Comic-Con 2007: Up Close and Personal

So, I've already posted that I revisited the Mecca of Nerdom once again this year. Yep, that's right, Comic-Con has come and gone (far too soon, if you ask me!!), and I just wanted to take few moments to share some Swag, some pictures, and some memories from this years convention. As you can see, that's my badge below. Now, let's proceed from there.So, obviously the draw of Comic-Con for most collectors is the amount of exclusive items that you can only pick up there. Since it just so happens to be the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars, there were plenty of Star Wars exclusives on hand. Being the Stars Wars aficionado that I am, of course I had to get my hands on a few. I was able to bag a Shadow Scout Trooper on Speeder Bike, a Concept Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda 2-Pack, and a R2-KT Pink Astromech Droid. These are special figures that you can only pick up at Comic-Con, and as in the case of the Pink Astromech Droid, there is a story that goes along with it. (If you are interested, click here to learn more!) There were a few other exclusives that I would have liked to have picked up, but seeing how we went on the 3rd day of the 4 day convention, most were already gone long before we got there. My brother picked up an exclusive Hot Rod Transformers Alternators figure, while my girlfriend got herself an exclusive My Little Pony figure.Also, the week after Con, the movie 300 was going to be released on DVD (one of the best movies of the year, in my humble opinion!). As an incentive, Best Buy was going to be selling a special Comic-Con exclusive version of the film. Included in this boxed set was the 2-Disc Special Edition version of 300, an exclusive scaled replica of the Immortal mask from the movie, and a collectible black 300 sling bag. Here are a couple of shots of that.But aside from the exclusives, there are plenty of other things to do at Comic-Con. One of the biggest is to attend a discussion panel. Usually big television networks, large comic book publishers, movie studios, and other such medias tend to hold panels addressing the year to come, projects in development that may be of interest to the fandom community, and so on. There were plenty of large panels this year, like the one for the TV show "Heroes". The entire cast was scheduled to appear, but due to the overwhelming number of fans in attendance, we counted ourselves out of that one. We did manage to squeeze the panel for the TV show "Supernatural" in, mostly because my girlfriend loves the show. I snapped this quick shot of star Jensen Ackles at the panel. (Unfortunately, to the dismay of most of the girls in attendance, his co-star Jared Padalecki was unable to attend!)Seeing how that was the only panel that was being held that day that drew our attention (and also one that we were able to get into), we dedicated the rest of the day to walking the floor, and purveying the overwhelming number of items on display. Here now I present to you some of the more interesting items that I saw at Comic-Con.
The actual R2-KT Astromech Droid at the Star Wars Booth. Life-size Jabba the Hut replica at the Gentle Giant Booth.Cool Feraligatr statue for the upcoming Pokemon Battle Figure game. The original Batmobile from the old Batman TV Show.Cool Pirates of the Caribbean display.Optimus Prime statue at the Hasbro Transformers booth.
Cool bust of Boba Fett at the Gentle Giant booth.
Awesome Stealth Iron Man maquette on display at the Sideshow Collectibles booth.Mary Jane and Emma Frost (White Queen) statues from Sideshow Collectibles.Very wicked looking Venom statue from Spider-Man 3 at the Sideshow Collectibles booth.Scout Trooper and Speeder Bike statue from Sideshow Collectibles. (Man, they do good work!)Tony Stark's (Iron Man) hot new ride outside the Omni Hotel in San Diego. (Across the street from the Convention Center).

That was only a fraction of the things that were on display at Comic-Con. There is so much to see and do. I only wish that I had been able to attend all 4 days. Perhaps some day. Next July can't get here soon enough. (If you'd like to check out my blog on last year's con, you can do so by clicking here and here).