Todd McFarlane does his best Jim Lee impression for Scorched X-Men #1 tribute variant covers

Scorched X-Men #1 tribute covers (Image credit: Todd McFarlane Productions)

Legendary comic creator Todd McFarlane is one of the most iconic cover artists of the '90s, and now he's trying his hand at paying homage to one of the best-known comic covers by one of his contemporaries: Jim Lee's wraparound cover for 1991's X-Men #1.

McFarlane and colorist Ulises Arreola have created a series of connecting variant covers for the Spawn team-up book Scorched that features several variants of Spawn and characters in the Spawn universe in a homage to Lee's original cover.

McFarlane has just released the final cover in the series to June 1's Scorched #6.

Scorched #3 through #6 connect to create one piece of artwork commemorating Spawn's 30th anniversary in 2022.

"The X-Men and Jim Lee's artwork have inspired a whole generation of new comic book artists, and I wanted to tip my hat to Jim's enormous impact on our industry," says McFarlane. "This marked the first time I have done any connecting covers, let alone four of them! I hope to keep reminding new customers that there was a time in the 1990s when our industry was near the zenith of excitement and innovative styles. Jim Lee was helping to lead that pack."

Scorched #3-#6 — Scorched #3-6 X-Men #1 variant tribute covers (Image credit: Todd McFarlane Productions)

McFarlane's own Spider-Man #1 cover received a slew of tributes in recent months from artists paying homage to the image, both in a Batman variant cover for DC and in a whole collection of Marvel Comics Spider-Man variants.

The original version of Lee's X-Men #1 is a wraparound image that was broken up into several pieces that formed variant covers for the issue.

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The Scorched #3 variant covers also feature a corner box art celebrating 30 years since the 1992 debut of Spawn, McFarlane's signature creation, which itself pays homage to the similar Marvel Comics 50-year anniversary corner boxes that decorated many of the publisher's 1991 comic releases, including X-Men #1.

In recent years, McFarlane has once again taken a more active role in his Spawn comic line, expanding the franchise with a second ongoing King Spawn title, while also creating the Scorched team.

You can get digital comics anywhere, but for variant covers such as the Scorched #3 tribute to X-Men #1, your best bet is paying a visit to your local comic shop.

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)