| | I was at work recently- most likely day dreaming or something on a very slow day, thinkin' about Todd McFarlane, and McFarlane Toys. For those of you, here, who don't know( that's pretty much ALL OF YOU), my life is toys. I'm actually a pretty big name in the online toy community( though I seriously recommend the majority of you avoid GOING there..the majority of the toy community has sadly been influenced by the Socialistic/Communistic ideas from overseas...and they are NOT big fans of capitalism, unfortunately...which also explains why the majority of the toy collectors tend to live in some of the farthest left-wing states in the nation), and I discovered a few years ago that Todd McFarlane was a hero to me- because he raised the bar on action figure sculpting/production to the level that it is, today, which brings in LOADS of adult collectors. In fact, Todd McFarlane's contribution to this great world( while sadly he HIMSELF is a major Socialist) is that he is today's perfect example of modern-day capitalism at work!
From the '70s- early '90s, the toy business didn't really change much( except for the fact that action figures were becoming more and more popular, and gaining a cult status, but otherwise...)- companies sculpted them, they looked NOTHING like the characters they were based on, consumers accepted it, and bought it anyway. Around 1994-1995, Todd McFarlane's character, Spawn, was slowly becoming a huge hit, mainstream and underground both, and Todd figured it was time to have an action figure made of him. I forget which company he asked to have it done, but they showed him the prototype- and he was NOT impressed. They said "well, that's the way we do it, so if you don't like it- TOUGH!". Todd said "then I'm gonna start my OWN company, and make it the way I want to make it- to LOOK like it!" The companies said "go ahead- hahaha we'd like to see you TRY". About 3-4 years later, Todd McFarlane become one of the TOP toy makers in the world- not because of sales, but due to the quality of the toys he made. Most toy makers realized "if we want OUR toys to sell, they have to be as good as McFarlane's", and because of this some of the most amazing works of art have been hitting stores in the past couple of years, based on our favorite licenses and properties- and at great prices to boot! As for the companies that just can't cut it? Well, they fall off the face of the Earth, cause well, they can't cut it, and they have no one to blame but themselves!
And THAT is how free-market capitalism works! Gotta love it!
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