How does it feel to hit No. 301?

As we got closer, I thought, Maybe I need to say it out loud, to help inspire other creators that — depending on who you are, your personality and what you want to get out of life — there are possibilities out there. You can come up with an idea, and you can go against the giant machine, and you can survive and succeed and still be in charge nearly three decades later.

Was there a moment when you realized that Spawn was a success?

When we started the company, and we knew we were going to be going head-to-head against Marvel and DC, we knew we would get out of the gate. I knew fans were going to come for our books because they wanted to see the artwork of the founders. They were buying Spawn because they wanted to see a continuation of that guy doing that cool Spider-Man . But could I sustain it?

Is that different from today?

Did I think I could get good sales for No. 301, which sets the record? Of course. But did I awaken any new customers? Is there any sort of spark in interest in the character? Can I drop some extra news about the movie and just keep the ball rolling?

I read that you wanted more control over the new film and to possibly crowdfund it.

The deal was always that I’m involved in writing, producing and directing. Those are my non-negotiables. The normal system is to go to the studios and get your movie made. But there are other ways to get movies made. Go take money from the outside — you get it funded, but then you have to come back to Hollywood and make a distribution deal. If I can’t do that, I’ll just turn to the fans. It’s a $20 million budget. Can I get 20 million people to each give me $1? I think the answer is yes.

How much involvement did you have with the 1997 movie and the animated series the same year?

The animated series, I drove that. That deal was — I don’t know anything about animation — but unless I can drive this, I’m not selling it. So I learned animation quickly. The first “ Spawn ” movie , not so much. That was a more typical deal, where I just sold it and only late in the game did I come in. By that point, I couldn’t do anything: good, bad or indifferent. I sort of vowed, next time I do “Spawn,” I’ll do it small, I’ll do it reasonable so that everybody’s risk is mitigated and that will allow me more creative input.

How do you keep things interesting for yourself after all this time?

This one’s easy. I’m still driving the car. I get to go in any direction. If Stan Lee , my dear friend, were still alive and he had done Spider-Man for 30 years, he would have evolved more. As a single creator, you can’t keep regurgitating the same story, because you’re going to drive yourself creatively crazy. I look at the stories as told at the beginning and look at the stories I’m telling now, and they’re not the same . The look of the character has changed. I’m getting geared up for the next 300 issues.