Spawn

Spawn (Albert Francis "Al" Simmons) is an undead superhero in the . He first appears in Spawn #1 (May 1992) and was created by Todd McFarlane.

The series has spun off several other comics, including Angela, Curse of the Spawn, Sam & Twitch, and the Japan manga Shadows of Spawn. Spawn was adapted into a 1997 feature film, an HBO animated series lasting from 1997 until 1999, and a series of action figure whose high level of detail made McFarlane Toys known in the toy industry.

Spawn enjoyed considerable popularity upon its initial release in the 1990s, which was a notable feat for a non-DC and non-Marvel character. Indeed, McFarlane stated repeatedly that his goal was for the character to become as well known as Superman and Spider-Man . Comic book collecting was enjoying a marked upswing at the time, fueled by the speculator boom looking for the next hot book that would jump in value after its release. McFarlane had also already enjoyed superstar status among comic fans with his work on Spider-Man, which had featured McFarlane's name prominently as both writer and artist. McFarlane's subsequent break with Marvel and the formation of Image Comics was seen by many as a sea-change event, changing the very way in which comics were produced. Wizard Magazine, on May 2008, rated "The Launch of Image Comics" as no: 1 in the list of events that rocked the Comic Industry from 1991 to 2008.

The first issue of Spawn was very popular with sales of 1.7 million copies, however, popularity has faded over time. A recent issue, Spawn #174, ranked 99 out of 300 with preorder sales of 22,667. The popularity of the franchise peaked with the 1997 Spawn feature film, which was only a mild commercial success and failed to start a film franchise based on the character.