Todd McFarlane Finally Returns Joyce Chin’s Angela Original Artwork

Joyce Chin has set up shop at the Lake Como Comic Art Festival with all of the great and good in comic book artists from the USA, the UK and mainland Europe. In spitting distance of her husband Arthur Adams‘ booth, she has been grabbing all sorts of attention this morning for a very special piece of artwork – and an accompanying letter.

Used as a pin-up for Spawn #48, but also as a cover for Spawn Classics issues, this Angela cover was drawn by Joyce Chin when she was working for Malibu and Malibu were still publishing Image Comics titles. And for reasons unknown, the original artwork was not returned. Joyce Chin told me, between Vampirella commissions (she is a busy woman at the show) that she didn’t know it hadn’t been returned, she just didn’t know where it was. And Spawn publisher Todd McFarlane didn’t know he hadn’t returned it and only came across it last year, in a box in his garage. As he explains, tongue in cheek, in his letter.

“Dear Joyce – I’m so sorry for the delay in getting this artwork back to you. I had originally intended to return it after 10 years… not 25 years! Though you drew this during the Reagan administration, I hope this will not happen again if you decide to do more pages for me. T. McFarlane.”

She did point out though, if she had sold it back then, it would have been for a couple of hundred dollars max. Now, it might go for significantly more. So she’s rather grateful for Todd for keeping it safe and secure and unsold for so long.