Alive, slightly less sore, a little less tired and a whole lot more excited about all the amazing goodies coming out in the next year. That’s me, right now, a few days after the mean streets of SDCC closed it’s hollowed halls.
Actually, THAT’S me (Thanks Sideshow Collectibles), sporting my first ever semi-cosplay as the mighty Jack Burton from Big Trouble and Little China. Never having done that sort of thing before I can tell you, it’s a little strange being on the other side of the lens. I was stopped constantly by people happy to see their nigh-forgotten hero brought to life in front of them so perfectly.
“Wait a minute, Kurt Russel didn’t have a beard in that movie.”
“But he COULD! It’s all in the reflexes.”
I took a million photos, just like I do each year and as a result, I’ve only been able to go through and edit a few. I’m splitting my wrap up into two sections. For this article, I’m focusing on the Toys and Collectibles. I’ll post our massive Cosplay gallery in the next day or so. If you’re here for that, check back soonly!
Someone told me this year’s SDCC felt muted compared to past ones he’s been to. I told him I felt more like someone turned the volume all the way up, but then unplugged the subwoofer. All the noise, crowd and aggressive fart clouds were there… but something else wasn’t. There’s no punch line or resolution to this paragraph’s setup. I honestly can’t explain why I felt that way because I could never quite put my finger on it.
Maybe I’m just getting old or jaded… or both.
Most of the usual movie franchise-flaunting epic-ness was still in full effect, though the lack of Marvel popping off a big super hero movie to blow the doors off things with it’s mega star powered money machines was certainly noticeable. But we had freaking Star Wars! You simply can’t get bigger than that, can you? DC/Warner Bros had Batman V Superman which raised hope as well as expectations for many. Leaked trailers of the new Ryan Reynolds/Sony R rated Deadpool flick as well as the up-until-now-almost-universally-panned-as-going-to-be-awful Suicide Squad caused a huge stir.
At one point, whilst I roamed the floors, the cast of Game of Thrones caused people to amass in claustrophobic picture-taking panic when they sauntered onto the showroom floor for their scheduled signings. I was only able to snap a few before the swarm overtook me.
Toy wise, I actually left this year with relatively little packed away in my suitcase. I happily picked up the coveted 1000toys Prototype.. which was my #1 choice for toy exclusive this year. (Review to come) Honestly, the only other exclusive I really wanted I completely missed out on simply by virtue of failing to pick it up as soon as I walked in the door, Play Art Kai’s Metal Gear Solid Punished Snake. After seeing the full color version at Play Art’s booth, I wasn’t so bummed out as he looks a lot better painted up than the faux bronze job on the exclusive. I know I’ll be picking him up once he’s available at retail.
Rad Toy Review 