Comic fans feel fortunate that Todd McFarlane's dreams of playing professional sports never came to fruition. Instead, the Canadian-born baseball nut began drawing comics, first pencilling for Marvel and DC, the big two of the industry, then injecting the long-running and popular series the Amazing Spider-Man with some new blood by stylizing the artwork and adding a new villain to the tale. Thanks to some indignation at the way comic artists were treated in the business, he soon ventured out to form his own company and decided right away to showcase an original character he had devised as a college student. Thus, Spawn was born. McFarlane's creation was a runaway success, becoming the top-selling comic in the United States and in several European countries and leading to animated television episodes, a live-action film, and a line of hot-selling action figures. The comic's popularity entrenched McFarlane's fledgling firm, Image...