I decided to write this article not just because I am a big fan of the comic Spawn, or for the fact that I collect comics that have been created by Todd McFarlane. I chose to write this tribute to Todd based on another project the he works so hard for, his action figure line. 

Now for those that have no idea who this Todd McFarlane character is, let me give you a breif history on Todd McFarlane and Todd McFarlane Productions (TMP). Way back in 1992 Todd and a few co-workers at Marvel Comics decided to break off from the company create their own line of comics in which they called Image Comics. Needing some new unique characters to help launch their new brand of comics, Todd unleashed an epic character he created in high school he called Spawn. Spawn went on to sell over 1.7 million copies, making it the best selling independent comic of all time. 

Well, being that this character was so popular it was time to further market Spawn, and what better way to do this than make a series of toy figures! In 1994 McFarland Toys was created to release this new line of toys. After his Spawn toys did so well in the market it was now time for Todd to not only expand his line of toys but to also show off more of his fantastic 

artistic abilities. In 1997 McFarlane expanded his lines of licensed products with themes such as movies (Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween), music (KISS and Ozzy Osbourne) and video games (Metal Gear Solid). The licenses keep coming with McFarlane's reputation for superior design, attention to detail and high quality.

Ok so that's how he came about creating this unique line of toys. Now, one might ponder on why I'm so fucking crazy about these figures I'm taking the time to feature them in my zine. Well, do you remember, when you were a kid, the first time you saw any of the old "hack em up" films like Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th? This was probably the same time you were playing with G.I. Joe or Star Wars action figures. How cool would it have been if we had Freddy or Jason figures to help along in our pretend wars?! Hell, Darth Vader is no match for Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre! 

Not only does he create figures from great past time flicks like Strange Brew, Army of Darkness and Psycho but he also makes them from story books, like Where The Wild Things Are, and of great musicians like Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper and Kiss! I just hope someday he will create some NSYNC figures so my Freddy figure can hack those sissys into dogfood!

And another reason is the detail in these figures. Shit man, they look as if they could come alive at any second and hack off a finger or two! So now let me continue my morbid fascination with these figures by showcasing a few from my own personal collection. Simply click on one of the following pictures to see some close up shots of them:

So that's it. Hopefully I did my job here and turned a few of you on to what I consider one of the most talented human beings ever, Todd McFarland. If you want to order any of these figures or check out the rest of McFarland's work please visit www.spawn.com and enter a whole new world of toys and comics!

Scott Harding