics about last year from issue 1 and I'm pass 200 and i am enjoying them. I'm a fan now.
The best portion of the news heads is the absolute parody of different news channels spins on the same stories.
Thank you for sharing, keep doing what you do!!!
I loved this video, it's just Matt shit talking Spawn for 20 minutes. Beautiful!
Dude, you NEED to cover Monstress! That book deserves about 97 times the readers it has!
Yeah it's a really great comic!
Certainly wasn't expecting a reference to Faust: Love of the Damned of all things.
shut, this video didnt got a notification in my feed, great work as always matt
I love Spawn I think he's a great character in itself. Definitely a misunderstood loner with supernatural powers. I loved Greg Capullo's early Spawn work with his art style from Marvel before copying Todd's style. Todd to me just wanted to quit drawing after 16 or 17 issues. I think he wanted to make toys and do the get rich scheme on us fans and the world. The Satan Lee of Image.
I read spawn as a kid and it was awesome. One of my favorites at the time...
"Made in the 90s, Spawn Spawn SPAWN
Created by a guy named McFarlane
Had his own show on HBO
Did the plot make sense?
No, no, no. . ."
-Robot Chicken
Spawn’s best issues were the ones with Al Simmons when Jim Downing replaced Al I refused to buy them but when Al came back I bought the ones with him because Al Simmons was good
McFarlane didn't 'explode' on to the scene. It took a while for him to gather his following.
To say it sucks is just straight up wrong. I get that everyone has their own taste but the first 100 issues (at least) were fantastic. Sure it had weak points and there are plenty of paper thin characters but the core of the story and the way it’s delivered is very enjoyable for the reader and was unique for the time. Not to mention the art style and structuring which helps to tell the story in the perfect manner. The series definitely loses itself after a while but the first third of the series is a great read especially if you’re looking for a peak 90s comic. I will say though that once it gets bad it gets really bad really fast like one of the steepest quality drops I’ve ever seen in a series
I dont care about spawn at all as a character, I'm just glad that McFarlane is still making the most affordable collectable figures while other toy companies are increasing their price
This is one of my favorite franchises of all time. And quite possibly my favorite super hero of all time. I love spawn. It's one of the things close to my heart.
Spawn may be hard to read and slow, but it got me into comics and its still a personal favorite of mine. But you can’t deny that the art is amazing no matter who’s doing it
Everything you said in this video is exactly how I feel about spawn and it's creator Todd McFarlane. Also you should do a video on cerebus.
Your reasons for why Spawn sucks are actually the things that make it so special to me. It's so violent, nasty, dark, bizarre, vintage, and demonic. The various philosophies about good, evil, and existence-how can you not like it? I think you never got what Spawn was trying to communicate. To be honest, Spawn rules. It's just that you value other things.
Spawn rules... to a legion of teenagers who think drinking alcohol makes you 'mature'.
@@MutantsInDisguisedouche chills
@@MutantsInDisguise Not being a teenager anymore doesn't mean you have to be allergic to anything that's cool. Also, Spawn is one of the most maturely written stories I've ever read.
@@newwaveinfantry8362 maturely? Ok, mate, I respect you preferring Spawn, but there is nothing mature about him.
Todd seems like a neat idea guy. He just needs a good... would editor be the right word here? I dunno, he just needs someone able and willing to veto him and take his ideas and change them when needed.
Saying Spawn sucks is crazy. Especially the first 100 issues. It’s did fall off comic wise but damn the toys were 🔥🔥🔥. Shout out to you for this vid bc I never seen the toys commercial and I had all of them except Malebogia 😩
I always felt Spawn is the KISS and WWE of comics. Love this video, thank you!
Spawn was the only comic book I was able to truly enjoy. The excessive narration and unique art style is what set it apart from other comics.
I've always loved the concept behind the character but I've never been able to actually be all that invested in the actual comics. Really, I tried to read it and pretty much put it down after the first talking heads section.
Wow, fantastic video. Thanks a lot!
Spawn is a character with potential and there have been good stories,and the mythology sounds good on paper,but the way it has turned out is not so good,but the art has always been awesome
agreed if your into dark fantasy Read Elric novels By Michael Moorcock. on his Multiverse novels & and eternal champion with a black sword called Stormbringer &
black sword Mourned blade soul eater swords. if like spawn. Try reading some dark fantasy Elric
20:31. Given that Todd didn’t write spawn for a significant chunk of that 300 issues I don’t see it as an achievement on the same level as Sims Cerebus which he did write all 300 issues of. To me, it’d be like if Eastman and Laird got to count all the TMNT comics they didn’t write to their overall count of comics they wrote for the past 40 years.
Rewatching this in prep for the collective episode/read a bit. It’s interesting how even though it’s not deep, it’s engaging to look at with its designs, how it uses its issues to tell the story. And how engaging how the designs look/iconic. While I read it I could see how a 13 year old would love it.
Like there are a lot of edgy 90 anti hero comics but this one genuinely sticks out in my brain
While I liked the HBO Spawn animated series as a kid, I used to hate how slow paced it was. The plot took so long to progress that when I thought some cool was going to happen, the series was cancelled. I'm a bit surprised Todd hasn't made a Netflix series by now. But I guess he's more concerned w/ the toy line.
I did not know how crazy impactful Spawn was now I understand the mad love he gets from everyone. Gotta check that animated series it looks insane !
Spawn is like that dude you thought was really cool when you were younger, but as you got older you realise how much of a massive dork they were.
Teu cu
I LOVE the writing in Spawn. Sure, it's a little over the top and tells more than it shows, but it's fucking badass imo. I genuinely have no problem with it and really do not get the dislike for it.
Great stuff. Thanks for sharing
This sounds like the rule of cool. As long as it looks awesome the story ain't that important lol.
I seen it all in the 90s, good times. Still hoping they'll make another animation of spawn or a movie..
It are the spin-offs that make Spawn great. The mini-series Angela, Violator, and Blood Feud (Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore) are really fun to read.
Thank you. Thank you for reminding us not too spend a waking second on something we truly despise. Much less spend 24 minutes and 4 seconds on something you obviously loathe....
I never read comics but the HBO series was fire with the whole gritty R rated superhero thing becoming a trend they should pick it up where it left off.
With Spawn being in Mortal Kombat it's clear the voice actor would probably be down.
Cool series! Keep them coming