Warning: contains preview images for The Scorched #3!
A series of variant covers for the Spawn universe title The Scorched will honor the legacy of Image Comics co-founder Jim Lee. Spawn creator, and fellow Image co-founder Todd McFarlane will provide the covers, which, when linked together, create a homage to Jim Lee’s iconic cover to X-Men #1, the best-selling comic of all time. The first cover in the series will be featured on The Scorched #3, on sale in print and digital March 16.
Over the last year, Todd McFarlane has set sales records several times over, thanks to his expansion of the Spawn franchise. Spawn, one of the first characters from Image Comics, has largely been a stand-alone property, but on the eve of his 30th anniversary, McFarlane has begun adding new titles to the line, including Gunslinger Spawn, King Spawn and The Scorched. These exciting new additions to the Spawn Universe have been greeted enthusiastically by fans; The Scorched #1, which brought together a variety of characters from across the character’s mythos for the first time, became the top-selling Image title of the 21st century. And now, Todd McFarlane keeps the momentum going with his variant covers for The Scorched #3-6, which honor the work of his friend Jim Lee. The Scorched #3 will be written by Sean Lewis and illustrated by Stephen Segovia.
A press release on Image Comics’ website revealed the first part of the interlocking covers, shared below. Todd McFarlane, whose art has been the subject of numerous homages, wishes to “turn the tables” and create a homage another artist, in this case Jim Lee. McFarlane noted in the press release this will be his first attempt at “tipping [his] hat” to Lee; he also praised Lee, calling his work an “inspiration for many.” The cover is a perfect recreation of Lee’s now-iconic wraparound for X-Men #1, showing King Spawn and Gunslinger Spawn ready to head into combat.
Both Spawn and Image Comics are celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2022. Todd McFarlane has pulled all out the stops, expanding the Spawn universe in new and exciting ways, including creating the franchise’s first team book, The Scorched. With his new series of variant covers for The Scorched, McFarlane is not only looking forward to Spawn’s future, but to the past as well. Jim Lee’s X-Men #1 cover is a touchstone in comics history, and McFarlane honors it with these covers; McFarlane is not only honoring one of comics’ most memorable covers, but he is also paying tribute to Jim Lee, his friend—and fellow Image founder.
Even though Jim Lee would leave Image Comics in the early 2000s, selling his Wildstorm imprint to DC Comics, he is still an important figure in the company’s history and now Todd McFarlane honors Lee with a variant cover for the Spawn team book The Scorched.
Source: Image Comics