A risk-taker with an unerring instinct for success, Todd McFarlane has made a multi-million dollar empire using those skills and along the way he and his companies have received nearly a hundred national and international awards, including two Emmys, a Grammy, and MTV Music Awards for his producer/director roles. McFarlane became a true comic book superstar for his record setting work on Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man franchise, where he co-created the anti-hero Venom. The Sony Pictures’ Venom film starring Tom Hardy set an all-time record for largest film opening in October and was #1 at the box office its first two weeks of release. This year, McFarlane has announced an ensemble of award-winning talent for his upcoming Spawn movie: Casting Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Jamie Foxx (Ray, Django Unchained) to play Spawn and Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker, The Town, Wind River) to play police detective "Twitch" Williams. This new Spawn film will be a gritty, R-rated re-imagining of the character and marks McFarlane’s feature film directorial debut. Academy Award nominee Jason Blum and his BlumhouseProductions, the force behind recent hits Get Out, Split and Halloween, are attached to produce. McFarlane also co-founded in 1992—and serves as current President of—Image Comics. Image has been the third largest comic publisher in North America the past 26 years (behind Marvel and DC Comics). In 1994, McFarlane founded the international award-winning McFarlane Toys—now one of North America’s top action figure manufacturers, boasting over 150 licenses (including the recently announced Fortnite license) during that time. Artistically, McFarlane’s impact visually on the look of Spider-Man (while working at Marvel in the 1990s) can still be seen today. And a single page of McFarlane’s original art from an issue of Amazing Spider-Man sold for a record-smashing $657,250. Then his first issue for Image Comics, called Spawn, sold an unprecedented 1.7 million copies for an independent comic. Since its debut, Spawn has continued to be a fan favorite title around the world. Spawn is published in 12 languages and sold in 37 countries. The comic became an Emmy Award-Winning animated series on HBO and a New Line Cinema feature film. McFarlane founded the international award-winning McFarlane Toys—now one of North America’s top action figure manufacturers. A whirlwind of expansion in McFarlane’s companies followed: more comics, action figures, and award-winning entertainment projects which boast over 150 licenses. McFarlane Toys is known for making the best toys of the world’s pop-culture obsessions including the newly launched Fortnite and roleplay line.Greg Capullo is a renowned comic book artist, known for his dynamic style and attention to detail. Born in Schenectady, New York, Capullo’s passion for drawing and creating comics began at a young age. He started his career working for smaller publishers before landing a job at Marvel Comics, where he worked on titles such as X-Force and Quasar. He later moved to rival company DC Comics, where he achieved his greatest success as the primary artist for the critically acclaimed Batman series in collaboration with writer Scott Snyder. Capullo’s distinctive style features bold lines and intricate detail. He has the ability to capture the essence of characters and bring them to life through his illustrations. His work on Batman, in particular, has received widespread critical acclaim, earning him numerous Eisner Awards and cementing his position as one of the top comic book artists in the industry. In addition to his work on Batman, Capullo has also collaborated with writer Todd McFarlane on the creation of the iconic comic book series, Spawn. Capullo’s artwork on Spawn has garnered high praise and earned him multiple awards, including a Harvey Award. His collaborative work with McFarlane is considered one of the best partnerships in the comic book industry and has continued for many years. With a career spanning over three decades, Greg Capullo has made an indelible mark on the comic book industry and continues to inspire new generations of artists and fans.Tony S. Daniel is a comic book writer and artist known for his work on various books for DC Comics, including Teen Titans, Deathstroke, and Batman. His work on Detective Comics earned him a spot as a New York Times Bestselling Writer. He’s also worked on creator-owned titles such as The Tenth, Adrenalynn, F5, and Silke.Marc Silvestri made history as one of the founding partners of Image comics in 1992. Creator, businessman, savant, writer, teacher, artist... these are only a few of the words that one would associate with Marc. His characters, artwork, and creations have made billions of dollars for Marvel Comics as well as his own company, Top Cow Productions, that he founded in 1992, as a partner of Image Comics. He is well known for his work on iconic Marvel titles such as The X-Men, Wolverine and The Incredible Hulk. As CEO of Top Cow Productions, his mandate was specific; produce