Todd McFarlane: the world’s best comic-creator, or the best marketed? (interview: audio format)

Spawn was created by Emmy- and Grammy-winning director/producer Todd McFarlane. For The Amazing Spider-Man, he co-created Marvel’s main villain, Venom. Todd is CEO of Todd McFarlane Productions, McFarlane Toys, and McFarlane Films. He co-founded Image Comics, which published Spawn in 1992 and sold 1.7 million copies.

In 1997, Spawn became an Emmy-winning animated HBO series and a $100 million live-action picture. With Spawn #301, Todd broke the record for longest-running creator-owned superhero comic book series.

So, is Todd McFarlane the world’s best comic-creator, or simply the best marketed?