The 1st Appearance of Angela, Medieval Spawn, and Cogliostro.

This issue is unique in many ways. Not only does it mark the initial appearances of the above mentioned characters (who play key roles in the Spawn mythology), that it is also a Newsstand Variant, but it would eventually become the center of a heated legal battle between two modern icons of the comic book industry: Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane.

Back in 1992, Todd McFarlane's Spawn made its debut under publisher Image Comics. Formed that same year by some of the biggest creators in the industry, Image Comics was unique for it was the champion of the hot issue of the 90's: creator-owned properties. Eight of the biggest names in the industry: Todd McFarlane, Rob Leifeld, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino, Whilce Portacio, and Chris Claremont, left Marvel Comics in a dispute over ownership and creative control over their works.

Sometime in 1993, in an effort to promote Spawn, Todd McFarlane's Productions, the studio owned and run by Todd McFarlane and produced Spawn (published under the aforementioned independent Image Comics label), hired Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Dave Sim, and Neil Gaiman, to write a single issue for the new title. Neil Gaiman's contribution was published in Spawn 9 and introduced the characters Angela, Cogliostro, and Medieval Spawn, who were also illustrated and designed by series creator Todd McFarlane. These characters proved vital to the Spawn mythology, giving it a far richer texture and tapestry it initially lacked and grounded the Spawn character with much needed history. The trio would continually reappear throughout the course of the next decade, and were subsequently republished in various Spawn volumes and reprint formats, and also appeared in other Spawn-related media: the 1997 Spawn film, and the HBO animated series Todd McFarlane's Spawn.

Flash-forward to 2002, and Neil Gaiman files suit against Todd McFarlane, claiming he co-owned these characters and was entitled to royalty payments and creative control. McFarlane's defense was based on "work-for-hire" and therefore Gaiman was not entitled to co-ownership. Eventually the courts ruled in favor of Gaiman, and granted joint ownership to Gaiman and McFarlane. To this day, all three characters are co-owned by both men.

And this is why I bought the comic to begin with... because of the irony it represents. I have never even read it. I actually own three copies: all bought sometime last year, and have just recently returned graded from the CGC. But I never read one of them. Instead I own a reprint of it, which appears in Spawn Origins Collection Volume 2... but I have yet to read that as well. And I imagine the story is quite good, for Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite writers and Todd McFarlane is equally awesome. But McFarlane's failure to recognize Gaiman's co-creatorship and legal rights to the characters he co-created is the irony that draws me to this comic... for McFarlane was one of the principal forces behind the creation of Image Comics... and creator-owned properties the very reason he left Marvel Comics. Isn't that ironic?

SW3D

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