Tag Archives: san diego comic con

Coming Soon: “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope”

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I’ve had the opportunity to attend comic book conventions both as a fan and as a credential member of the press (crazy I know).  Despite the poor hygiene, over priced action figures, and dingy long boxes … there is something intangibly cool about a large group of people gathered in the interest of fandom.

Director Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) put together Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope during the 2010 edition of San Diego Comic Con and from the trailer looks to be an fun take on the largest fan convention in the United States.

Unfortunately for me, this movie looks like the closest I’ll get to SDCC for the foreseeable future.  Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope will get a limited theatrical release on April 6t h 2012.  There will also be a mini tour which will feature “Con” related activities.

[H/T] Cool & Collected & Comics Beat

Masterpiece Grimlock Is Finally Mine

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Of all the items in my Transformers collection there is one thing figure that I love above all others, my original G1 Grimlock. For a kid, Grimlock was just about the coolest thing ever in that he was a robot that turned into a dinosaur. Over twenty years I’ve held onto Grimlock through several house moves, high school, college, graduate school, and even marriage. I even have gotten my wife to engage in the “Cesium Salami/Beryllium Bologna” dialogue from Transformers: The Movie.

A year ago rumors were swirling that Hasbro has deemed the United States worthy of an American release of the Takara Tomy MP-8 Grimlock. This was huge news due to the fact that the Japanese version ran upwards of $150 and was very hard to come by. Over that year there were further rumors of cancellations and who would exactly be carrying this new Masterpiece Grimlock, as Toys R Us were initially slated to carry it. It wasn’t until earlier this month that we had confirmation that it would be a and that it would be a Toys R Us Exclusive and sold through Entertainment Earth during San Diego Comic Con.

My patience paid of late last week as I was finally able to pre-order Masterpiece Grimlock through TRU.com. Unfortunately he will take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks to arrive in my Den of Nerdery.

By Thor’s Hammer!

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Marvel Studios really is priming the lead up to Comic Con with yet another production still from the set of Thor. Here we see Thor in the midst of retrieving Mjolnir from its resting spot in the New Mexico desert (as we saw at the end of Iron Man 2).

thorrain

Image Credit: [AICN]

Here are a couple general observations:

  • Chris Hemsworth got fucking huge. It’s hard to believe that this guy was George Kirk a year ago.
  • Like many other comic book experts, I too believe that Thor will not have an alter ego. In the comics, his Earthly form was that of Dr. Donald Blake who was sickly and required a cane to get around. I think I read an interview with Kenneth Branaugh where he said that there would just be Thor … and I’m okay with this
  • Marvel Studios is doing a pretty good job generating buzz, and I really am hoping we’ll see the full cast of The Avengers on stage this week at San Diego Comic Con.

Superhero Costume Faceoff: Asgardian Gods vs. Green Lantern

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While I fully expected the movie studios to bait the frothing nerd masses in the lead up to Comic Con; I was not expecting big reveals from two of next year’s blockbusters, Thor and Green Lantern. The aesthetic for both of these films are very important because they are drastic departures from the superhero movies we’ve seen so far.

thorvsgl

With movies like Iron Man, The Dark Knight, The X-Men Films, and Spider-Man there is a certain grounding in reality. Now Thor and his family are Asgardian Gods and as Green Lantern, Hal Jordan is part of an intergalactic police force which is based on the alien planet of Oa. These costumes should look different, because they aren’t of this world. Even though both pictures have been reposted everywhere I’ll leave them underneath the jump in case anyone wishes to remain spoiler free (that is if you consider costumes to be a spoiler)

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The SDCC ’10 Exclusives That Will Drain My Bank Account

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Every year at San Diego Comic Con there is a slew of retailer exclusive action figures, variant comic books, and shiny metal that sends fanboys into a froth covering every franchise from Twilight to Ghostbusters. For people like me, they have to rely on the secondary market or on the retailers themselves after the convention to secure the exclusives of their choice.

