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."
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.
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.
