Once again McFarlane Toys had one of the most impressive showrooms at the New York Toy Fair. It's only fitting that the company that reinvented the action figure with its highly detailed sculpts should once again celebrate the cutting edge complexity of its baroque, often grotesque creations. Last year McFarlane Toys took advantage of the big toy companies' skittishness in acquiring movie licenses to snatch up the master toy license for Shrek, which turned out to be one of the biggest movies of the year. In spite of the film's success, McFarlane found competing with the big boys for space in the chains to be difficult (see 'McFarlane Sports Gets Major League Baseball.' McFarlane's chastened attitude is reflected in McFarlane Toy's 2002 lineup, which expands the company's sports offerings (Hasbro and Mattel have given up on sports figures) and hearkens back to McFarlane Toys' roots in the specialty market. The most conspicuous example of honoring the past is the Image Comics Tenth Anniversary Series of figures that pays homage to the adventure in independent comic publishing that made McFarlane Toys possible.
The rest of the McFarlane line recapitulates past successes with a new series of Kiss figures and busts, two additional series of Spawn figures, the fifth series of Movie Maniacs (and a companion effort dubbed McFarlane's Monsters), a couple of edgy series based on violent video games, and the return of the ultimate 'envelope pusher,' Clive Barker's Tortured Souls #2, a series that raises the level of grotesquerie in action figures to new heights (and which has spawned a movie deal, see 'Universal Picks Up Tortured Souls'). The non-sports figures have a dark, edgy quality and they are aimed directly at teen and adult collectors. These are the kind of figures that made McFarlane Toys' reputation as the most daring and innovative creator of action figures in the world. Let's take a closer look.
Image Comics Tenth Anniversary Figures
As part of the celebration of ten years of Image Comics, McFarlane Toys is creating action figures of four of the original Image Comics characters. The figures combine an excellent feel for the comic artwork that inspired them with McFarlane Toys finely honed sense of detail and typically brilliant paint work. The four figures included in the series are Jim Valentino's Shadowhawk, Marc Silvestri's Ripclaw, Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon and of course, McFarlane's own Spawn. These figures will be released during the summer to tie in with Image's events (see 'Image Plans').
Movie Mayhem
McFarlane's series of Movie Maniacs figures, now in their fifth year, represent the perfect marriage of technique and subject matter. The latest series broadens the line to include heroic figures (Sarah Conner from Terminator 2) and includes a combination of figures from older films (Alien, Edward Scissorhands, Terminator 2, Legend) with scary characters from films yet to be released including Jason X and The Tooth Fairy. Terminator 2 fans are definitely going to want to have the T-800 Endoskeleton and Sarah Connor figures, while the Alien and Predator 2-pack is a 'must-have' for fans of those films (and the Dark Horse comic series).
McFarlane's Monsters
Movie Maniacs Series 5 is slated for an August release, but look for a revival of the similarly-themed McFarlane's Monsters to debut in the Spring. This series is actually Todd's take on classic movie monsters including: Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy, the Werewolf, and a very sexy Voodoo Queen. Each figure includes great accessories, numerous points of articulation (the Mummy has 21 points of articulation including five ball joints), and range from six to seven inches tall. This series expands the 'Movie Maniacs' type of offerings without the licensing fees, but don't worry, these creations are anything but generic.
Spawn Series 21 & 22
Spawn Series 21, 'Alternate Realities,' is slated to reach retail in March. It includes figures that have been highly requested by Spawn fans including Raven Spawn (from the Hellspawn comic) and Wings of Redemption Spawn (based on the cover to Spawn #77), as well as She-Spawn #2 (originally done in Spawn Series 4) and Alien Spawn II (a new take on the figure originally produced for Spawn Series 6).
McFarlane returned to a unifying theme for Spawn Series 22, Dark Ages Spawn: The Viking Years, which includes some of the most extreme detail work this observer has ever seen in a series of action figures. The accessories are great and the Viking theme provided McFarlane Toys with the chance to create some memorable non-Spawn characters including Berserker the Troll, Valkerie, Skullsplitter, Bluetooth, and Dark Raider.
Clive Barker's Tortured Souls #2
Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos of the second series of the Tortured Souls figures. The first series, which included a piece-together novella by Barker, was an almost immediate sell-out last year. The second series ups the ante considerably when it comes to gore and pure disgustingness, but will not contain any literary efforts from Clive Barker. But don't worry, the folks who bought the first series won't be able to resist creations like 'Feverish' -- a flabby, disemboweled giant lying on his back as large worms crawl forth from his yawning cavity, or 'Suffering Bob' a mutated take on Siamese twins that might well pose problems deep in the Bible belt. Look for Clive Barker's Tortured Souls #2 in the fall of 2002.
