Todd McFarlane was born on March 16, 1961, in Canada, and built one of the most recognizable careers in American comics over four decades of work spanning artist, writer, and publisher roles. He broke through in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the artist on Marvel's *The Amazing Spider-Man*, where his intricate, web-heavy linework redefined how the character looked on the page. During that run he also drew the first full appearances of Venom, cementing his place in Marvel history.
In 1992, McFarlane was among the founders of Image Comics, a publisher established on the principle of creator ownership. For his own launch title he reached back into his high-school sketchbooks and reworked an occult anti-hero into *Spawn*, a superhero horror-fantasy that sold 1.7 million copies with its debut issue — a record for an independent comic book that still stood as of 2007. The series encouraged a broader industry shift toward creator-owned properties. McFarlane wrote and drew *Spawn* himself before stepping away from inking duties after issue No. 70 in February 1998.
Beyond the drawing board, he produced the 1997 live-action *Spawn* film starring Michael Jai White, founded McFarlane Toys and the animation studio Todd McFarlane Entertainment, served as Art Director at 38 Studios beginning in 2006, and previously held a co-ownership stake in the NHL's Edmonton Oilers. Our catalog credits him across 748 issues from 1985 through 2025, with *Spawn* and *The Amazing Spider-Man* as his most prominent titles.
