Art & Creativity Quote by Todd McFarlane

A throwaway-sounding line that’s actually a flex: McFarlane frames “inking” not as a past chapter but as a living muscle he still chooses to use. In comics, inking is both craft and control. It’s the stage where pencils get translated into the final voice on the page, where atmosphere, weight, and attitude are locked in. Saying he still inks “here and there” signals credibility - he hasn’t drifted so far into executive/brand-builder mode that his hands no longer remember the job. Then he tightens the screw: “a book that I’m going to ink entirely.” That’s not casual. That’s a declaration of authorship.

The subtext is about ownership in every sense. McFarlane is the guy who helped turn creator rights into a public fight, and inking an entire book is a literal way of reclaiming the final layer of decision-making. No middlemen, no interpretation drift, no “house style” smoothing out his quirks. It’s also a cultural nod to fans who fetishize “the pure McFarlane look” - all those aggressive contours, glossy blacks, and hyper-detailed textures that defined late-’80s/early-’90s mainstream comics aesthetics.

Context matters: McFarlane’s career spans from breakout artist to industry power (Image, Spawn, toys). When someone at that altitude talks about returning to the board, it reads as a promise: not just another product, but a renewed act of making. Inking the whole thing becomes a kind of authenticity test - and a reminder that in comics, the final line is the final word.