COMIC-CON 2010: Tokyopop, video games, dead things and other preview night observances
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The floor of the San Diego Convention Center was packed as thousands, or what looked to be tens of thousands, descended on the marina-adjacent glass structure in what was only the preview night of what promised to be a popular and patience-trying ordeal.
There was no programming, save for a few promos running for the new Scooby-Doo, Fox’s ‘Human Target,’ ABC’s ‘V’ and others. An upcoming CW/McG show, ‘Nikita,’ starring Maggie Q as a dangerously skilled ex-agent trying to take down a shadowy government organization, showed its pilot twice in a large Ballroom 20 room that was barely half full.
The floor was the star Wednesday night as early participants jockeyed for position in collectibles lines. Here are a few quick observations:
-- Tokyopop. The super-sized manga company, usually situated in a medium-size exhibition space, was in the tiniest of booths. Their signage had not arrived yet, but that won’t expand the booth. What gives? Not sure, but they will, apparently, have a bus outside to help push their wares.
-- At the G4 booth, there were collectible cards, comics and action figures/busts of ‘Attack of the Show’ hosts Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira. Will other networks jump in and make this a trend? Many might sign up for a Larry King collectible.
-- Speaking of G4 .. wasn’t E3 earlier this year and not in San Diego? A touch of that expo is in evidence as more and more video-game companies, such as THQ and the Red Faction game (which will be coming to a small screen near you soon), have booths and demos this year. The theme of many is heroics, but some -- like Just Dance for the Wii (above) -- are not.
-- There seem to be lots of cute ‘dead’ things serving as stuffed animals, T-shirts, keyrings etc. There are Skelanimals(animals that meet an untimely demise) and the zombie stylings of Teddy Scares (which there will be more from later). It’s not a new trend but one that seems to be expanding.
-- The longest line during preview night was for the Entertainment Earth booth. The action-figure/bobble-head/toy-collectible retailer had a winding line that moved pretty fast as fans zeroed in on the many exclusives offered. When you have products such as the G.I. Joe Pimp Daddy Destro Bobble Head, you can be a popular destination. Here’s a very quick look at the ‘Lost’ bobble heads that were also drawing some attention.
-- Jevon Phillips
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