Todd McFarlane Announces Violator Series Exploring the Fan-Favorite Villain's Origins

Violator will be written by Manhunter and True Blood's Marc Andreyko, with art by a murderer's row of talent.

By Russ Burlingame

Todd McFarlane Productions today announced that Violator, a new series exploring the origins of the fan-favorite villain, will launch this summer. The latest Spawn Universe title will be written by Eisner Award winner Marc Andreyko, with art by an all-star lineup of artists including Piotr Kowalski, Kyle Hotz, Jonathan Wayshak, Gianenrico Bonacorsi, Cully Hamner, and Von Randall. The six-issue saga promises to define the mythos of one of the most popular figures in the Spawn Universe.

While Violator, also sometimes known as "Clown," is a fan-favorite character and served as the villain in the Spawn movie, he has not been as constant a presence in the title as casual fans might expect, having spent much of Spawn's 300-plus issues dead or otherwise off the board. Of course, every time he shows up, he tends to do a lot of damage and drag a lot of people to hell.

"Strangely, that in the 30-year history of the Spawn Universe, we have never written the origin story of one of the main characters of this mythology," said Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn and president of Image Comics. "So now, after such a long wait, Marc Andreyko and his crew of artists have delivered a story that is a multi-era spanning telling of how this villain came to be Spawn's main antagonist. Since his first appearance way back in 1992, I've been asking writers to think about doing this story. Luckily Marc has enthusiastically jumped on that request."  

According to TMP, the Violator series will take readers on a fantastic journey through time, revealing the long-awaited origin of the Violator. Per the official synopsis, the story is narrated by the devious storyteller, Violator, himself. It begins with his celestial inception to his catastrophic decent into the fiery depths of hell, and ultimately his banishment to the mortal realm of earth.

TMP has provided ComicBook with a first look at five covers for Violator, which you can see below.

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(Photo: Image Comics)
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(Photo: Image Comics  )
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(Photo: Image Comics  )
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(Photo: Image Comics)
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(Photo: Image Comics)

Here's the rest of the official synopsis from Todd McFarlane Productions and Image Comics:

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The story will run throughout earth's history, as Violator lurks in the shadows, manipulating the course of events and ensnaring some of the most influential figures to ever walk the earth. With six oversized issues, and six talented artists, each artist doing a different chapter to the series, readers will be transported through six distinct eras.

Violator invites readers on a thrilling journey through the depths of the Spawn Universe. With its captivating narrative and stunning artwork, the first issue is set for release on August 14th, with pre-orders closing on July 8th. Get ready to embrace the darkness and prepare to uncover the secrets that lie beneath the surface of reality!

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