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The comics industry is much more competitive & talented than the '80s and'90s, and Todd McFarlane said he couldn't cut it if he was starting today
Todd McFarlane says the standards for new creators are much higher today, and someone like him could never break into the industry
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Todd McFarlane might be one of the most consequential comic creators the medium has seen. He broke sales records at Marvel, created Spawn, and helped launch Image Comics, a publisher that has served as a home for indie creators. It’s not hyperbolic to say the industry wouldn’t be what it is today without him. However, McFarlane believes that he wouldn’t make it if he was starting out today.
“I do not envy [new artists] nor would I want to be breaking into the industry today because the level I had of skill when I broke in wouldn’t even be close to passing muster today,” Todd McFarlane says during an interview with ComicPop Returns. “I’m thankful that there was no internet when I broke in because they were taking people down here [lowers his hands]. That was me, and again, and they started paying you to draw eight to ten hours a day, so your skill is going to go up [raises hands]. I marvel at the amount of talent out there. Not only do I marvel at it, but I sort of go, 'Man, look at that skill, that person, and they’re kind of not known. How hard is it now?' And then you’ve got a lot of people now that are around the globe, so you’re competing with the globe. I wasn’t.”
I suppose we should be thankful that McFarlane entered the industry when he did. If he hadn’t, we never would’ve had Image Comics and all the creator-owned series it launched.
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