Spawn: A Look at a Year’s Worth of the Coolest Homage Covers

Spawn is a comic book published by Image Comics. It was created by my favorite comic book artist, the always amazing Todd McFarlane. (One day I WILL own some Original art...I know that @steven.nam owns a piece...lucky bastard!!!)

It premiered in May of 1992 and is still going strong today. Currently it’s at #287 and is one of the longest running Indy comics out there.

Through the years, the series has had its ups and downs but there has always been a strong cult following. Plenty of issues, variants & regulars, are highly sought after and fetch some decent coin. Some of my favorites from this 25 plus year run is the year of homage covers McFarlane did starting in January of 2011.

Let’s take a peek!!! Shall we?!?

I’ll note that each of these issues had a regular cover and a b&w sketch variant. The sketch variants were 1:25 ratio on most of them. I believe one or two were a higher ratio.

The magic started with issue #220...

This was just a simple homage...to Spawn’s own issue #200 which only came out a year and a half prior.

There were 3 different homage covers for #220 for whatever weird reason. The next being this mofo!

The “inspiration” for this one came from another of Image Comics initial release by one of the creators of Deadpool, Cable, Domino, and more...Mr. Rob Liefeld. The title?? Youngblood #1. One of the best selling comics of ALL TIME!!! Nutty...right?

Then comes the final homage of #220.

This bad boy is a kickass recreation of yet ANOTHER Image initial launch title...Savage Dragon. This title is written and drawn by Erik Larsen and is still being published today....just like Spawn.

Ok...that just covers #220....we have a loooooong way to go so strap in, grab a cool one, and get ready to peep some awesomeness by one of the greats!!!

Up next is issue #221.

If you call yourself a comic fan and you didn’t immediately spot what this is from...not only shame on you, but...well...I just feel sorry for you. It’s just Spidey’s 1st appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15. It graced newsstands in August of 1962 and shortly after, led to the webhead getting his own series which is still going strong today. This is a MEGA KEY and one I hate to admit, I still need in my collection. I had the chance about 2 years back to get a copy for a song but I wasn’t liquid at that moment. The seller couldn’t wait and had to move on. It’s since over doubled in price and I regret not robbing an old lady to pay for it ever since.

Issue #222!!

This recreates Venom’s 1st Cover Appearance on Amazing Spider-Man #316, and it’s a monster of a cover!! (If you don’t count this on #315.)

This is a solid wall book at any convention or show as it ALWAYS moves. Every time I pop one on my wall, it’s gone within a few days.

This book even inspired a phenomenal statue that came out over a decade ago. Dynamic Forces recreated this scene in a fantastic Resin Diorama. This freaking fantastic statue usually fetches anywhere from $500 and up. I regret selling my last on (at one point I had like 9 of em...but I made bank on it so can't be too angry) Beautiful piece.

Onward to #223!!!

This one is more recent. A bit over 10 years old now but another monster book. The Walking Dead #1!!! This is a book that Image also publishes and is a worldwide sensation. Robert Kirkman really tapped into something at juuuust the right time and owned it. He’s turned a b&w zombie comic book into an empire!

Kirkman is also a really awesome dude! Check out the nice things he had to say about my shop!!!

Oh you guessed #224 is next?!? Yay!!! You can count!!!

The next homange cover to check off is of Batman The Dark Returns #2. This gritty and beaten up portrayal by Frank Miller is etched into any older comic fan's memory so I see why Todd chose to use it. This 4 issue series was fantastic and is a must read!!! Great choice and solid addition to the pack. I cherish my set and won' t get rid of it. It's in my "lifer" collection.

#225 is next on the block...

This one is my least favorite of the bunch but it's still cool. It's like being the shittiest of the aweomse things!! This took inspiration from the hugely inspirational series, The Watchmen. Despite the original writer Alan Moore's wishes, HBO is going ahead with a series based off the books. I have faith that it will be good...solid cast and crew announced thus far and a killer network. Anyway, this is based off of the 1st issue of The Watchmen. This was during the Obama/Romney election and Todd decided to mock up 2 covers...just in case. On the b&w he just did 1 standard with Election 2012 as the title.

Up to bat next, issue #226...

What can I say about this cover that it does not tell you itself?!? This is Incredible Hulk #340 which came out in February of 88...just as I was turning 8 and ratting out my brothers and sisters for drining in the garage. I was such a piece of shit little tattletale. I used to rat out my sibblings like crazy during those years...no wonder they tortured me...

Anyway, this was done by the main man himself back when he was penciling Hulk in the 80's. Like Amazing #316 above, this is another solid wall book with a great cover that has been payed homage to plenty of times before. There are a gazillion homage covers of this badboy already but the only one homaged by Todd himself.

Spawn #227 is coming at ya...watch out...this one is a biggie!!!

