McFarlane Toys Grand Opening:
The Next Step For Todd McFarlane
by Mark Greenawalt
Originally published in Pocket Magazine, (December 2004)
Entrepreneur Todd McFarlane has revolutionized the toy business. It was only
a part of his master plan to have is his vision infiltrate the related worlds of
motion pictures, television, and comic books, his first conquest. In October,
McFarlane was on-hand to meet and greet literally thousands of his dedicated
fans at the grand opening of his first retail store, aptly named McFarlane Toys.
Calling it a store may be a little misleading, since this is not your typical
toy store. It is more of a showcase of the intellectual properties and
accomplishments from the creative mind of McFarlane. Custom-built sets boasting
prototypes of upcoming action-figure lines fill the space along with movie
memorabilia, framed posters, and a case full of impressive awards (including
three Emmys) rivaling the Hard Rock Café’s showcases of artifacts from the
music world.
Any young artist would aspire to achieve the level of Todd McFarlane’s “humble”
beginnings as an illustrator for Marvel Comics. To be one of the chosen artists for a Spiderman comic book
is a goal that very few will ever achieve.
According to his biography on the www.spawn.com
website, “Spider-Man #1 shipped to stores in September 1990 and became the
best-selling comic book of all time, selling more than 2.5 million copies”.
But this wasn’t to be the final destination for the visionary McFarlane. He
set his sights on more creative control of his work and the creation of his own
character. He took a long shot and left Marvel to make it a reality.
His brainchild, Spawn, has since become a legend. This anchor character for
his new comic book company, Image Comics, traveled from the pages of countless
comic issues on it’s way to a major motion picture and a critically acclaimed
animated series for HBO. Spawn is a unique superhero that has come back from
Hell after making a deal with the devil. His costume is alive and able to morph
into everything from spikes and chains to a forty-foot cape and armor, but
ironically he ends up favoring the side of good due to his strong morals
The Spawn character is what made it possible to delve into the toy
business with total credibility. The success of the triple threat of comics,
film, and TV made the Spawn action figure a hot seller for kids looking for the
superhero of their generation and for adults keeping in touch with the evolution
of superheroes. The sci-fi and horror crowds were the first to latch on to Todd’s
growing empire, but that was, again, just the beginning.
McFarlane Toys entered into agreements with pop-culture celebrities distant from the pages of comic books. From the music entertainment business,
some of the most renown figurines produced were the members
of the
self-proclaimed “hottest band in the land”, KISS. Others followed and
included Hendrix, Elvis, and the most recent edition, Mötley Crüe. Not to
leave sports fans out in the cold, McFarlane Toys ventured into the mass
hysteria surrounding NASCAR, Major League Baseball, National League Football,
and one of McFarlane’s vested interests, National League Hockey. The new
store, located at the far southwest corner of Tempe, Arizona, contains museum
quality displays that are made-to-scale replicas of the respective fields of
play for each of the sports toys.
Other displays include the Terminator, Shrek,
Alien vs Predator, Conan the Barbarian, and of course a fair share of space
dedicated to the character that ignited it all: Spawn.
The store maintains normal business hours for fans wanting to come and browse
around without having to spend a dime for an entrance fee. Chances are, though,
that you’ll be inclined to want to invest in history-in-the-making and own a
part of the McFarlane experience. Stay tuned to see what’s next from the mind
Todd McFarlane.
Mark Greenawalt
http://www.futureclassx.com
Greenawalt is a freelance writer in Phoenix, AZ.
