In case you are new to the planet, San Diego Comic-Con is coming. Soon. The event has become the Mardi Gras of all things pop culture and a Mecca of A-list Hollywood talent ready to broker enormous deals for our favorite properties. It turns out guys, that the geeks were right after all. The rest of the world just needed to catch up with our advanced species.
So if you think SDCC is just about comics, you couldn't be more wrong. In fact, comics have become the brick and mortar that this skyscraper event was built on. The rock solid foundation that made the Con of all Cons possible. While I rarely bump into people that are at the event solely for comics, in fact that's usually the last thing on their minds considering the sheer volume of issues and reprints and digital copies that are now available. You can pretty much guarantee getting a good slice of your comic fix at the event. But toys? Well toys is a whole different ball of wax.
The last ten years have been a renaissance of sorts in the toy game and if there is a time of year that toy maniacs are ready to loosen their purse strings, it most definitely is in sunny Southern California in July. See this is the time of year when the big dogs like Mattel and Hasbro duke it out to see who comes out on top of the figure wars. Let's not count out the little guy either because they're not so little anymore. The NECA's, MEZCO's & Entertainment Earth's that are starting move in on the big guys turf. The toy market is evolving rapidly and expanding with toys being made for properties we never thought possible. It has never been a better time to be an action figure junkie! So we've combed through the last few years of SDCC exclusives as well as some big ones for this year's Con and come up with the ultimate guide for the exclusive hunter in you. If you are lucky enough to make it to beautiful San Diego, you may be able to find some of the older exclusives at a solid price rather than pony up for "feeBay's" enormous costs. That's the beauty of SDCC, it's all about the hustle. Hustle to grab a spot and stay in a line for hours (trust me...HOURS), hustle to get pics of what offerings toy companies will have for us down the road and most importantly, hustle to make deals! For those that descend upon San Diego in person, #GOFN wishes you luck. As for the rest of us, just keep on clicking and refreshing your browser and you might get lucky!
1. STAR WARS BLACK SERIES BOBA FETT & HAN SOLO IN CARBONITE (2013) A car accident prevented me from going to the big show two years ago and I couldn't have been more upset. Why you ask? Four words: 6-INCH BLACK SERIES BOBA FETT. Then when the pics of the exclusive surfaced, my jaw hit the floor because not only did we get the baddest bounty hunter in the galaxy, we were also getting a 6-inch frozen in CARBONITE HAN SOLO! You gotta understand, I have been obsessed with carbonite prison for the Falcon's pilot since my first viewing EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, over 30 years ago. I pretty much have every CARBONITE item you can think of: a bunch tee-shirts, a coin bank, hell I even have a spring action weighted business card holder which without fail, starts a conversation every time. So I got sold out on this on this set on HasbroToyShop.com but was lucky enough to get it on eBay for an extra $30. Definitely more than I would have liked to spend but this is one of those rare exclusive set that I would kick and scream about had I not been able to snag one.
2. HASBRO MARVEL LEGENDS: UNCANNY X-FORCE 3-pack (2012) I had this set mint in box and had to sell it and it still haunts me! I don't remember exactly why I let it go but only has vague memories of packing the box up. This set is now going for close to $400 on the secondary market. And I think it is all because of this amazing Archangel because it is a gorgeous figure. From the paint job to its incredible wing span, it is the Archangel that collectors are after. Yes it comes with Psylocke and of course, the obligatory Wolverine. Because we need more Wolverines right?? One day I'll get it back but it's the "how" I haven't figured out yet.
3. INDIANA JONES: THE LOST WAVE (2011) This set was a set I went crazy for because a few years earlier when KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, a barrage of collectors were treated to figures from the first three movies. Despite having all of the ones from RAIDERS and LAST CRUSADE, I was never able to find the TEMPLE OF DOOM figures anywhere. Not in stores, not online, bupkis. So I was elated when it was announced that the 2011 SDCC would be selling what Hasbro dubbed as "The Lost Wave." The set includes: Toht, German Mechanic, Satipo, Marion Ravenwood, Indiana Jones & Indiana Jones in German disguise. It comes in a beautiful box that opens up like a door revealing the six "lost" figures that supposedly never made the cut many years ago when the first figures were released.
4. SDCC PLAY ARTS KAI BATMAN - LIMITED COLOR VERSION (2015) Play Arts Kai continues to wow me in their offerings and their exclusive this year is a no-brainer for any Bat-collector. This new Batman figure is pretty epic and really goes the extra mile as far as detail is concerned. Apparently PAK was going for detailed mechanical look when the sculpt was being created. The paint job is pretty insane with the Bat-suit having metallic sheen with scuffs and an almost battle damaged look. The cape has a more realistic look that mimics the movement of cloth. On top of that we get some solid Bat-accessories including a dope Batarang, grappling gun. and interchangeable hands. A little on the high end for 100 clams but if you already have a PAK toy, you know the quality that they produce.
