Toy story

McFarlane blends Houston's past, present with latest figures

Houston is playing host to its second Super Bowl this year, and Todd McFarlane has found a way to mesh the city's football past with the present. Would you expect anything less from the premier collectible-maker? Creator of the comic-book series Spawn and an acknowledged "sports geek," McFarlane is the guy who paid $3 million for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball. And when he's not busy illustrating Spawn, McFarlane oversees a growing action-figures business.

The latest sports exclusives from McFarlane feature Texans QB David Carr in the team's red jersey and Oilers RB Eddie George in powder blue, and McFarlane will be in Houston for a signing Saturday at the NFL Experience autograph area from 4-6 p.m.

"You could argue that these have been too well-received," McFarlane says of the Carr/George figures, which are limited to a run of 5,000. "We've gotten the word out, and on the first day there will be a mad rush to the booth."

And this year, McFarlane & Co. are prepared for the onslaught of fans eager to grab the collectibles.

"We're more organized this year," he says. "When we were in San Diego, we had L.T. [LaDainian Tomlinson] and Junior Seau figures that sold out in a day and a half. This year, we've set a quota, so we'll have X-number on the first day, X-number on the second day and so on. We'll also have Yao Ming figures, too, since the game is in Houston -- and we don't just have NFL fans."

Of course, one of the questions many fans will ask is: "Why Eddie George and not Earl Campbell?" The answer is that McFarlane is trying to cobble together a deal with the NFL Players Association, and until that happens the heroes of yesteryear remain memories instead of clay-cast action figures.

"There are business reasons," he offers, "but we're working on it. We've secured some solid contracts with the NBA, NHL and major league baseball, as well as our deal with Action Performance and NASCAR. We're just still working on the NFL angle."

However, McFarlane admits featuring Campbell in a trademark "tearaway" jersey would be a consideration if the figure comes to pass. "Whenever we do a figure, it has to capture the player's signature -- whether it's the way he throws, bats, runs. It can't just be another running back. We try as much as possible to capture the essence of the player.

"It's like Jeff Bagwell. You have to get him in that batting stance, with the crouch; that's what people think of when you say 'Jeff Bagwell.' I try to think of it this way: If I spray painted every figure black, you'd still know who that player was by whatever way he was posed. We want to create moments -- Shaq vs. Yao, [Rich] Gannon and [Derrick] Brooks or [Brian] Urlacher and [Brett] Favre. We want the figures to be a freeze-frame moment, kind of like the cool images you'd see in a magazine.

"I mean, photos don't lie," McFarlane says. "I'm looking at shoelaces on some of the figures and asking why they aren't hanging down when the player's foot is in the air; shoelaces don't defy gravity. C'mon, clay is clay. You can bend it, sculpt it make it any way you want to. We want the attention to detail."

McFarlane contends getting the figures just right takes a lot of effort, but says the end result is worth the trouble. Original scupltures begin at about 12 inches and are then shrunk to capture the intricate details. However, some of the 12-inchers have been produced. "We've been at ToyFest and the vendors have seen the prototypes and there has been a huge demand. Obviously, we won't make as many of the 12-inch figures; they will be selected from the true A-plus guys, like Brett Favre.

"We're looking to create a year-round program with the top guys in sports to keep our audience hungry for more," McFarlane says, "but I'm not going to try to maximize profits at all times. I'm always pulling back, trying to feed the appetite for the next figure. We have to watch ourselves so that we don't overdo it.

"I want to create a rhythm with buyers -- habitual buyers -- so they can set their clock on when the next figures will be available. That's especially the case with NASCAR, because the season is so long. So instead of doing 10 drivers at a time, we'll do five and then come back in six weeks with five more."

While McFarlane has become the pied piper of collectors, he remains a memorablia-seeker. He recently completed his set of the 1971 Kellogg's 3-D baseball cards and has his sights set on the '71 football set. "There is no Holy Grail; there are always about six grails," he says. "There's always something else -- the baseball Slurpee cups from the '70s, a mint condition Rock 'em Sock 'em ... there's always something from your childhood you'd love to have again."

B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for SI.com.