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Todd "Muscles and Teeth" McFarlane

post #1 of 33
3/28/08 at 10:42pm
Thread Starter 
From the "Venom" entry at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom_%28comics%29):

Created by David Michelinie
Mike Zeck (alien costume design)
Todd McFarlane (muscles and teeth)

I know there are some people out there that would be really upset if, when doling out creative credits, the one they recieved was simply "muscles and teeth". But I like to think that not only does Todd not care, he actively and frequently refers to himself as Todd "Muscles and Teeth" McFarlane.
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post #2 of 33
3/29/08 at 5:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drew S. View Post
From the "Venom" entry at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom_%28comics%29):

Created by David Michelinie
Mike Zeck (alien costume design)
Todd McFarlane (muscles and teeth)

I know there are some people out there that would be really upset if, when doling out creative credits, the one they recieved was simply "muscles and teeth". But I like to think that not only does Todd not care, he actively and frequently refers to himself as Todd "Muscles and Teeth" McFarlane.
I hate to say this because of how frequently it is used and also used ineptly, but it's funny because it's true. When you boil it all down, what the fuck did Todd contribute to the creation of Venom? The muscles and teeth! Wikipedia's insane stickler nerd squad is unexpectedly hilarious and brilliant at times.

I wonder if the artist who came up with Venom's recent redesign will be included in a future update as the creator of "visible eyes without pupils and redesigned logo with spider legs over shoulders".

EDIT: Forgot to add "Fuck Todd McFarlane!"
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post #3 of 33
3/29/08 at 5:26am
Where's the "Erik Larsen (tongue)" credit?
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post #4 of 33
3/29/08 at 5:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexus-7 View Post
Where's the "Erik Larsen (tongue)" credit?
Didn't know about that one. Who knew Venom had such an intricate creation with so many talented and intelligent people lending a hand in his conception?
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post #5 of 33
3/29/08 at 5:51am
Who invented the color black? At this point we might as well make sure everyone gets their thanks.
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post #6 of 33
3/30/08 at 2:13pm
Who cares?
Venom is a really boring and two dimensional character.
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post #7 of 33
3/30/08 at 7:35pm
Not a McFarlane fan here, but c'mon, he did create a look for a very popular villian. Saying he just added the muscles and teeth is pretty silly.



He did add the tongue, I guess Larsen gets credit for exaggerating it further.

Totally off topic, and probably old but this made me chuckle today;



How Liefeld's cap would look from above;
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post #8 of 33
3/30/08 at 7:50pm
I will never get tired of that picture.
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post #9 of 33
3/30/08 at 9:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post
He did add the tongue, I guess Larsen gets credit for exaggerating it further.
Okay okay, how about...
"Erik Larsen (exaggerated tongue and excessive drool)"?



Mmmm... snacks...
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post #10 of 33
3/31/08 at 1:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Randolph Carter View Post
Who cares?
Venom is a really boring and two dimensional character.
Thanks for the lecture, but it is pretty damn funny that one of the most boisterous pricks alive gets credited solely for adding the teeth and muscles to perhaps his most famous 'creation'. It's also a great microcosm of the absurdity of comics and the industry that creates them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post
Not a McFarlane fan here, but c'mon, he did create a look for a very popular villian. Saying he just added the muscles and teeth is pretty silly.
That's all the look is, though. It's a famous and notable look, but pretty much that is all he did.
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post #11 of 33
3/31/08 at 2:28am
Venom is an all look character. His popularity rests completely on his appearance, and McFarlane is responsible for that. He did not create Venom, but he created what made Venom popular.
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post #12 of 33
3/31/08 at 3:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint G View Post
Venom is an all look character. His popularity rests completely on his appearance, and McFarlane is responsible for that. He did not create Venom, but he created what made Venom popular.
But when it comes down to what made Venom look like Venom, it was the teeth and muscles as everything else about him had existed beforehand. That is all we are saying.
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post #13 of 33
3/31/08 at 9:41am
Funny but when you say "muscles" you are discounting a very big part of why he looks different. I'm not saying he's a genius or anything like that, but c'mon, there are better things to criticize McFarlane for, and this is not one of them.

And this is nothing new, I mean we do have a character called Reverse Flash, then you have Bizarro, etc.
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post #14 of 33
3/31/08 at 11:58am
Every comic book hero meets the evil clone. You know the guy, he is similar to the hero in many ways plus he is evil ! Sometimes (way too many times) they are straight up clones. Venom was just another variation of Spider-Man. McFarlane should get some credit for Venom's popularity. It sure was not the story that made Venom popular.
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post #15 of 33
3/31/08 at 12:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post

Totally off topic, and probably old but this made me chuckle today;



How Liefeld's cap would look from above;
What the hell? how does a comic book artist draw that and thinks to himself, HEY! THATS PERFECT!
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post #16 of 33
3/31/08 at 2:23pm
I'm just wondering who at Marvel let that picture get through. What was editorial thinking?
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post #17 of 33
3/31/08 at 2:28pm
Outside of Cap's hooters, what's with the left wing-thingy popping out?

