SWAG Adventures: The D23 Expo Edition

by Gary Catig

D23 Expo has come and gone where many Disney fans descended upon the Anaheim Convention Center to celebrate all of the different brands and franchises under the entertainment juggernaut’s umbrella. Like any big time event, there were plenty of opportunities to pick up some great SWAG.

At the Disney and Marvel Games Showcase, several posters were given away featuring many of the titles in the presentation. Unfortunately, many of them were from their mobile titles. The Return to Monkey Island poster was a nice pick up, because of a love for the franchise, but it would have been nice to receive something from the Marvel side such as Midnight Suns or the mysterious Skydance New Media project. I also received a mini print of the official poster for the Disney 100: The Exhibition.

Apparently D23 Expo is the only time when Disney characters can cross-over into Marvel comics so that makes the exclusive variant covers from the Marvel panels a highly sought-after collectible. This year two variants were given away: one where Mickey gifts Spider-Man a 60th birthday cake and the other where Spider-Man repays the favor by giving Mickey a 100 years of Disney cake. They are both of Amazing Fantasy #1000 with cover art by Humberto Ramos.

One thing apparent at the event is that Disney fans love pins so there was an abundance given out. A pin for the upcoming mobile AR game Marvel World of Heroes could also be obtained the Game Showcase. With regards to customizable card games, a pin and a Mickey Mouse character card were handed out at the Ravensburger booth for Disney Lorcana. Non pin items include a drawstring backpack from ESPN+ and a keychain for The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

The Journey into Storytelling exhibit contained activations for shows on the owned broadcast and cable networks along with Hulu. There were more pins from such beloved series including Abbot Elementary, Only Murders in the Building, and American Horror Story. One of the coolest giveaways was a badge for New Jersey Avenger Con as seen in Ms. Marvel. For those who enjoy non-Marvel superheroes, there was a button set of Hamster and Gretel handed out at their panel.