In 1993 Todd McFarlane contracted Neil Gaiman, along with three other recognized authors, Alan Moore, Dave Sim, and Frank Miller, to write one issue of his creator-owned comics series Spawn, which was published by Image Comics. While doing so, Gaiman introduced the characters Angela, Cogliostro, and Medieval Spawn. All three characters were co-created and designed by McFarlane. Angela first appeared in issue #9, as an adversary. In 1994 and 1995, a three-issue Angela limited series was published, written by Gaiman and illustrated by Greg Capullo, in which Angela and Spawn were forced by circumstance to temporarily work together as allies

The monthly Spawn series continued to feature all of the characters Gaiman had created long after his direct involvement had ended. Some characters had tie-ins with McFarlane's toy company, and Cogliostro had a prominent role in the live-action movie in 1997. Angela would appear in Spawn #62, #89, and #96 through #100, and in a 1995, a one-shot. She was also featured featured in several crossovers. The Rage of Angels miniseries saw Angela meeting Glory in Angela and Glory (1996), and was continued in Youngblood #6 (1996) and Team Youngblood #21. There was also a crossover called Aria/Angela, in which she featured in the series Aria.