the next generation of heroes and do it different than everyone else. Marc masterminded the Top Cow Universe through properties like Cyber Force, Witchblade, and The Darkness. When Hollywood started its love affair with comic book characters in the mid-1990s Marc helped position Top Cow as a vital production company in film and television. In addition to comic books, Marc has acted as Executive Producer in a variety of other media including the Witchblade television series and anime series, the Wanted feature film, the A-Team feature film, and two successful video games based off of The Darkness. Marc‘s much anticipated Batman/Joker team up book for DC comics will no doubt showcase his ongoing commitment to innovate and strive to always evolve as a creator and artist.Reading Dracula at age 12 introduced Mike Mignola to folklore and Victorian supernatural literature, from which he has still never recovered. He began working as a comic book artist in 1982, working for both Marvel and DC Comics before creating Hellboy, published by Dark Horse Comics in 1994. What began as a single comic-book series would eventually expand to a “Hellboy Universe” of related graphic novels, prose novels, short story anthologies, and both animated and live action films. He also wrote and drew The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects. He has co-written novels with Christopher Golden (Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire) and Thomas Sniegoski (Grim Death and Bill the Electrocuted Criminal), worked with Francis Ford Coppola on Bram Stoker's Dracula, was a production designer on Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and was a visual consultant to Guillermo Del Toro on Blade II, Hellboy, and Hellboy II: The Golden Army. A new Hellboy film directed by Neil Marshall was released in April 2019. Mike’s comics and graphic novels have earned numerous awards, and are published in a great many countries. He lives in Southern California with his wife and a very demanding cat.Frank Miller is regarded as one of the most influential and awarded professionals in the entertainment industry today, known for his intense, hard-boiled storytelling and gritty noir aesthetic across comics, graphic novels, and film.Born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Lubbock, Texas, Alex made his artistic debut at three when, according to his mother, he grabbed a piece of paper and drew the contents of a television commercial he'd seen moments before. By age 13 he was scripting and drawing original comic books. Ten years later? He was hired by Marvel Comics to illustrate Marvel's central characters in the comic book event, Marvels (1994). Having established himself creatively and financially with superhero projects, Ross turned to the real world with Uncle Sam, a 96-page story that took a hard look at the dark side of American history. Like Marvels, the individual issues of Uncle Sam were collected into a single volume - first in hardcover, then in paperback - and remain in print today. Ross would eventually go on to win the Comic Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Painter. He won so many times that the award was officially retired. Alex's work has celebrated the 60th anniversaries of Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman with fully painted, tabloid-sized books, depicting each of these characters using their powers to inspire humanity as well as help them. In recent years, Ross has applied his artistic skills to outside projects with comic book roots, including a limited-edition promotional poster for the Academy Awards. In 2015, Alex was chosen by Apple Corps LTD to be commissioned as the first artist in over 30 years to paint the Fab Four. Driven by the Beatles legendary music and inspired by the generation's new trends in art, "Yellow Submarine" is a classic of animated cinema. Alex has often been referred to as 'the Norman Rockwell of comics' yet his "Yellow Submarine" piece reveals the similarly powerful influence of master surrealist Salvador Dali, whom Alex has also recognized as a guiding influence on his style. Forty years ago, Spider-Man learned that with great power comes great responsibility. Looking at Alex Ross, it's obvious the lesson took. Looking back, it makes perfect sense that Alex Ross would become one of the world's most preeminent and well-respected comic book artists. It's a job he's been preparing for nearly all his life.Ashley Wood is Australian comic book artist and award-winning illustrator known for his cover art, concept design and his work as an art director. Wood initially worked in both the UK and international comic book industries, working on characters such as the British character Judge Dredd, before breaking into the US market, where he worked for such companies as Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Wood has also worked for Image Comics, creating graphic novels and cover art for the various SPAWN properties of Todd McFarlane and more. Wood generally works in mixed media, often combining oil painting with digital artmaking.
