Todd McFarlane he recently gave a tour of his studio for ComicBook’s The Collectibles Show, and while he showed off all his cool stuff there were a couple of things he revealed that I thought were really interesting because we’d never seen them before.
At one point McFarlane showed off a page from his Spider-Man/X-Force crossover he was working on Rob Liefeld. When Marvel saw the page, they covered it up and cut it, so it was never published, due to Comics Code Authority guidelines. The illustration sees Juggernaut brutally stabbed in the face.
It was this censorship that caused McFarlane to leave Marvel Comics and start his own company, which ended up becoming Image Comics. He explained in the video:
“You would have thought I killed a baby or something. All of a sudden I’m on the phone with about five editors and a bunch of people saying, ‘Todd, you can’t do that, you can’t do that?’ and they said, “Because it’s in the comics code.” I said, “The comics code? I’ve been asking for the comics code for three years. Why didn’t someone send me the comic code? What is the Comics Code? Is there even a copy of this or are you just doing it like this?” And they were like, ‘Well, we just don’t think it’s going to work,’ and then the crazy conversation I had… they were just like, ‘Todd, you can’t stab people .’ I can’t stab people? What are you talking about? I just bought an issue of Frank Miller and the cover is Bullsyee disemboweling Elektra through the stomach. “Ohh, well, you can do it in the stomach, you’re doing it in the eyes.”
“So, I say, ‘Here’s what’s going to happen: I’m a couple days away from having the baby. I’m going to be a father; I don’t know how much time it’s going to consume me.. ..I’m done. I’m done.”
So, this is why he left Marvel Comics. It makes sense, it was a time when comics really needed to evolve.
McFarlane also shared a look at the Wolverine redesign that Marvel Comics asked him to do. Ultimately they never used it, but here’s what McFarlane’s vision of Wolverine was at the time. As you’ll see, he’s gone full punk.
by Joey Paur
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
