Tag Archives: SDCC 2010

San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Flash-related Exclusives

In case anyone wasn’t aware, one of Mattel’s exclusives for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con or SDCC is going to be Starro The Conqueror. How does this relate to The Flash? Many of you should be aware that Starro, the alien conqueror with the ability to enslave his enemies using starfish-shaped spores, debuted with the Justice League of America in the Silver Age classic, Brave and the Bold #28. As a special bonus to commemorate DC Comics’ 75th Anniversary, Mattel will be releasing Starro with all five members of the original Justice League. Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and of course, our favorite scarlet speedster, The Flash. Take a gander.

Starro Packaging

Starro and the Silver Age Justice League of America

Starro Spores that can only be acquired at the Con.

Unfortunately these guys aren’t going to be released in the DC Universe Classics(or DCUC) line. The exclusive for that line has been revealed to be Plastic Man.

These are instead done in the Infinite Heroes style which is Mattel’s 3.75-inch line of figures. Think DC Universe Classics shrunken down to the size of G.I. Joes. I don’t think the line has been as popular as Mattel had hoped. A lot of this having to do with the quality of the initial figures. Limited Articulation (Which I actually liked for the most part), poor sculpts and sloppy paint apps have plagued this line from the very beginning. The figures have been more plentiful and easier to find at retail than DCUC, but I can’t say how much of this is because of collectors not really wanting them.

These guys don’t look too bad though. Mattel went back to the drawing board a little while ago and the results weren’t terrible. Not perfect by any means but they are heading in the right direction. I have been waiting for a regular version of the Flash released in the Matty Exclusive Crisis on Infinite Earths Infinite Heroes 4-Pack for a while and while I’m not ecstatic that I have to pay 50 bucks for him I’m still happy to have him. Honestly I’m sure they are going to release him as a single card later on, I really just want it now. 🙂

The packaging is probably the coolest part of this set. Well besides the Starro Spores. But you can only get those if you go to the actual con or purchase them after the fact on eBay for what I’m sure will be ridiculous prices. You can’t see it in the pictures but the packaging is set up exactly like the cover of Brave and the Bold #28. Attack of the Show had an exclusive preview of all the Mattel items coming to SDCC, including this set. The awesome set up of the cover is shown in the first video which can be seen HERE. The segment on the Starro set is about 2 minutes and 18 seconds in. This looks so cool, that it may be the one item that I keep MOC (or Mint On Card, meaning unopened and in pristine condition for the uninitiated).

Can’t wait to order these guys. I may go the extra mile for the Starro Spores as they look too freaking cool to pass up. I already have a Starro-possessed Flash Heroclix so it would be kind of cool to have a large scale version of it too. Do any of you guys plan on picking the set up? At SDCC or from Matty later on?

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson

Comic-Con Int’l 1-Day Tickets On Sale Tomorrow

Quick note: One-day passes to Comic-Con International in July 2010 go on sale tomorrow at the convention’s website. That’s Tuesday, December 15. Four-day passes are already sold out, so chances are that one-day tickets will go quickly too.

If you plan to go, but haven’t bought your membership yet, you may want to take a few minutes out from holiday preparation to order your tickets.

Convention Plans for 2010 (And a Look Back at 2009)

Well, I did attend three comic conventions in 2009…but not the three I was expecting! WizardWorld Los Angeles was canceled with just two months’ notice, but Long Beach Comic Con stepped in to fill the gap.

I’ll most likely be staying in California again next year, so here’s what next year’s convention season looks like for me:

WonderCon

Yip! Yip! Yip!April 2–4, 2010; San Francisco, California. Probably.

The last two years have been a lot of fun. It’s a lot like San Diego Comic-Con used to be before it exploded, actually. (It’s also a good excuse to travel and visit people in the Bay Area!) This one’s still up in the air for now, since they haven’t started selling tickets yet, but despite the distance, it still ends up being cheaper than San Diego.

» Wondercon 2009 report and photos.
» Update: WonderCon 2010 report and photos.

Anaheim Comic Con

April 16–18, 2010; Anaheim, California. Maybe.

The show that officially replaces Wizard World Los Angeles is only 10 minutes away, so it would be a shame to skip it. And it’ll be close to the time that Flash and Kid Flash are launching. But it’s also only two weeks after WonderCon, and Wizard, or Gareb Shamus, or whoever is in charge keeps doing things that annoy me.

» Update: Anaheim Comic Con 2010 report and photos. After a lot of dithering, I went for it.

Westercon 63: Confirmation

July 1–4, 2010; Pasadena, California. Maybe.

It’s been years since I’ve been to a general science-fiction/fantasy convention. The last one was the 2006 WorldCon in Anaheim, L.A.Con IV, which I experienced through the haze of a summer cold and Day-Quil. I’ve considered Westercon the last two years, but the last two have been Las Vegas and Tempe, Arizona in July. Admittedly Pasadena is a good 10 degrees hotter in summer than where I live, but it’s probably not as hot as Vegas or Tempe…plus I can commute to Pasadena.

» Update: Westercon 63 Report. I finally decided to go.

Comic-Con International

Flash of Two WorldsJuly 22-25, 2010; San Diego, California. Definitely.

I’ve been going every year since 1990, and I’d hate to break that streak. Even if it ends up being too expensive to stay in town next year, it’s just close enough to commute for a few days.

UPDATE: I’ve just learned via Twitter that one-day tickets go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday, December 15). Four-day tickets are already sold out, so if you plan to go, but don’t have tickets yet, now’s your chance!

» Comic-Con International 2009 report and photos.
» Update: Comic-Con International 2010 report and photos.

Long Beach Comic Con

Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and DeadpoolOctober 29-31, 2010; Long Beach, California. Definitely.

I had a good time at the first event this year, and just discovered that they’ve set a date for next year! The website also mentions some sort of one-day event on February 20, but doesn’t provide any detail.

» Long Beach Comic Con 2009 report and photos.
» Update: Long Beach Comic Con 2010 report and photos.

Upcoming Cons: Long Beach, WonderCon, Anaheim & San Diego

Long Beach Comic ConLong Beach Comic-Con is only two weeks away! They’ve posted their programming schedule and floor map, and I’m happy to see that the panels I most want to see are (a) on the day I’m going and (b) not opposite each other!

Comic Con International has opened online registration for 2010. There’s a pretty steep price jump — the full week is $100 now. Admittedly, that comes out to $25 a day, so it’s not that bad when you think about it. But it’s still triple digits.

They’re trying to cut down on the Wednesday night crowds by selling two types of full-con tickets, one with Preview Night and one without. On one hand, that’s probably a good idea. “Preview” Night has gotten rather insane the last couple of years (since the last time Warren Ellis came out to San Diego, really). On the other hand…you need the Preview Night version to pick up your badge early. If you get the regular version, you have to wait until Thursday morning. Otherwise, I’d happily forgo Preview Night so that someone who really wants to go can have a slightly less crowded experience, since I rarely spend more than half an hour on Wednesday anyway.

WonderCon has announced the dates for next year’s convention: April 2-4, 2010. That’s later than it’s been the last few years, and puts it only 2 weeks before Wizard’s Anaheim Comic Con (April 16-18). It’s close enough to make me feel like there’s no point in going to both. WonderCon looks like a better idea for a lot of reasons…but Anaheim is so close that it feels like it would be a waste to not go.