5. SUPER HELLICARRIER (2012) I couldn't make it to Con in 2012 but I had a friend who picked this behemoth for me and actually drove cross-country to drop it off! (He and his wife were moving back to the East Coast) As soon as I saw him take it out of his truck, I realized, "What did I do asking these guys to transport this??" Why? Because the Hellicarrier is about 4 feet long. It is just massive in every sense of the word. It also boasts 17.5" wide and around 5" in height. It also comes with a couple of exclusive MU figures including Captain America and Maria Hill. The ginormous floating SHIELD headquarters has nine rocket launchers and a very cool added bonus, pegs on the deck to snap in your figures without having to worrying about them falling down. Originally $130, the SDCC version with the SDCC logo, not the Toys R Us one (which is way smaller), is going for anywhere from around $250 to $300.
7. SDCC BACK TO THE FUTURE DeLOREAN (2011) I remember this one very well for a couple of reasons. One, it was from my favorite movie trilogy of all time. And two, no one knew what was going to be in the box! I remember I had reserved two and I am glad I did. The packaging is epic, a replica of the hazardous yellow box with the warning symbols because of the plutonium. Inside was a crazy looking mini diorama of Hill Valley, CA and the seminal final scene where Marty goes back to the future. The small scale DeLorean has fire trails on the back of the car just before it hits 88 mph. It was clever and for the price, I was psyched to have this piece in my collection. Even the box is great for display or to have around to put on your office desk. Although it was pretty inexpensive a few years ago, the price has shot up and sells consistently goes for the $100 to $200 range.
8. SDCC JIM LEE BATMAN: BLUELINE (2015) Two words folks: Jim Lee. The iconic artist takes on another Bat-project with this amazing and already pre-sold out everywhere online. Naturally there are a bunch of scalper's out there already trying to move them at three times the value on eBay but what can you do. This sharp looking Batman figure is part of DC Collectibles new "Blueline" collection. When this piece went up for pre-order, there was a charge of electricity in toy groups that left fans scrambling to find the last one. It was truly like the golden ticket in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Some collectors are still hanging on hope that one of the bigger online retailers will have it back in stock by the time Con rolls around next month
9. THE BIG BANG THEORY's STUART & SHELDON EXCLUSIVE (2015) This is one of those exclusives that would have flown under my radar had I not been crazy obsessive checking toy sites all day waiting for the SDCC exclusive reveals. While The Big Bang Theory has definitely brought geek culture a lot of support making something once niche more mainstream. While I definitely think the show has missed the mark the last few seasons, I do love Stuart the comic book shop owner. His deadpan delivery and nebbishy personality lets actor Kevin Sussman steal every scene he's in. Then of course we get the breakout and most popular character on the show, Sheldon, is aboard in Entertainment Earth's SDCC exclusive. The figures are in 3 and 3/4" tall and the set includes both figures, who both come with 5 points of articulation. The set is a numbered limited edition and I have a feeling these may go fast. The set also comes with a comic book store fold-out diorama. I always said that Stuart would be a great spinoff of TBBT and maybe that will happen now that he's got his own figure!
10. MATTEL GHOSTBUSTERS COURTROOM BATTLE EGON SPENGLER (2015)
Although the days of CLUB ECTO-1 are over, Mattel continues to tease us that it just might come back. However, I would not count on it and I have the feeling that they had the Egon made before but never released it. Still, I couldn't be any happier that we are finally getting an Egon in the courtroom battle scene from the 1989 sequel to Ghostbusters. Like the previous Ghostbusters figures in the line, it is still the same packaging and the overall design is solid. Egon comes with a Proton Pack on his back but I am not sure if it is a piece you can take off the figure or its glued on there. The completist in me has to get this figure so that I can finally finish my GB figure collection before the new ones are released from Diamond Select Toys later this year.
Jarrett Kruse is the owner & founder of Action Figure Junkies (AFJ), the number one toy group on social media. His crowd funding campaign with Toybacker.com kicks off this summer as Captain Junkie and the "Junkie-verse" come alive with a web comic and a line of action figures.
Funko "Infrared" Boba Fett Hikari Japanese Vinyl - one of most sought after at this year's Con.
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Publisher's note: There are countless other items coming out as Convention Exclusives, and variants at other Cons worldwide, nationally and regionally. Watch for amazing things here from Diamond Select Toys, Funko (Boba Fett hikari as seen above), McFarlane Toys + so many more.....