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McFarlane Toys at SDCC '08 Spawn, Halo 3, Exclusives, and Photo Gallery
One of my main booth stops at San Diego Comic-con '08 was the McFarlane Toys booth. Okay, it's one of my top stops at every Comic-con / Wizard World convention I attend, but this year was extra important because I had to nab a coupon of their Halo 3 exclusives. I was there for a couple hours on the con's preview night and many booths were already selling their wares to the exclusive-hungry attendees. Not McFarlane Toys, though, they wanted to be fair to everyone, not just give those at the preview night. The next day everyone could get chance to own a piece of McFarlane Toys' hot crossover action. The friendly Spawn rep said to come back at 9:30 in the morning the next day. Since there weren't as many people on Wednesday night, I was able to spend some time taking photos of McFarlane Toys / Spawn stuff without having to worry about other people getting in the way. On Thursday morning the first thing I did was make a bee-line to the Spawn booth. I was there for less than five minutes. I got a coupon and was on my way to enjoy the rest of the con. McFarlane Toys made it easy. Well, easy for me at least. The exclusives weren't the only big thing at the booth, though. McFarlane Toys had a number of product reveals on display. Three big debuts at the McFarlane Toys booth were Spawn series 36, a limited edition Spawn statue, and a small taste of Halo 3 Series 4. None of these were the actual product, but the two-up prototypes which are better than the final figures because these are twice the size. I always love seeing McFarlane Toys' two-ups in person because the already staggering amount of detail is even more amazing. Series 36 is another Art of Spawn series, which turns two-dimensional Spawn art into highly detailed three-dimensional action figures. The Art of Spawn figures are usually based on cover art, but there have been a few figures from interior comic art. Series 36 includes Spawn from issue 163, a new Hell Spawn, and another Curse of the Spawn. And lastly, but certainly not least, McFarlane Toys is finally making an Art of Spawn figure of Spawn from issue #1. Series 36 won't out until Fall of 2009, so just admire the photos until then. McFarlane Toys was also showing off a two-up of the resin Spawn statue of Spawn's wrap-around cover appearance of issue 138. The 8-inch statue is limited to 1,000 individually numbered pieces and is the "inaugural piece" in the McFarlane Signature Collection. To add icing to this already sweet Spawn cake, and like the name of the collection suggests, each statue is hand signed by Todd McFarlane himself. However, if you're still thinking about getting one, it's too late. The statue went up for pre-order on Spawn.com during the convention and sold out in two days. The debut of brand new figures from McFarlane Toys' Halo 3 line was another welcome sight. Halo 3 Series 4 includes a brand new Spartan: Spartan Security. When Spartans get too wild at their Mountain Dew Game Fuel fueled Spartan raves, it's time to call Spartan Security to keep the raving soldiers in check. On display were an olive-colored Security and a steel-colored Security. The steel Security is obviously the GameStop exclusive in this batch (hint: GameStop gets steel Spartans). The other series 4 figure on display was a blue Hayabusa, which makes him the Wal-Mart exclusive (because he's blue). Also new to McFarlane Toys' Halo universe of figures was the Heroic Collection of Spartans. So far the Heroic Collection are six, three-inch figures called the Lone Wolves. I like the idea, but the name Lone Wolves is an oxymoron. How can they each be a lone wolf if they're fighting together? The Lone Wolves will arrive in January 2009. Three two-up figures from the previously announced Halo 3 Series 3 were on display with the blue Combat Elite, crimson Scout, and Jackal Major. All three statues form the Legendary Collection were also on display. Two-ups of Master Chief fighting little Flood guys, the pissed-off Brute Chieftain, and a seemingly happy Arbiter commanded photos. The two SDCC exclusives were also on display in their final packaging. The packages are much smaller than the previous clamshells of series 1 and the current blister packs of series 2. If McFarlane Toys is so worried about retail shelf space, why not just use these small packages for future Halo figures? The consumer can still see just as much of the figure as before, there would be much more room on retail shelves for more figures, and they're probably cheaper to produce. It's win, win, win. I can see how it may not work for larger figures like a Brute or Elite, but those figures could just keep in the current packaging. They've already changed the style of packaging, so what does it wouldn't really matter if they did again. Other happenings at the McFarlane Toys booth were daily raffles, where winners would receive Halo clothing, goods, and figures. In the prize case was a two-pack of Master Chief and the Brute Chieftain than I didn't know existed. The two-pack could be a store exclusive sometime soon. I was unable to attend any of the raffles since I was at panels during those times, and you needed to be present to win. Oh well. Next year, maybe. McFarlane Toys also had on display Guitar Hero and Call of Duty: World at War figures. Sorry if you're a fan of freakish rockers and WWII military guys, but I don't have any photos because my interest in them is a bit lacking. There were also all the current Halo and Spawn figures available in stores, but I know you want to see the new stuff. Also at the booth were some displays relating to Spawn books. A classy glass chess set was on display for Spawn issue #185, when the new creative team of Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, and Brian Holguin take Spawn in a new direction. Issue 185 is "...the event that is as big as Issue #1." If that's not enough McFarlane himself will be doing a cover for the issues as well as more inside art. Spawn: Book of the Dead is a hardcover book with every character done by my favorite artist Ashley Wood and new artist Geirrod Van Dyke. Each copy of the book will be signed by Todd McFarlane and the limited edition version will include an exclusive pewter Raven Spawn figure. Other upcoming comic releases are the Spawn Volume 6 TPB, and the Adventures of Spawn #2. AoS #2 includes the second part of the online comic plus a bonus 22 page story of the Phlebiac Brothers. Sweet. Check out what McFarlane Toys had to offer in the gallery below. - Shawn - 07/30/08
Photos by Shawn. |
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