Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and musician Steve Aoki are teaming up to launch OddKey, new NFT marketplace they say will put artists in control of their digital work and allow fans to resell NFTs for little cost.
Though financial terms for artists using the marketplace were not revealed, McFarlane likened it to Image Comics, the publisher he co-founded in 1992 that allowed creators to retain the rights and the majority of the profits. McFarlane will be offering NFTs via the marketplace himself, marking a shift for the artist, who has not been keen on auctioning his work despite demand that in 2012 saw a cover from his Amazing Spider-Man No. 328 sold for $657,250. This will mark his first time selling original digital art this century.
Aoki, too, will create NFT offerings using his visual and music skills. Artists who use OddKey will receive the same terms as McFarlane and Aoki.
“You could say it’s the Image Comics model all over again except for NFTs,” says McFarlane. “We don’t want to control or own anything.”
Aoki, who got to know McFarlane several years ago, has been an NFT evangelist since the summer of 2020 and approached McFarlane at the start of this year about potentially collaborating.
“We are taking the same concept, the same dynamic, the same program that works for artists, creators and bringing it to this new stage where it’s the exciting wild, wild west of, ‘What is the future?,’” says Aoki. “We can dictate that.”
The marketplace comes via Aoki Industries and is powered by Metaplex, using Solana blockchain.
2021 has been the year of the NFT for comics, with former Wonder Woman artist Jose Delbo sparking a frenzy when he sold $1.85 million worth of art at the top of the year. Big-name creators such as Frank Miller and Matt Kindt have followed suit, while WarnerMedia issued official NFTs for DC FanDome.
With the launch of OddKey, users will also have a place to resell NFTs, and McFarlane hopes there will be affordable options for fans of different budget levels. To that end, OddKey is raffling off 6,666 free NFTs of what’s dubbed SPAWNOKI — an amalgam of Spawn and Aoki — for those who sign up.
“Will there be elite collectors who will pay a lot of money for stuff? Of course. But will there be time people can buy for maybe $5? There should be. Because that may be all they can do to get a piece of one of the people they admire,” says McFarlane.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
