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San Diego Comic Con HOT and NOT – More Weird Toys
The announcements of exclusive toys for San Diego Comic Con 2014 are coming fast and furious. Two more toys for discussion today:
NOT – Diamond Select Toys Spirit Yoda Vinyl Bank
Checking in at around $30 and limited to 1500 pieces, this is an oddball piece that (in my opinion) will struggle to sell out. I’m not sure that the “collectible bank” crowd is clamoring for a see-through blue Yoda. And it’s not really functional either. If you fill it with coins, it ceases to be transparent.
A weird idea for a toy.
HOT – Hot Wheels® The Homer
Hot Wheels’ “The Homer”, Mattel
I love this car and I love this episode. While “The Homer” didn’t have “rack-and-peanut” steering, it did have the following features (thanks Wikipedia):
- The Homer has two bubble domes; one in the front, while the one in the back is for quarreling kids, and comes with optional restraints and muzzles.
- According to Homer, the engine sound causes people to think “the world’s coming to an end.”
- There are three horns, as Homer claims that “you can never find a horn when you’re mad.” The three horns play the song “La Cucaracha.”
- The car also features gigantic cupholders, which actually became a feature on many cars in the 1990s onward.
- The car has various outdated features such as bubble domes, shag carpeting, and tailfins. It also has a metal bowler as a hood ornament.
While The Homer had a sticker price of $82,000, this one comes in at a much more reasonable $30. At the same price as the Yoda Bank, this is a way cooler exclusive toy to look out for this July at SDCC.
If I can’t snag one in San Diego, I’ll be on the lookout on eBay for this one.
– CCG
San Diego Comic Con Hot and NOT- Weird Toys from NECA
When I say “weird”, I mean it with love. There’s a lot that goes on at San Diego Comic Con. And even though I won’t be there this year, that doesn’t mean I won’t be tracking down the best and funniest weirdness that the Con has to offer. Let’s start with some of the exclusive toys:
HOT! – Super Freddy Retro 8″ Clothed Action Figure
It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s a weird Superman/Wolverine hybrid? According to the description, this version of Freddy is from Nightmare on Elm Street Part 5: The Dream Child (a.k.a Nightmare on Elm Street Part 5: Two Parts After You Stopped Caring).
It’s a bird… Oh, wait. Already did that one.
The Freddy action figure is kinda cool. I always love the ones with the Mego-style clothing. And this one’s got a nicely stitched cloth cape to boot.
But, as any casual collector knows, this thing’s going to be sitting on a shelf in its pristine packaging. So how does that look?
Wowza! I love the illustration and the packaging. I’m not a huge horror fan, but this early in the SDCC exclusive toy race, I gotta rate this one as HOT.
NOT HOT: Marvel Scalers 2-Pack – Silver Centurion Iron Man and “Marvels” Spider-Man
I don’t get these things. My kids are 10 and they’ve already outgrown the “big head, tiny body superheroes”.
And why are the DC in black and white?
These seem like variants of variants for absolutely no reason. Did NECA already produce so many versions of Spider-Man and Iron Man Scalers that they’re down to the “Marvels” and “Silver Centurion” costume variants? Why is Iron man even climbing a rope? Are his rockets not functioning, but the rest of the armor is? You’d think his two choices were:
1. Flying
2. Taking off the armor to climb, because if the armor is out of order, no way he’s hauling it up that rope.
That’s too much thought for a toy. Especially when I was able to buy into the Superhero Freddy so easily.
Stay tuned for more SDCC toy commentary.
Thanks! and Cheers!
– CCG
Easy Cosplay for San Diego Comic Con
Today’s the big day. Pre-registration for San Diego Comic Con 2014 starts in just a couple hours… and ends in a couple of hours and ten minutes, I’d guess. Wish me luck, folks.
One of my favorite things about SDCC is the super-awesome cosplay.
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- My favorite GL of the convention. I’d totally feel safe if this guy was guardian of our sector..
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- Awesome recreation of the First Class.
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- The intensity was palpable.
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- Hank Pym! Get away from her you wife-abuser. This guy needs a punch in the jaw. Where’s Cap?
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- Lilith is the bomb. And, yes, I am man enough to play a female character in Borderlands.
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- Iron Man, now with Battle damage.
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- A redshirt should always take Batman with them when beaming down. Increases chances of survival by a thousand times.
