Meet comics legend Todd McFarlane at Phoenix Zoo Saturday

As a kid, I was a huge Spider-Man fan. In the late 1970s, he often faced off against the Rhino, a muscle-bound brute that had a thuggish charm about him. For whatever reason, I liked him.

The rhino is also one of the reasons that Valley resident and acclaimed comics artist Todd McFarlane, will appear at the Phoenix Zoo on Saturday, Oct. 4, for a celebration of “Comic Conservation,” the zoo’s new art exhibit.

“I’d like to go to Africa someday, because the rhinoceros is the animal that, since I was 6, is the most fascinating animal on the planet. It’s the dinosaur that forgot to die, right? Others died, but it was stubborn enough to stick around. (My wife) reached out to the zoo and somehow managed to get it so I could go and pet their rhino and feed it. I thought … who needs to go to Africa when I can go down the street? So (the zoo) did a terrific favor for us,” McFarlane says.

When McFarlane asked if there was anything he could do for the zoo, they told him about their idea for the “Comic Conservation” exhibit.

“I like rhinos, they had a rhino, and they had an event and needed some art. It all kind of worked out,” McFarlane says.

“Comic Conservation” was conceived after Matt Strangwayes, the Learning & Engagement Resource Manager for the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation/Phoenix Zoo, attended an event several years ago at the behest of local comic book artist Jay Fotos.

McFarlane spoke at the event, and “it was really cool to hear Todd talk because he’s a really inspiring guy. His stories are engaging, and he got me fired up, so I came back to work the next week and told my co-workers about the experience,” Strangwayes says.

Fotos has worked with the zoo on several art-related projects over the last decade, so it seemed a natural fit to Strangwayes and the team at the zoo to look for a project where McFarlane other comics artists could get involved. Strangwayes reached out to Fotos, who had worked with McFarlane at McFarlane Productions.

Fotos connected Strangwayes to McFarlane’s wife, Wanda.

“She came down and saw what we were doing with our art and conservation programs, and she went back to Todd and they decided to help us out,” Strangwayes says.

McFarlane agreed, at first, to offer a piece of his work to be exhibited in the zoo’s art gallery, Zoo staff pitched the idea of an event as well, and the “Comic Conservation” exhibition and event was born.

The lineup of artists for Comic Conservation is stellar. Mexican artist Memuco has multiple paintings in the exhibition featuring his character “The Silent,” who comforts animals as they go extinct. Also featured are the whimsical works of Rawry and Pohly, Hannah Strauss, Rob Ozborne, Meredith McClaren, Jay Fotos, Danny Ross, PeZ Lopez, El Kartun, Mark Kidwell, Mick Lambrou and Danny Marianino, Victor J. Irizarry, Fernanda Fierro, Ryan Huna Smith, Demar Douglas, Austin Ackert, Ryan Cody, Sophia Cox and Latique Curry.

The exhibition of comic book art inspired by conservation efforts has been on display since Sept. 4 and will continue through Jan. 25, but the Oct. 4 event is a special day of artist appearances and other activities from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“A handful of us, myself included, are going to be doing some signings and there will be a display of artwork so people can see how comic book art is made. I don’t go to comic book shows very often, so there might be a bunch of comic book fans there who can go and check out the zoo, too,” says McFarlane.

Fans of the Batman villain, The Penguin, will definitely want to check out Ackert’s awesome “Bad Penguin” work. Douglas is an artist for the Phoenix Suns, so his work might be familiar to some, as well. Strangwayes can talk at length about every artist involved.

“Ryan Huna Smith was someone that I read about online, and I really fell in love with his work. His story is cool because he was the artist for the very first Native American-produced superhero comic called “Tribal Force” in the ’90s. Memuco is another artist who is known for his environmental art. I reached out and explained what we were doing, and he was all over it. He’ll be here for the event on Oct. 4, too,” Strangwayes says.

Event attendees will want to get to the zoo early to enjoy all the activities, which will also include appearances by Smoky Bear and the Phoenix Police SWAT team engaging in superhero-themed activities with kids. At 10 a.m., McFarlane tell stories and offer basic drawing techniques in the Doornbos Discovery Ampitheater. (This experience requires an extra $10 fee.)

From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., McFarlane will sign one item per guest. (This experience also has an additional fee.) Strauss, Irizarry, Ross, Cox, Douglas and many others will also be available for autographs, pictures and meet-and-greet opportunities.

It all comes back to the rhino, though, and while there are some regrets for McFarlane, it’s still the coolest animal in the zoo.

“When you feed a rhino, it swallows your hand, all the way, like halfway up your forearm, but it doesn’t have any teeth. When I drew Spider-Man, I never got to draw The Rhino. He was one of my favorites, though. I like drawing big guys, because I drew the Hulk for a while, so I thought, ‘Oh, man, the Rhino is just the Hulk with a horn,” shares McFarlane.

Perhaps someone can talk him into drawing a rhino doing some cool conservation work on Saturday.