Popverse's top stories

• DC Comics revamps Teen Titans with Red Hood leading a new generation of heroes
• Why anime can't resist the allure of the isekai
• If you’re starting Daredevil, here’s why Born Again matters

Artists can't help but be inspired, but sometimes the depths of inspiration can go a little deeper... some would say too deep.

Image Comics co-founder Erik Larsen recently wrote online about the striking similarities between a pair of characters from Todd McFarlane's Spawn series for the 30 years, and another pair of characters from DC Comics' The Shadow ongoing series in the mid '80s.

"Dunno if this is the case but I always kind of assumed that Sam and Twitch from Spawn were lifted almost verbatim from writer Andy Helfer and artist Bill Sienkiewicz's DeWitt and Twitch from the Shadow 1-6," writes Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen in the Facebook group Comic Swipes. Here is an excerpt from the long out-of-print The Shadow series:

And here is Sam & Twitch's first appearance, years later in Todd McFarlane's Spawn #1:

Some of you might be wondering.... wait, isn't Larsen a co-owner of Image Comics alongside Sam & Twitch (and Spawn) creator Todd McFarlane? Why doesn't he just ask Todd the next time he sees him? A fan asked that, and Larsen was nonchalant about it, saying, "Meh. Where's the fun in that?"

Comparing the two duos — DC's The Shadow characters DeWitt and Twitch, and then Spawn's Sam and Twitch — is eerily connected. Not just in their names, but in their appearances as designed by artist Bill Sienkiewicz. And Sienkiewicz happened to see Larsen's Facebook post, and replied rather meekly.

"As likely and as plausible a genesis as any."

Not for the first time, but I agree with Bill Sienkiewicz.

Now while some of you might be rushing to speculate on the legal ramifications of this, the ownership of DeWitt and Twitch as characters wouldn't be with their publisher, DC, as DC's The Shadow series was a licensed title. When the license expired, any characters and stories that originated within that title would go with the Shadow back to its owner. Currently, The Shadow franchise is owned by Condé Nast and still remains active with the character in different media.

Perhaps they're unaware, or perhaps they're waiting until Sam & Twitch becomes a bigger property, such as their announced involvement in the long-simmering King Spawn movie by Todd McFarlane, or the aborted BBC America Sam & Twitch TV series by Kevin Smith.

Or maybe they'll just strike it up to inspiration. 

Get ready for what's next with our list to upcoming comics and how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to all the free comics you can get with this year's Free Comic Book Day and Comics Giveaway Day.