So, in honor of the big day, I found a super-cool tumblr site: My Half Assed Cosplay Ideas
Artist Patrick Dean presents some pretty cool ideas for cosplay using only stuff you’d find around the house, at a flea market, or a thrift shop. Check out the site for all his designs, but below are a few of my favorites: Read the rest of this entry
SDCC Recap: Friday Night
Warning, this recap contains less than 10% actual comic book-related content! Friday night was when things got a little wobbly. Time started folding in on itself. You’ll recall that Friday morning began for me at 4:00 am, getting into line for Hall H and “The World’s End” panel. (Quick aside, if you haven’t seen “The World’s End”, stop reading and go now. If you have, finish reading this and then go see it again.) Read the rest of this entry
SDCC Artists: Albert Morales
On we go with more cool artists I met at SDCC. I asked Albert if he would do an original piece of the Vision and Scarlet Witch. These are two of my favorite characters, as I have mentioned over and over. Read the rest of this entry
San Diego Comic Con Masquerade Photos
Comic Con just posted the photos for the entrants in the 2013 Masquerade Ball. You can find them online here.
The annual SDCC Masquerade Ball is where the coplayers bring out the big guns (sometimes literally). For my money, though, here’s the best costume of them all.
Femme Doctor. Worn by Hannah Black. Designed and made by Hannah Black; Parasol and Ascot painted by Jarrnell Williams. Winner of the David C. Copley Prize for the Most Innovative Costume and the Century Guild prize. Photo by Barry Brown © 2013 SDCC – See more at: http://www.comic-con.org/awards/masquerade-awards/photo-gallery#sthash.W5BOqGJo.dpuf
Nova Prime is pretty awesome as well:
Nova Prime (onstage). Worn by David Cap Santiago. Designed and made by David Cap Santiago. Photo by Daniel Sakow © 2013 SDCC – See more at: http://www.comic-con.org/awards/masquerade-awards/photo-gallery?page=1#sthash.TJOhkqzT.dpuf
What’s Right and Wrong about “What’s Right and What’s Wrong About the San Diego Comic Con” – A Response
So, over on newsarama.com, Jim McLauchlin published a mighty(and lengthy) piece called “What’s RIGHT and What’s WRONG About the San Diego Comic Con”. Somehow my newly minted blog feed picked up the article. Man, the nanobots that power these things are getting good at selecting content. Read the rest of this entry
Casual Comics Review: Atomic Robo #1
Here’s a comic that I picked up at San Diego Comic Con – one of many. The guy manning the booth at Red 5 (the publishing company) was super-jazzed to tell me all about Atomic Robo, and now I know why. Read the rest of this entry
SDCC Recap: The rest of Thursday
A lot of other stuff… Then, Gerry and Marty!
The “Ode to Nerds” panel was cool. Then, a lot of other stuff happened. I wandered the convention floor for a while, shopping and taking pictures of people in costumes.
Because 2013 was my first Comic Con since starting to watch Doctor Who, I put special effort into getting pictures of Doctor Who Read the rest of this entry
SDCC Artists: Sara Richard
There are many talented artists at San Diego Comic Con each year. Earlier this week, I posted the fantastic Run Lola Run art I purchased from Tess Fowler.
I asked Tess if she knew anyone who had interesting Doctor Who art for sale, and she recommended Sara Richard as an artist with an interesting, colorful Doctor Who print. Boy, was she ever right.
I fell in love with her print of The Tenth Doctor and Rose. I think it perfectly captures exactly what I love about the series. Fun, whimsical, and oh, so, happy. It’s a perfect slice of simple companionship and happiness amid the chaotic beauty of the universe.
Looking through Sara’s portfolio, I thought I’d ask if she could do a commission. I have loved the movie “Amelie” since the day I saw it at the Dundee theater. I think it’s the only movie I’ve ever seen where there was actually a standing ovation at the end. I thought Sara’s style was perfectly suited to capture the joy and wonder of “Amelie”. Happily, she accepted the job and I could not be happier to add this piece to my collection of original art.
I speechless. Love. It.
Thank you so much Sara for everything. It’s impossible for me to look at these and be blue.
Check out Sara’s artwork online at www.sararichard.com . Click around to find her portfolio and store. And buy something there. You’ll be glad you did. The scans of these pieces can’t come close to matching the beauty and color of the originals.
– CCG