Ok...ok...this is probably THE most copied cover in the batch. There was actually an entire wave of "homage" covers that paid tribute...or cash grabbed depending on how you looke at it...based off of this MeGa KeY below. From Spider-Gwen, to Archie, Lady Death, to Deadpool...there are a billion tributes paid to this. Actually pop on over to this link where @baronstrucker penned a post on this very issue. You can see some of the other books there and show him a little love on a newer post! https://steemit.com/comics/@baronstrucker/another-tendency-homage-covers-in-comic-books

Amazing Spider-Man #300 is the 1st FULL Appearance of Venom. You see him in the previous 2 issues of the series but only in the shadows until a purdy reveal splash page at the end of #299. Issue #300 is a book that has been a Key ever since I started collecting which was not long ater this came out. I still have my copy that I got about 26 years ago. I have upgraded since but it's still pretty cool to have the first copy i got as this book was and still is a huge deal in the comic world. It is also a big deal to me as this run by McFarlane and Michelinie still holds up as one of my favorites. I have the HC Omnibus on my bookshelf so I can read it whenever I want....which is often. This book is also a blue chip book that will continue to rise as time goes on. The fact that a CGC 9.8 copy of this is fetching $2500 and up is mindboggling though considering one bump lower to a 9.6...and you'll pay a third of the price. A book that is not rare by any means yet the demand FAR outweighs the supply with the ever growing populatity of Venom, along with the overall love of McFarlane's powerful run on ASM.

Also the fact that the b&w is not just a normal b&w but has the red in place makes it stand out that much more. This is the most expensive of the b&w homages...rarely popping up, outside of the shitty inferior foreign versions.

Spawn #228 is another iconic cover...

This might look vaguely familiar to you....It's only...ya know...the most coveted comic book on the planet!!! That's right folks, I am talking about Action Comics #1. The 1st appearance of Superman! This book was released in May/June of 1938!!!!! Think about that for a second! Every now and then, one is found and it mskes worldwide news as it is such a tremendous deal. In 2014, an absolutely stunning copy of the book...a CGC 9.0 sold for 3.2 Million dollars!!!!! If you found a beat to shit copy of this...and I mean dunked in a toilet, dried in a desert type of shit copy...it would still be a life changer. That is how crazy this book is.

There have been a ton of homages done for this as well but my favorite is the shirt I own incorporating Mario into it!! (Mine is Navy Blue) I always get comments and nods from fellow dorks when I rock this shit in public.

If you guessed #230 is up next?!?! Then YOU are a COMPLETE & TOTAL MORON and need to learn how to count!!! If you guessed #229 is next...wow...big deal! You are a counting warrior...

This is a abeautiful cover by the legendary Jim Steranko. The book is Incredible Hulk King Size Special #1...basically Annual #1. This beauty came out in October of 1968 and always is a pretty book to diaplay. Guessing Todd loved this book or Steranko himself to use it. Cool cover but I could think of a million others to use instead so it must be a personal choice for Todd.

Now we hit #230 and are nearing the end....soon my friends....

This is a simple but beautiful cover originally done by Todd. It's Batman #423 which came out in September of 1988. Man...Todd was busy as hell making masterpieces in 1988!!! Intersting yet useless fact...this is Todd's ONLY Batman cover. He worked on Detective Comics for a few issues but only did 1 cover for the main title of Batman. Kinda nutty and a bit of a shame...

Okay folks...this is the last one. Why not end with another biggie... Without further ado...#231...

Another classic that has been given it's due plenty of times over in the comic world. This is Spider-Man #1!!! This rocked our worlds in August of 1990 with a variety of covers including regular, silver, and gold. Oh, there was also a super rare incentive Platinum version. Oh, not done yet....there were also polybagged versions. A completionist's nightmare. Todd did the art and story for this run for almost a year before jumping ship and co founding Image. While in my opinion, not the strongest story...it's still an important part of Spidey history....and...well...Todd's art. Anytime we get to see Todd showing his skills with our favorite web head, I'm sold!!!

If you made it this far, I not only give you credit for sticking with it but I thank you. This one took me a while to put together. I almost put this up a couple of weeks back and I believe 2 issues away when busy crashed on me and for whatever reason....did not save it. I wanted to MuRdEr someone as over 2 hours was completely wasted. I almost wasn't going to redo it but I felt it would make a cool piece to see all of these together and learn a bit about each of the issues the homage is based on. Also any chance I can get to show off Todd's work...I will take.

Please feel free to RESTEEM & UPVOTE!!! It's truly helps and is greatly appreciated! If you enjoyed the content here just let me know below and give a FOLLOW. I'll do more pieces like this if the feedback is good!!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Did you learn anything from this? Do you have any of these issues? Do you know the meaning of life?!? How do you make it stop burning when you pee (asking for a friend)? If you have an answer to any of those questions, please let me know below in the comments section below. lol

Thanks for taking this trip with me.

Blewitt

• Comic Photos courtest of mycomicshop.com
• Gifs courtest of giphy.com, giffer.com, and tumbler