Convention Midwestern Style

The show has certainly grown over the years. And while it may not be as celebrated as the Comicon International in San Diego or Wizard's Chicago Comicon, it is a show with a distinct style and well worth a visit by any fan of the industry. This year, the Con took over the entire venue and there were two full floors of convention fun. There were numerous rooms filled to overflowing with comic industry notables signing everything from key comic issues to t-shirts. There were panels galore and workshops for the aspiring artists and writers, looking for that big break. And with over 15,000 square feet of dealer space, there were plenty of things to buy as well.

Show director Roger Price of R.A.P. Productions pulled off the two-day show without a hitch. The smooth production and continuously growing appeal of the Con make this a show to watch in coming years, especially for toys. I have a hunch that more and more companies will be following McFarlane Toys' lead and we will see additions to the roster in coming years. With the explosion of independent toy companies, this almost seems like a necessity....and a welcome one at that!

Comic industry guests included John Byrne, Roger Stern, Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Sergio Aragones, Mark Evanier, Mart Nodell, Tony Isabella, Joseph Michael Linsner, Sheldon Moldoff, Terry Moore, Paul Smith, and many, many more.

Although the show is primarily focused on comics, toys did play a role. In addition to the dealers selling the latest and greatest action figures, Japanese toys and a smattering of vintage items, there was also a McFarlane Toys booth replete with Toy Club Cruise Director, the inimitable Chet Jacques. Chet brought along some of his unique custom action figures including the now infamous, "Flaming Isz-hole." A whole range of McFarlane apparel was on display and Chet chatted amiably with anyone who lingered too long in front of the pre-release demo of the Spawn movie continuously showing at the booth.

Also on display was the "Graveyard Playset" from the movie (see photos). These cool playsets are in the scale of McFarlane's extremely successful "Monster Series." In addition to the set shown, there will also be a "Final Battle" playset and a "Spawn Alley" playset. This last playset will also have an exclusive variation offered through Diamond/Previews and the McFarlane Toy Club. This nifty variant is slated to contain a figure of none other than Todd McFarlane himself as he appeared in the Spawn motion picture. The "Todd Bum" was briefly seen in the Spawn alley scene from the film. Look for the regular playsets to start showing up in January with the exclusive following shortly behind.

Chet had time to chat with us about all the other news from McFarlane Toys. One of the biggest buzzes surrounding McFarlane Toys is the newly released "Manga Line." Chet was kind enough to fill us in on some trivia about this line that you can use to impress your friends.

First of all, several of the figures have writing on them that was not seen in the prototype figures. Interestingly, the writing is Chinese (even though the manga concept is strongly associated with Japanese culture). Have you ever wondered if the toy makers are having fun with their jobs? Well, there is no doubt that the folks at AEB Studios (the firm that does the design and sculpting work for McFarlane Toys) are getting a kick out of what they do...and it shows. They've slipped in a few in jokes right under your nose. The writing on the figures isn't meaningless. And it isn't coincidental either. Most appropriately, the writing on the sword of the Manga Spawn loosely translates to "He is rising from the dead to avenge!" But after that, the messages become a little more cryptic....unless you are in the know.

The Manga Violator figure's writing roughly translates to "Happy Family." Being one of the Phlebiac Brothers, one might indeed consider this a happy family that truly enjoys their unholy work.

Have you ever wondered if action figure sculptors use real people to base their figures on? Well, sometimes they do. In the case of The Goddess, inspiration can be found from AEB's own Kathy Faline. Interestingly, the two lines of writing are also related to Kathy. One side is her birthdate (the year of her birth, '69, is in arabic numerals) and the other line simply states "Angel." If Kathy looks even remotely like this fine sculpt (and you know with the fine sculpting of McFarlane Toys and AEB Studios, she probably does), then she is truly an angel indeed!

Similarly, the Manga Curse figure bears the birthdate of it's creator Ed Frank (the "E" in "AEB"). Of course, we surely don't think that the Manga Curse's likeness bears any resemblance to Mr. Frank's....unless Ed looks like a giant cybernetic praying mantis of course.

With regard to what's coming up for 1998, Chet was very excited about the follow up to the popular KISS line of figures. The new line will be called "KISS: Psycho Circus" and is also the name of the Image comic and the tentative name of the next KISS tour. These two-packs will feature the members of the band and their circus alter-egos. A very interesting concept that we can't wait to see.

And word from the boss, Todd McFarlane, is that it's kosher to talk about the acquisition of the the license to produce action figures based on the upcoming X-Files movie. However, there are some limitations on what we can tell you. You see, the news leaked a little before they were ready to go public so some of the details are being kept quiet at the request of Fox (the company making the movie). One of the most frequently asked questions is whether the rumor about a Mulder and Scully two-pack is true. The answer is "No." Both Mulder and Scully will come separately. This doesn't rule out any special packaging in addition to this initial release, but you will be able to purchase both figures individually if you so choose. Furthermore, these figures are being based on the X-Files movie not the television series. That means that the figures rounding out the assortment will be based on the movie aliens/monsters. There aren't any plans for characters such as Flukeman no matter how much the fans might wish for it. But if the line is a success, there is always the possibility of other ventures. So stayed tuned X-Files fans.

Chet also let us know that McFarlane has indeed acquired the rights to do figures from the upcoming horror super-flick Jason vs. Freddy. These horror legends will be squaring off against each other later in 1998 and the action figures should coincide with the film. Look for more gore than you can handle as this wicked duo teams up on what is sure to be an infamous line of figures.

