Image Comics celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and Spawn factors heavily in the legacy of the revolutionary independent comic book company. Todd McFarlane left Marvel Comics along with other high-profile creators to create Spawn in 1992 and he created an entire universe of characters that remain vital pieces in the character's elaborate mythology.

Some characters remain key in Spawn, while others don't. McFarlane's best comic book characters include complicated figures like Angela who no longer belong to him. It also includes Venom, whose creation involved numerous creators over a number of years, with McFarlane playing a key role in the iconic character's first appearance.

Haunt

Haunt appears in Image Comics.

Haunt likely reminds McFarlane fans of the most powerful alien symbiotes in Marvel Comics, including Venom, with his ectoplasmic powers. Though they share some visual similarities, Haunt's frightening origin and supernatural focus help distinguish him from McFarlane's many comic book creations.

Co-created with The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Haunt fits easily into the horrific world Spawn inhabits by combining Daniel Kilgore and his late brother into one being. Together, they fight evil and each other for control.

Cy-Gor

Cy-Gor breaks through a wall in Image Comics.

Cy-Gor first appeared in Spawn #38, co-created by McFarlane, Tony Daniels, and Julia Simmons. Cy-Gor combines a gorilla with a robot, creating an instantly memorable and fun visual.

The character plays a relatively minor role in the Spawn mythos, but as a sometimes-villain, sometimes-ally, he always generates compelling comic book images.

Most fans likely know the character from his distinctive McFarlane Toys action figure in the 1990s, which has since been revisited in recent years with more extensive and more detailed versions.

Doctor Midnight

Doctor Midnight

McFarlane got his first big break in comic books with DC and Infinity Inc. He helped create numerous characters for the title in the 1980s, including Doctor Midnight. This modern update of the Gold Age character Dr. Mid-Nite wore a unique costume showing McFarlane's talent for design and iconography.

She wore an unusual belt and pouch on her leg, unusual for the mid-1980s at least. By the early 1990s, McFarlane and others like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld, among the best X-Men artists ever, would adorn nearly every superhero in similar pouches.

Artemis Crock

Injustice Unlimited assembles in DC Comics.

McFarlane co-created Artemis Crock alongside Roy and Dann Thomas for Infinity Inc. #34. The daughter of Golden Age characters Sportsmaster and Tigress, she added flair to the reformed Injustice Unlimited. She proved a compelling villain and occasional hero who continued to play a role in the comics through many DC Comics reboots, including The New 52.

Fans also likely know Artemis from her appearance in numerous episodes of the Young Justice animated series, among the best DC animated series ever.

Sam And Twitch

Sam and Twitch appear in Spawn comics.

Sam and Twitch play a fundamental role in the best Spawn comic book storylines, first appearing in Spawn #1. Their ground-level and world-weary perspective balances out the supernatural extremes in the book perfectly and led to them becoming fan favorites and eventually headlining their own series from Image Comics.

Sam and Twitch, homicide detectives in New York City, form the subject of an upcoming live-action series from McFarlane, among many potential projects in development for the franchise.

Violator

The Violator appears in Image Comics.

The Violator numbers among McFarlane's most inventive and most disturbing creations. He debuts in Spawn #2 and instantly cements his place among Spawn's greatest villains. Few characters feature two iconic looks, but Violator stands out in his creepy human form as a kind of clown as well as in his truly terrifying demonic appearance.

Violator's lithe, unusual demonic appearance looks like nothing else in comic books and helped craft a signature visual style for the demonic underworld that plays such a key part in Spawn.

Angela

Angela holding a weapon in Spawn comics.

Angela ranks among the best Thor comic book characters not yet in the MCU despite McFarlane co-creating her with writer Neil Gaiman. Legal issues between the two ultimately resulted in Gaiman selling Angela to Marvel, where she now plays a massive part in both Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy comic books.

Angela's unique appearance remains a core part of her character even in Marvel Comics, proving that the armored design McFarlane gave her in her first appearance in Spawn #8 was iconic from the start.

Eddie Brock

Venom kills innocent police cop in Marvel Comics.

Eddie Brock and Venom began as two separate characters, with their eventual fusion coming long after the alien symbiote first appeared in Secret Wars #8. McFarlane co-created the ambitious and headstrong Brock with David Micheline, among the best Spider-Man writers ever, in Web of Spider-Man #18 in 1986.

McFarlane gave Brock an intimidating physical presence that later informed Venom's hulking size, using his talent for using physical shapes and expressions to express character, something fans see throughout his work in Spawn in characters like Sam and Twitch.

Venom

Venom attacks in Marvel Comics.

Venom counts among the best Spider-Man villains in Marvel Comics and one of the most iconic. Venom's huge teeth and disturbing distortion of the classic Spider-Man silhouette embody McFarlane trademarks. He often takes superhero visual tropes and turns them upside down, creating a look that is distinctly his. Though Venom evolved somewhat with later artists, McFarlane put the foundational elements in place.

McFarlane drew the character first in a cameo in The Amazing Spider-Man #299, though components like the alien symbiote black suit predated Venom by some years. This means numerous creators including Micheline, Mike Zeck, Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, and Randy Schueller all share credit for the character's complex origin.

Spawn

Spawn appears on the cover of Spawn 1 comic book.

Spawn remains McFarlane's most iconic creation. From his first appearance in 1992, the character's signature copious cape - which only got bigger in animation and live-action - carved a silhouette that remains iconic thirty years later. Spawn's true visual power comes in the fact he generated so many derivative characters like Gunslinger Spawn, a hallmark of major superhero icons.

Spawn features in the longest-running independent comic book ever, and underlines a small empire including the comics and the toys that have established McFarlane as a major force not just in the comic book industry, but in media.

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