Todd McFarlane is one of the most recognized figures in the toy industry today. This is no small feat considering that he didn't even have a toy company at the beginning of the 1990's. His name and image are more recognizable than the leaders of Mattel and Hasbro, the two largest toy companies.

Sure, it doesn't hurt that he has a best-selling comic character (Spawn) or that he has done videos and album covers for rock bands (Korn) or that he has one of the most enviable collections of baseballs in the world. But toys are an area where Todd McFarlane excels in a special way. He has broken new ground continously since the creation of the company as Todd Toys in 1994 (the name was changed to McFarlane Toys to avoid any legal entanglements with another toy company who shall remain nameless).

The year 2000 is going to be another trendsetting year for McFarlane Toys. With more individual product lines than ever and more diversity than anyone might have thought even a few short years ago, Todd is poised to take his company into new arenas with every step.

Todd is a gregarious guy, willing to talk with just about anyone (as can be demonstrated by the ever growing list of "exclusive interviews" popping up all over the net). RTM was no exception as we snagged a bit of Todd's time to talk about his company and its vision for the future.

One of the most noticeable things about this year's McFarlane Toys offerings is the addition of some licensed properties that might be considered more "kid friendly" such as the children's book-inspired, "Where the Wild Things Are." Todd has a different perspective on the whole situation.

"I don't see it as much as focusing on the kid's market. It's more like broadening our focus as a whole. The same thing can be said about the sports stuff. I make it for guys like me and I figure there are a lot of guys like me who would think this stuff is cool" said McFarlane.

So how did he arrive at "Where the Wild Things Are" as a choice for action figures? Todd says it comes from personal experience.

"'Where the Wild Things Are was like my introduction to monsters. I might not be doing what I'm doing today if it weren't for that book. I loved it as a kid. It was definitely one of my favorites. It's pretty easy to see how that style has influenced my work and I wanted to do it exactly as I remember it. Just like the book. I mean, look at all the cross-hatching and gritty detail. It's great! Maurice Sendak equals cross-hatching to me. And if I couldn't make the monsters look like the book, I would have passed. If [Sendak] had wanted shiny, glossy, friendly-looking monsters, I would have had him look somewhere else for the toys," said Todd.

So how do properties like "Where the Wild Things Are" fit into the McFarlane Toys universe?

"The [Where the Wild Things Are] monsters aren't that far off from the rest of the stuff we do. I mean, can't you picture having one of these Spawn figures [indicates the Spawn 18 Classics line of figures on display] on your desk right next to one of those [Where the Wild Things Are] monsters? It's a no-brainer. Of course it works!" said Todd enthusiastically.

Sports figures are another interesting development for McFarlane Toys. We spoke with Todd about the interesting way that these figure came into existence.

"Bob and Doug and the Hanson Brothers came from being Canadian of course, so it is kind of an homage to our roots. But the sports stuff has always been a huge interest of mine and I wanted to do those types of figures better than the way I'd seen them done in the past. I knew we could do it better. Going through the Players' Associations was the way to get these done. We can't use the team logos, but who are you interested in anyway? It's the guy. The athlete, right? And we might still be able to do the team logos at some point. You never know. we'll see," said McFarlane.

So what about other sports like Football?

"Oh most definitely. In fact, we are expecting to have football stuff in here later this week. I don't rule anything out," said McFarlane.

Another major development for McFarlane Toys has been the addition of numerous musical licenses. The Beatles figures from the animated motion picture, "Yellow Submarine" were especially notable for their cross-over appeal.

"[The Beatles] did real well for us. I am really proud of how they turned out. The music stuff is a natural extension for us. It's foolish for us as a company to put all of our eggs in one basket. We have to expand into new areas and music was an easy choice. A lot of these people just 'get it.' I mean, we can talk and talk to some suit who doesn't know who Kid Rock is or what his stuff is about. But you tell them that this artist moved 2 million units and then they want to talk. But if they don't get it...[sighs]. Just let me show you what we can do. You don't have to 'get it.' There are plenty of people out there that will 'get it,'" said McFarlane.

McFarlane Toys is also breaking new ground in the arena of video games. Any number of companies have jumped on the video game/action figure bandwagon, but Todd and company have taken the relationship one step further by actually helping to design characters (and subsequently action figures) for the on-line game "Ultima On-Line II."

"It's cool, isn't it? I like the idea of being involved at that level of things. Everyone benefits. It's something that I think we will continue to explore if the opportunities are there" said Todd.

Todd has never been one to stand still for too long. Even existing lines are in the process of evolving. Take Movie Maniacs for example. Todd notes that the series is really moving into new areas with the addition of characters like Ash (a long-requested fan favorite from the Evil Dead movies) and Snake Plisken (from Escape from New York and Escape from L.A.). So what can we expect in the future?

"I could see the series splitting off into a couple of different ways. We kind of have the anti-heroes. Shaft even fits into that, don't you think? But we'll continue to do the true 'Maniacs' and are working on things like Pinhead from Hellrasier and The Exorcist. Those would be two good true 'Maniacs.' But we're also looking at ways to do things like 'Pulp Fiction.' Imagine that. You could have two Samuel L. Jacksons from us alone. I think that would be cool and I bet a lot of other people would feel the same way," said McFarlane.

One thing can be said for Todd McFarlane: He's not afraid to speak his mind on just about any subject. One gets the feeling that he would be an interesting guy to sit beside on a long airplane ride. He could talk about a variety of subjects intelligently and effortlessly and make the time pass like a wink.

We want to thank Todd for his time in speaking with us and sharing his thoughts on the present and future of his innovative toy company.

"This is what I do. Of course, I love talking about it. Thanks for listening and sharing your thoughts. Just wait until you see what we have planned for the future. We'll always be looking to top ourselves and I bet we can do it!"

[Updated 02/23/2000]