You can check out pics of all the Spawn movie playsets and Manga figures at the official Spawn web site. It's a really cool place to visit so check it out at http://www.spawn.com

And what would a convention be these days without some sort of special/exclusive figure? Well, Mid-Ohio-Con was no exception! McFarlane Toys unveiled its Black Violator that was only sold at the Mid-Ohio-Con, but will be available through the McFarlane Toy Club in mid to late December. We know you couldn't all make it to the Con, but we won't leave you hanging. The Raving Toy Maniac and McFarlane Toys are going to give you a chance to win one of these convention figures before you can buy them through the club! So if you want to be the first person on your block to own one of these babies, check out the contest entry info below. One lucky winner will walk away with the bad boy actually handled by Chet himself.

Chet wasn't the only person talking toys at the Mid-Ohio-Con. We caught up with Astro City creator, Thunderbolts mastermind, and new Avengers writer, Kurt Busiek. We asked him about plans to market action figures based on his popular Astro City series.

"The word 'plan' is probably too strong" said Busiek "It's more like I've overcome my determination not to make them. There are apparently a bunch of fans out there that really want them."

Busiek's concept for the marketing of Astro City merchandise is to only license items that an actual resident of Astro City might buy (or at least be able to buy). Busiek and Astro City artist Brent Anderson admit that the kids of Astro City might be very interested in owning action figures based on the heroes that inhabit their city. The letters page of the Astro City comic has contained several pictures of fan-made custom figures based on Busiek's new yet iconic characters. This three dimensional representation of his creations may have helped Busiek get over his reluctance to get into the action figure arena.

"Yeah, I looked at the custom stuff that fans sent me and went, 'Hey, this is pretty cool.'" stated Busiek.

What would Kurt like to see for Astro City action figures?

"I'd really like to see a 12" Samaritan figure with a real cloth outfit. Like the old Captain Action. We talked to one company about the possibility of something like that, but they kind of disappeared...probably after doing the numbers on the potential costs involved." said Busiek.

There hasn't been any definitive talk about a choice for licensing of action figures yet. However, Busiek seems to have his eye on a company like McFarlane Toys.

"I think McFarlane [Toys] could do a great job on Astro City figures. Plus, they might be the only company in the world who would consider making a Hanged Man figure."

Kurt has some definite ideas about how an action figure line should be handled from a marketing perspective. He is obviously very collector friendly and aware of the potentially volatile and misleading secondary market.

"We spoke with [one company] about doing figures but when we sat down to do the sales projections I found out that they were counting on speculators to buy the figures and that was the only way the line would be profitable. The speculators are those people who only buy the figures because they hope it will go up in value. I want to do the figures with a company who believes they can sell enough figures to the people who want them as toys." said Busiek.

With such a diverse and constantly expanding cast of characters, the toughest part of making Astro City action figures might be the decision regarding who to make. I'm sure our readers (who write me constantly about the possibility of Astro City figures) will have some suggestions and favorites of their own. We'll do our best to keep you on top of any new developments.

"I'd love to hear what the fans want." said Busiek.

Comics and toys seem to go together very well. In fact, some comic industry professionals are also toy collectors themselves. Batman & Robin Adventures inker Terry Beatty was in attendance sketching the sleek animated-style characters that have made both Batman and Superman accessible to a whole new generation of fans. Terry might be familiar to careful readers of the newsgroup rec.toys.action-figures. He's been known to frequent the toy groups and is an avid collector.

"Oh yeah, I spend a lot of time doing that kind of stuff. Maybe too much time." joked Beatty.

Beatty is also an avid model kit builder and sculptor. He had a photo album of some of his work proudly on display at the convention. Some very cool stuff. Terry is also a very enthusiastic trader and his trades might get you something one of a kind...if you can find something that Terry is searching for.

"I'm always willing to trade original comics pages for things I need." said Beatty.

So what might catch Terry Beatty's fancy? He's got a collection of old 3-D materials (like Tru-Vue). He is interested in old comic strip character merchandise (e.g., Li'l Abner, Terry and the Pirates, Steve Canyon, Prince Valiant, Dick Tracy, The Phantom, Flash Gordon, etc.). And Terry is a big fan of the Belgian comic superstar Tintin and would love any obscure or hard to find items related to that long-running strip. So if you ever see Terry at a convention, be sure to take your vintage items with you. You just might score a one of a kind piece of comic art!

We also spoke briefly with the gang at Diamond/Previews. They filled us in on all the latest and greatest exclusive offerings through Previews. Upcoming features include the Babylon 5 six-inch figures, the Analee Call figure from Alien Resurrection, and two exclusive variants of the Puppetmaster Totem and Tunneler figures (see our news page for more complete details on these items).

We asked about the possibility of a follow-up to the successful Batman Rogues Gallery 8-pack. While they could not commit to anything definitely, they did hint that there might be another offering in the works for Christmas season 1998. It probably won't take the exact form of the current 8-pack (if it even comes to fruition) but with the demand for the missing Animated Batman villains, you can be sure that fans would gobble up a follow-up set just as they have the first set. And if you still haven't gotten the first set, check with your local comics retailer to see if they can still order you a set. Diamond/Previews had sets left so you might check with your local retailer before you pay $90+ to a national retailer or on the secondary market.

As the 1997 edition of the Mid-Ohio-Con drew to a close Sunday evening, there were many smiling faces and more than a few shopping bags filled to capacity. Autographs had been obtained. Idols had been met. And the whole experience left the crowd and the participants anxious to see how much better next year could be. As this convention gains in notoriety, expect it to get bigger and even better. If you have the time next year right around Thanksgiving, you could certainly have a wonderful time exploring this convention.

Sorry. The drawing is over. Congratulations to Tom Barcus of Florida. He's the winner of the really cool Black Violator courtesy of McFarlane Toys and the Raving Toy Maniac! Thanks for entering and please look for even more exciting contest on the Raving Toy Maniac in the coming months!