Unfortunately for my bank account there are some very strong showing from my three favorite properties:

  • GI Joe: Sgt. Slaughter 3 3/4″ – $9.99
  • Transformers: G1 Prowl Mighty Mugg – $15.99
  • Marvel: Ultimate WWII Captain America 3 3/4″ $9.99 & Iron Man 2 Mark VI Mighty Mugg – $15.99

The greatest difficulty in obtaining these exclusives is that when they go up on Monday on Hasbro’s consumer site … things get ugly real fast. There is never a set time for them to be released so if this year is anything like the last two years I will spend half of my day hitting the F5 key.

It’s like triage in a disaster zone, you have to pick what you want the most and make the difficult decision and cut your losses. Not that I want to jinx myself, but I have a pretty strong record … let’s hope for a good day on July 26th. For a more in depth look, io9 put up a decent rundown of their top 25 picks for SDCC ’10 Exclusives.

And Now, Captain America on Captain America’s Costume

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When Chris Evans was announced as Captain America a tsunami of nerd rage swept across the Internet. Frothing talkbackers claimed that he lacked the command presence that America’s Super Soldier is known for. At the time, I didn’t feel up to weighing in on the subject but I have to say that I was satisfied with the casting decision. I loved Evans in Sunshine and I think that he captured the cocky swagger of Johnny Storm and was arguably the best part of the Fantastic Four films.

In an interview with Empire Magazine, which I picked up through /Film, Evans weighed in on Captain America’s costume and made light of some of the controversy when he was cast in the role:

It’s an amazing costume. Given the fact that his costume is red, white and blue, and it’s tight, and it could be kind of flash and over the top – and given the fact that the movie takes place in the ‘40s and ‘50s – they’ve done a really good job of making it look really cool. I think everyone that’s going to see it is going to say, ‘Okay, well done. Well done. I think they got the costume right. The casting they completely ruined, but the costume they nailed!’”

While he may not have been the fanboys ideal candidate (I would actually have liked to see John Krasinski’s take on Cap), but I have to admit I’m very anxious to see how he does. Of course most of us has seen the leaked concept art for the Captain America costume, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a glimpse of Evans in full patriotic garb later this month at San Diego Comic Con.

Stuff From SDCC I’ll Be Spending Money On

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Someday I’ll have the opportunity to make the trip out to San Diego Comic Con, but until then I’ll have to live vicariously through those who have the means to report on the latest nerdrific offerings. For the last week I’ve spent countless hours on a myriad of websites making a mental checklist of all things awesome that I need to procure for my Lair.

Apparently Hard Hero grabbed up the license for Thundercats, and their first statue will be none other than Lion-O.

SDCC Hard Hero Thundercats : Lion O Statue!

image via [ToyNewsI]

Hopefully they’re license won’t expire like it did for Transformers and they’ll be able to make all of the ‘Cats in what appears to be a series of statues with interlocking bases.

Mattel has been teasing us with their new Ghostbusters line, and I have to say that I’m absolutely floored by the quality represented here. Details regarding the releases (which will be MattyCollector.com exclusives) can be found here, which will apparently be monthly beginning this October.

SDCC Mattel Ghostbuster 6

image via [Cool Toy Review]

Bif Bang Pow! snagged the license for LOST figures, which were previously done by McFarlane (without any articulation) and interest waned quickly. The good folks at BBP were good enough to bring hand painted prototypes of Jack & Sawyer to SDCC.

Bif Bang Pow! LOST Action Figures

image via [Action Figure Insider]

I Won’t Be Reporting From Comic-Con

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One of my short term goals is to make the pilgrimage to the nerd mecca that is San Diego for the annual Comic Con International. I can’t make it this year for obvious reasons (….wedding), but I will do my damndest to link/report all of the hawtness that emanates from San Diego this year.

Meanwhile, here are just some of my favorites that will be reporting from the convention floor: Great White Snark, io9, PW The Beat & Action Figure Insider.

However if anyone will be in attendance this year, could you perhaps snag me a Cobra Commander & Nemesis Prime from the Hasbro Booth?!? Pretty please. I’ll even throw a little incentive at you …

HasbroToyShop Exclusives: Cobra Commander & Nemesis Prime

Lucky Bastards.