And not to sell Larsen short, he also gave us "Venom with millions of bad toofies".
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post #18 of 33
3/31/08 at 2:33pm
The only thing better about that photo than the absolutely horrible attempt at human anatomy, is the pouty look on Cap's face - I picture his eyes just welled up with tears at that moment.. a quiver in his chin.

Big baby!
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post #19 of 33
3/31/08 at 2:38pm
Potentially non-work safe version of said picture;
http://adlo.dreamers.com/estudios/ti...bsamerica3.jpg
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post #20 of 33
3/31/08 at 2:58pm
Yeech...you know who's got a pouty face now? James Gandolfini, after looking at that flat ass. Poor Steve has been spending too much time on the bench press and not enough time doing squat thrusts.
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post #21 of 33
3/31/08 at 6:30pm
How Liefield had a career, let alone the popularity he had, is beyond me. Even when I was reading the books he drew, his work seemed so limited and shitty. I could never figure how he could be as popular as Jim Lee. In retrospect, I wonder how he even had a job.
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post #22 of 33
4/1/08 at 12:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Venkman View Post
What the hell? how does a comic book artist draw that and thinks to himself, HEY! THATS PERFECT!
The answer, of course, is cocaine. And lots of it.
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post #23 of 33
4/1/08 at 1:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post
Potentially non-work safe version of said picture;
http://adlo.dreamers.com/estudios/ti...bsamerica3.jpg
The lesser known side effect of the Super Soldier Serum on display in that picture.
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post #24 of 33
4/1/08 at 2:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post
Funny but when you say "muscles" you are discounting a very big part of why he looks different. I'm not saying he's a genius or anything like that, but c'mon, there are better things to criticize McFarlane for, and this is not one of them.
I'm not criticizing him for this, it's just bizarre if you consider what he actually did. It's like "Wow, he has a great costume and exciting new variations on Spider-Man's powers! Good one, Todd!" "Well, actually, I didn't make that up...I just...y'know...added teeth and muscles."

Michelinie even admits Todd should still get recognition for making the character popular, it's just absurd when you consider what little he contributed to the conception of the character, at least on a literal level.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint G View Post
Every comic book hero meets the evil clone. You know the guy, he is similar to the hero in many ways plus he is evil ! Sometimes (way too many times) they are straight up clones. Venom was just another variation of Spider-Man. McFarlane should get some credit for Venom's popularity. It sure was not the story that made Venom popular.
Nobody has debated that. The only thing that's been commented on is how silly it is that the situation of Venom's creation literally amounts to "Todd McFarlane: Teeth and Muscles". Do you want them to put "Teeth, muscles, and popularity"?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Timothy225 View Post
I'm just wondering who at Marvel let that picture get through. What was editorial thinking?
"People will fuckin' love this!"

...and they did.

Can't blame Marvel for the idiocy of the public.
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post #25 of 33
4/1/08 at 9:59am
Yeah, Smeagol, but there are times when artists have to make corrections based on instructions from on high. Yes, Liefield was the hottest thing back in the day, but the people paying him couldn't take one look at that picture and say "Uh, Rob? You might want to check the anatomy on this panel."
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post #26 of 33
4/1/08 at 11:29am
I read somewhere (I think it was a Wizard interview) that Liefeld sent that to Jim Lee when he had finished and the phone almost immediately rang. Jim was on the other line and told him, "Um, I think you should redraw this." and Liefeld replied, "No, it's fine." This was Liefeld remembering all that and he does apparently regret the decision. Also I believe Jeph Loeb backed him up saying, "Come'on people, it was ONE picture."
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post #27 of 33
4/1/08 at 11:37am
OK, work safe version ...

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post #28 of 33
4/1/08 at 12:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smeagol View Post

"People will fuckin' love this!"

...and they did.
No they didn't. It was openly mocked by everybody the day it came out. As a matter of fact, Liefeld fell off the map after this whole fiasco.
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post #29 of 33
4/1/08 at 12:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post
OK, work safe version ...
Yes, it's a known fact that the Super Solider Serum combined with Liefeld will result in junk that's smaller than your thumb.
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post #30 of 33
4/1/08 at 12:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
No they didn't. It was openly mocked by everybody the day it came out. As a matter of fact, Liefeld fell off the map after this whole fiasco.
I remember the image, but what was it for? A comic book cover, poster?
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post #31 of 33
4/1/08 at 1:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post
I remember the image, but what was it for? A comic book cover, poster?
The gates of hell?
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post #32 of 33
4/1/08 at 1:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
No they didn't. It was openly mocked by everybody the day it came out. As a matter of fact, Liefeld fell off the map after this whole fiasco.
Well, if this picture torpedoed Liefield's career, then it's one of the greatest and noblest pieces of comic art ever created, and deserves our praise and not our scorn.

Back on topic: Todd's contributions to Venom pale in comparison to the first costume design of Spawn. Back in the day, a very popular game we played at the comic shop was "Whose outfits did Todd swipe THIS from?" I think the record was 5-6 different superhero costumes were cribbed to make the first Spawn design
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post #33 of 33
4/1/08 at 6:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
No they didn't. It was openly mocked by everybody the day it came out. As a matter of fact, Liefeld fell off the map after this whole fiasco.
Really?

Good.

My mistake. I thought the Heros Reborn shit this was a promo for was an unfortunate success.
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