Comics
Todd McFarlane Completes Massive ‘Spawn’ Screenplay
Growing up, Todd McFarlane was one of my favorite comic book artists. It was bliss when he formed Image and took all of the best in the industry under one umbrella. Then, he created an action figure line to create high quality toys based on his “Spawn” comics, which segued into his Movie Maniacs line that paved the way for NECA’s world domination.
But with all of the money and various business ventures, time has thinned out for the artistic visionary. Everything was delayed, for many years, and a lot of projects never even came into fruition. It’s nice to know that McFarlane cares enough to keep his fingers prints all over his work, which is why hearing about a new Spawn feature for the better part of a decade isn’t annoying.
The 1997 New Line Cinema adaptation of his comic is one of the worst movies ever made, so it’s understandable that he’s doing it or nobody will. I just wish he’d do whatever it took to move the needle a little quicker than it has been.
ComicBook has a positive update that quickly goes south. Here, let’s take a look.
“I’ve finished the script, and I’m in the process of editing,” McFarlane told ComicBook when asked for an update. “It’s 183 pages, and [producers] usually like 120. I still think it’s going to end up being about 140, because I’m putting in details for myself.”
The good news is that the script is finally complete. The bad news is that, since he wants to do it himself, the budget’s going to be super tight. This means compromised vision, which is also detailed by the addition of the need to trim nearly 45 pages out of the overly long screenplay.
Even at 140 pages we’re talking a long movie, and I fear the next Spawn, which McFarlane says he will direct, could end up back in movie purgatory.
For those who have never read a “Spawn” comic, here’s the plot breakdown, courtesy of Wiki:
Lt. Colonel Albert Francis ″Al″ Simmons, USMC (Ret.), was a highly trained Marine who was at his most successful point when he saved the President from an attempted assassination. He was promoted to a high level within the CIA devoted to black ops. Once there, he began to question the morality of what his agency was doing.
Jason Wynn hired Bruce Stinson (codenamed Chapel), Simmons’ friend and partner, to kill him. In a blazing inferno, Simmons was killed and his soul sent to Hell, because he had knowingly killed innocents while working for the CIA.
Simmons made a deal with an evil being known as Malebolgia: in exchange for his soul, he would get to see once again his wife, Wanda. However, when Simmons returned to the human world, five years had passed, and he had been transformed into a demonic creature with little memory of his former life. After regaining his memories, he sought out his wife, only to find she had moved on and married his best friend, Terry Fitzgerald, and that they now had a daughter named Cyan.
After this event, the Violator appeared, and revealed to Simmons the purpose of his resurrection. They fought, but the battle was interrupted by Malebolgia.
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
You must be logged in to post a comment.