COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Spawn 9
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Grade:
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9.6
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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1168789001
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Owner:
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SW3D
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Spawn 9: The Ultra Rare Newsstand Variant!
Only 9 Newsstand Editions Currently Exist as compared to 769 Direct Editions (CGC Census Numbers as of March 11, 2014).
Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: March, 1993
Age: Modern Age
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: Todd McFarlane
Grade: 9.6 (Near Mint+)
Grade Description: Nearly perfect with a minor additional virture or virtues that raise it from Near Mint. The overall look is "as if it was just purchased and read once or twice."
CGC Key Comments: 1st Appearance of Medieval Spawn and Angela, Newsstand Edition, Newsprint paper interior, Manufactured without Angela poster.
Owners Key Comments: 1st Appearance of Cogliostro.
Grade Date: October 18, 2013
Owners Notes: "The Irony of Spawn #9"
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), and that it is an ultra rare Newsstand Variant of Spawn 9, 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 producer of Spawn comics (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.
And this is why I bought the comic to begin with... because of the irony it represents: 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?
Well... flash forward to March 21, 2013 (nearly 20 years from the date Angela made her debut in Spawn #9) and Marvel Comics, Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane settle the whole Angela debate. How? I honestly don't know. But both Angela and Miracleman are now 100% intellectual properties of Marvel Comics and parent company Disney.
Angela has mysteriously returned... after Todd killed her in Spawn 100. Marvel Comics has brought her back to life in Age of Ultron #10; to this day, Marvel has not provided an explanation on how the angel has managed such a feat. But I'm sure they're working on it... and I hope it's a doozie!
In the meantime, I'm following her exploits in Guardians of the Galaxy, and do look forward to the possibility of a solo series... and even an appearance in a Guardians of the Galaxy movie... maybe. If Angela can come back from the dead, she can definitely work miracles and movie magic!
SW3D
March 11, 2014
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