“Change is part of the human condition. And yet every day you run into systems that are crushingly holding on to status quo, are holding on to yesterday. And for those of us who are wired to think about tomorrow, we become the rebels, we become the outcasts, we become the people who are rocking the boat.”
— Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane (@Todd_McFarlane) is an Emmy- and Grammy-winning director/producer and creator of one of the world’s best-selling comic books, Spawn. He is best known to many comic book fans for his work as the artist on The Amazing Spider-Man, for which he co-created Marvel’s top villain, Venom.
Todd is the CEO of Todd McFarlane Productions, McFarlane Toys (one of the US’s top action-figure manufacturers), and McFarlane Films. He is also a co-founder of Image Comics, which debuted Spawn in 1992, selling 1.7 million copies of the first issue. In 1997, Spawn was made into an Emmy Award-winning animated series on HBO and a live-action feature film that grossed over $100 million. In 2019, Todd made history with Spawn #301, earning the Guinness World Record for longest-running creator-owned superhero comic book series.
Please enjoy!
This episode is brought to you by MasterClass! With MasterClass, you can learn from the world’s best minds—anytime, anywhere, and at your own pace. With more than 180 classes from a range of world-class instructors, that thing you’ve always wanted to do is closer than you think.
MasterClass’s cinema-quality lessons give you unparalleled access to renowned instructors, who share everything from how to execute specific techniques to insights about their craft that can be translated across many fields and disciplines. This holiday, give one annual membership and get one free! Go to Masterclass.Com/Ferriss today.
This episode is brought to you by Vuori Clothing! Vuori is a new and fresh perspective on performance apparel, perfect if you are sick and tired of traditional, old workout gear. Everything is designed for maximum comfort and versatility so that you look and feel as good in everyday life as you do working out.
Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at VuoriClothing.com/Tim. Not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but you’ll also enjoy free shipping on any US orders over $75 and free returns.
This episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the #1 overall mattress of 2020 by GQ magazine, Wired, Apartment Therapy, and many others. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress to meet each and every body’s unique comfort needs. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk-free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders plus two free pillows at HelixSleep.com/Tim.
Want to hear an episode about someone else who overcame early failures to ultimately excel in their creative vision? Listen to my conversation with author Steven Pressfield in which we discussed feline role models, halfway house theories, eclectic resumes, self-sabotage, writing a first novel in his 50s, the artist’s journey, little successes that lead to big results, and much more.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
- Connect with Todd McFarlane:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
SHOW NOTES
Editor’s note: Timestamps will be added shortly.
- Baseball.
- Rejection letters.
- Compelling storytelling and meeting deadlines.
- Deadlines pre-Internet vs. deadlines today.
- How industry status quo led to the founding of Image Comic Books.
- The Comics Code and the last straw.
- The Marvel Dream Team exodus.
- How is Todd’s camel bladder a competitive advantage?
- Career bouncing and double-shifting as a penciler and inker.
- The happy accident of Venom.
- De-Rockwelling the company icon and inventing “spaghetti webbing.”
- Bucking the status quo to become the status quo.
- Parting thoughts and a promise for round two.
MORE TODD MCFARLANE QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW
“You never want to have a conversation with anybody where two plus two equals giraffe.”
— Todd McFarlane
“When I was trying to break into comic books, in all those years leading up to breaking in, I was reading everything I could get my hands on about our industry. And what I found was I was coming across a common theme. And the common theme was that everybody, no matter how big your standing had been in our industry, eventually got pushed out against their will, and in some cases got the short end of creative and financial sticks.”
— Todd McFarlane
“When I got my first job in comic books, three weeks before I graduated, I went in with my eyes wide open. And so I knew what the game was, and I go, ‘Okay, their job is to exploit me as much as possible. Can I do the same in reverse at the same time?’”
— Todd McFarlane
“Change is part of the human condition. And yet every day you run into systems that are crushingly holding on to status quo, are holding on to yesterday. And for those of us who are wired to think about tomorrow, we become the rebels, we become the outcasts, we become the people who are rocking the boat.”
— Todd McFarlane
“Sometimes my enthusiasm gets the better of me, and there’s nobody that hates Todd more than Todd.”
— Todd McFarlane
“If anybody is under the age of 30ish listening, I’m going to give you a bit of a golden rule. If anybody asks you to do something, especially somebody in authority, always say ‘Yes’ even if you’re not going to do it. It’s just way easier. You get out of the room faster. No confrontation. Just nod your head ‘Yes’ in agreement and go do whatever the hell you want.”
— Todd McFarlane
PEOPLE MENTIONED
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than 900 million downloads. It has been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it’s been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
I think that is good service, if i receive streams with real people.
Perfekt service – thank you for this ! It is very good , every time again.
This site has helped me so much in more ways than one, and I am so appreciative of the hard working group managing all of it.
Service is helpful in growing followers. Big Ups to the Developers!
Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me. https://accounts.binance.com/sv/register?ref=T7KCZASX
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me? https://www.binance.com/tr/register?ref=B4EPR6J0
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article. https://accounts.binance.com/pt-BR/register-person?ref=WTOZ531Y
The point of view of your article has taught me a lot, and I already know how to improve the paper on gate.oi, thank you. https://www.gate.io/vi/signup/XwNAU