SDCC 2024: The Editor-In-Chief’s Swag Haul & Convention Experience
by Erik Amaya
Comicon.com’s editor-in-chief, Erik Amaya, is back from Comic-Con International: San Diego with a few goodies and a few stories. Below, he frames them via his swag haul for the year:
I’ll be honest, this was a strange SDCC for me. A crisis at home meant I was late to the party by a few days. But I did show up and enjoyed a strangely empty show floor Friday night where I picked up the majority of my items for the year.
The most important of these — for me, anyway — was the Doctor Who Fifteenth Doctor sonic screwdriver. Said to be limited to 1000 pieces, a friend who was in town on Preview Night helpfully obtained one for me, although there still appeared to be some available on Friday. Granted, I may have just missed the “SOLD OUT” marker when I walked by the booth to look at the the other Who items on offer. I ultimately walked way with the white TARDIS T-shirt seen above and the postcard set. If it isn’t clear yet, I love Doctor Who.
My other exclusives goal for the show was the G.I. Joe Classified “Once A Man” Cobra Commander. I have fond feelings for 1987’s G.I. Joe: The Movie. It has that kick-ass rendition of the show’s opening theme, Burgess Meredith as a thoroughly sci-fi villain, and the denouement of the Sunbow Cobra Commander. Unlike his comic book counterpart, a former used-car salesman, the animated series version turned out to be an agent of a humanoid snake-race from a hidden city called Cobra-La. Returning there in the movie, he is punished for his inability to conquer the human world and is slowly turned into a snake. But as this transformation occurs, he is also shackled to Roadblock, consistently reminding the Joe that he “wassss onccccee a mannn!” That Hasbro made a figure of this part of the film is proof they know exactly where my nostalgia leans. And thanks to the strangely empty show floor on Friday, I was able to walk right up to the counter at Hasbro’s booth and buy it.
Further proof they have my number: a box containing the figure was already on the counter before I said anything. They just knew.
The other shirt seen above is from the good people at Heroes & Villains. It’s now a tradition I pick up a Star Wars shirt from them and the one advertising the Incom T-65 X-Wing starfighter proved to be the exact mix of fictional corporation and racing style to appeal to me. And an easy purchase made all the easier by just how open the aisles were Friday night.
But you’ll see in the photo above a pair of posters and a strange Marvel curio. They all came from the Saturday Hall H panels. The Penguin poster comes courtesy of HBO and Max as a thank you for attending the panel regarding the show of the same name. The other poster, adverting Captain America: Brave New World, and the curio — a Fantastic Four themed fan — formed the giveaway items from the Marvel Studios presentation. And let me tell you, the excitement level was high as it started, but went into overdrive when Robert Downey Jr. was revealed. While I understand the reaction was decidedly mixed, the room was quite appreciative to see him return.
Outside of those things, I also managed to see the Wynonna Earp: Vengeance panel and chat with the cast and showrunner (articles forthcoming) and sit down with Becky Cloonan to chat about her contribution to Boom! Studios’ Hello Darkness anthology — keep an eye out for that as well. All and all, it was a subdued Con for me, but nonetheless successful.