Spawn is a fictional character appearing in a monthly comic book of the same name published by American company Image Comics, as well as in a number of films, television series, and video game adaptations set in the Image Universe. Created by Todd McFarlane, the character first appeared in Spawn (May 1992).
The series has spun off several other comics, including Angela, Curse of the Spawn, Sam & Twitch, and the Japanese manga Shadows of Spawn. Spawn was adapted into a 1997 feature film and portrayed by Michael Jai White, an HBO animated series lasting from 1997 until 1999, a series of action figures whose high level of detail made McFarlane Toys known in the toy industry, and a reboot film starring Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner. The character also appears in annual compilations, miniseries specials written by guest authors and artists, and numerous crossover storylines in other comic books, including Savage Dragon and Invincible.Todd McFarlane began drawing as a hobby at an early age, and created the character Spawn when he was 16, spending “countless hours” perfecting the appearance of each component of the character’s visual design.