“List of ‘warped’ toys gets more gruesome” in 1999
Great work in 1999, McFarlane Toys! According to this 1999 newspaper article the Curse of Spawn Hatchett action figure topped Rev. Christopher Rose’s list of warped toys that year. Of the toy, the article says:
“Ryan Hatchett, the bloody disemboweled corpse of a former high school student. It comes with an ax/spear weapon, a shovel, a bendable spine, a handful of bloody hearts and intestines and a small plastic face that can be hung on its belt.”
I’m not seeing a problem here, people. Maybe I’ve just become desensitised to cartoon violence after so many years of comic books and heavy metal music.
Related articles
- Spawn in the 1996 McFarlane Toys Catalog (battlegrip.com)
- Spawn in 1996 (battlegrip.com)
- 1996 McFarlane Toys Promotion Schedule (battlegrip.com)
I remember always looking to this guy’s craziness when it was reported in ToyFare magazine every year. I also always looked forward to Todd McFarlane’s snarky comments. He always seemed honored to be on this list and was wounded when he didn’t snag the top spot!
@Barbecue17 – It looks like ToyFare and McFarlane Toys had a falling out at some point in the early 2000s. Do you remember any discussion of such a thing in the magazine?
Some people would find something wrong with a toy even if it was a block of nondescript wood & would push their ideals & morality. (Oh, no it’s ash; it sounds too close to @ss and is therefore the devil’s wood)
When I saw Clown III in Toyfare with the gore, it made me go & track it down at TRU. The fact that you could find these bloody toys surprised me because up until then most toys were pretty mundane.
Years later, parents are still freaking out about Breaking Bad figures in Toys R Us. I think the main problem comes from the fact that some people have no concept or understanding of some toys being adult collectibles. And if they do, they balk at the idea that these products would be available anywhere near actual toy stores where kids might see them. I still think the easy answer is that parents just don’t have to buy those toys for their kids. But what happens instead is self-righteous outrage that the toys even exist, and then the boycotts start.
@Kevin – I ran across another McFarlane Toys newspaper article that mirrors the Breaking Bad nonsense. I’ll see if I can find that article again.
Just looked up the figure — it’s a bit like something off a Cannibal Corpse album cover! Impressive detail, especially for the time.
Yeah, I can see why he didn’t like it — but as Kevin points out, it wasn’t something being marketed towards kids. I tried to find a little more information on what he’s up to these days, but the last info seems to be from about 2001.
That would be neat to see, Philip. This news is all cyclical.
@Kevin – I’ll find it and share.