Todd McFarlane vs Spawn - A Lawyer's Dream (ca-CHING)
The cover of the Book You Cannot Buy |
While there is no doubt that McFarlane firmly believes that Simmons was not an inspiration for Spawn, nor was he ever associated with Spawn, and would like the court to believe this claim as well, it is at odds with McFarlane's own advertising over the years when it came to personal appearances and conventions. Right from the early 1990s, Simmons was being promoted in convention advertisements in Spawn comics, and other titles published by Image Comics, as "Al Simmons A.K.A 'Spawn'". This practice continued for many years, and part of Simmons duties was to dress up in a Spawn costume and parade about the place as best he can. Naturally the character is a comic book character and it'd be hard to confuse a real life person with a fictional character, but certainly the intent was there, as Simmons was promoted as Spawn, and, on more than one occasion, McFarlane made mention of Simmons and the fact that his name, and skin colour was used, as both the real and fictional Al Simmons are black.
There's a certain amount of train wreck associated with McFarlane and legal battles these days, and, sadly, when McFarlane files suit it's greeted more with howls of derision than anything else. More is the pity as McFarlane has made some serious allegations about Simmons revealing trade secrets and insider information in his book - which was published by Image Comics, a company that McFarlane is a shareholder in - and if these allegations are proved, it will make the book one of the most sought after books about a comic book creator in recent times. As it stands the only snippets that are in general circulation reveal almost nothing - some words about Simmons early days, an introduction and a forward by artist Chance Wolf (who, you'd expect, won't be working for McFarlane anytime soon). This may not be a case for the ages, but it should make for interesting watching and until McFarlane finally caves in and sues himself, it'll not only keep some people interested but it should more than assist a few lawyers build healthy retirement funds and pump their kids through college.
INTRODUCTION TO "THE ART OF BEING SPAWN" BY AL SIMMONS
TODD McFARLANE'S NEW LAWSUIT
I wonder if Terry Fitzgerald is now beginning to sweat...
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