World’s Greatest Toys!

It’s show-time again!

Rob Chatlin (editor of Mego 8″ Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys!) and I will have a dealer table at this Sunday’s (02/17/08) Los Angeles Comic Book & Sci Fi Convention at the Shrine Auditorium.

As with last month, we will have a broad range of Mego figures — MOC, MIB and Loose — on display and available for purchase. We’ll also have vintage Kenner, Mattel, Popy, Medicom and more. It will be a vintage toy lover’s dream. I will also have copies of the Mego book on hand and can sign books for anyone interested in acquiring an inscribed edition.

If anyone out there in Blogland is in Southern California, we’d love it if you stopped by the show. We actually have THREE tables this time, and we’d love to see you there. Here’s the info:

Shrine Auditorium Expo Center
700 West 32nd St.
Los Angeles, CA

The official Web site for the con is here:

Los Angeles Comic Book & Sci Fi Convention

Guests include stars from TV’s Jericho, Katy Sagal and Teen Titans Year 1 Writer Amy Wolfram.

Hope to see you there!

Benjamin

I had a lot of fun finally meeting my publisher, John Morrow, along with his wife Pam and their adorable daughters, Lily and Hannah Rose. I also enjoyed meeting Eric Nolen-Weathington and Tom “The Comics Savant” Stewart (always impeccably outfitted in vintage 60s suits and Beatle boots).

It was especially gratifying to see the cover of Mego 8″ Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys! emblazoned on the banner above the TwoMorrows booth.

I managed to take a few compositionally interesting photographs. Despite the mad rush of bodies, seemingly everywhere you walked, I captured two (reported) “Dr. Who” costumers and a couple of thoroughly exhausted convention attendees. I like the rare occurrence of negative space.

OK. If anyone out there thinks Comic-Con is too ‘focused’ and that you won’t see anything except nerds and comics, I’m here to say you’re wrong. Presented for your consideration, this random break dancer and his posse.

I thought Imperial Elvis was clever, but I happened upon a scene that just cracked me up. This Stormtrooper was really getting into a foosball game. You could hear muffled grunts and screams emanating from beneath his helmet. Yet he simply refused to remove his mask! Competitive nature battling character authenticity, and I was impressed that his Imperial duty prevailed.

I was even more impressed that the Stormtrooper actually won the foosball game.

Each year at Comic-Con, Batman and related characters account for many of the costumes you will see. I was quite impressed by some of the outfits, such as the Batman/Catwoman and Joker/Harley Quinn combinations I encountered.

In my Unofficial Comic-Con Masquerade Ball, this woman took my no-prize for “Most Ambitious Costume.”

Aeon Flux would be a tough character to pull off… if you weren’t willing to walk around with your privates almost completely exposed. Luckily for Comic-Con attendees, she was willing to go the whole nine yards in conveying the character’s diminutive costume.

Truly a Teen Titan. For most of the Con, this girl ran around with friends who were dressed as Raven and (I think) Slade. However, her Starfire costume was clearly superior and the coolest of the bunch, so we took an opportunity to photograph her alone, as she stood in queue for the Comic-Con Masquerade Ball.

Some of my favorite Comic-Con attendees were those who embraced being the Coolest of the Uncool.

Imperial Elvis was one such cat. When asked if I could take his picture, the Stormtrooper/Deathpooper replied, “Sure, baby.”

Another bad-azz was Bobalicious Fett, the Bounty Huntin’ Pimp. When asked if I could take his picture, the bitch-slappin’ Domino replied with utter silence and a fist full of bling.

I think it’s clear that modern toy companies have gone too far with their myriad figure variations.

I’m pretty sure this is French Fries-Gobblin’ Robin (left)… or is it Hamburgler Robin? Anyway, I decided to juxtapose this awesome dude with two random, super-hot Comic-Con chicks (right).

Safe to say: Never the ‘tween shall meet.