I had to beg, borrow, and steal to get these lazy mofos (me included) to write something up, but here’s what some of the crackjack staff members at the Fwoosh (me included) had to say about what we saw coming out of San Diego Comic-Con.
At last, because no one demanded it and because the show’s been over for a month already, here’s the San Diego Comic-Con Best in Show review, by your friendly neighborhood Fwoosh staff.
NECA has blogged about their San Diego Comic-Con experience. I’ve included an excerpt of the toy-related stuff, but be sure to follow the link to the entire post, where they cover some of the movie activity (they hosted a signing with the cast and crew of “9”) and even poke a little fun at Randy Falk, their Director of Product Development.
Well friends, we’ve somehow managed to do it again. NECA has made it through another SDCC. Things on the left coast couldn’t have gone better, to be quite honest. All our exclusives sold well, especially the surprise addition of the Heroclix Thor’s Mighty Chariot (limited quantities are still available on the cheap from us at our Amazon.com Store), we world debuted new figures from BioShock, and unveiled the latest from Gears of War, Army of Two, Twilight: New Moon, Dante’s Inferno, 9, and Boondock Saints — and even showed off our brand new BATSU line of specially designed stylized figures, showing off the likes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Insane Clown Posse, Gears of War and Street Fighter!
Visiting the NECA booth last week at San Diego Comic-Con, I was disappointed to not see more Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and not until after the show did I find out why. I am not familiar with many of NECA’s licensed video game properties. Sure, I know Street Fighter, but my gaming in my old age is limited to NHL games. Still, there’s lots to appreciate here just from an action figure fan perspective.
Bio Shock – Industrial from TheFwoosh.com really dug these – he hasn’t played the game either.
Poe Ghostal has published a great San Diego Comic-Con wrap-up, and it contains an update from NECA on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We had heard before that it was international sales that had bogged down the first series, but not that NECA had altered the sales plan to try a figure at a time. I still have a pre-order out there for series 2 – I wonder when that will be canceled.
Rustin attended an information session with NECA, where we got the story behind the second series of TMNT. As we all guessed, Playmates’s deal with Mirage is preventing NECA from being able to sell their TMNT figures at Toys ‘R Us. But you say: why can’t they just sell them in specialty stores? As it turns out, the problem is with international sales. While the four Turtles in the first wave sold very well domestically, sales were virtually nonexistent overseas due to lack of recognition. Non-U.S. fans knew the classic blue, red, orange, and purple Turtles from the cartoons and movies, but the comic-based Turtles with their all-red bandannas just didn’t sell. Therefore, NECA barely broke even on the line.
Therefore, the plan now is to sell a figure, see how it does, then try the next figure. The first will be April in green and yellow variants in the fall, and if she sells well enough, Shredder will follow. I understand why we’re getting a yellow April–NECA’s hoping that figure, which resembles the cartoon version, will sell well overseas. But why the green version? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to sell the comic-accurate blue version as an exclusive at SDCC, then sell the green and yellow versions at retail–it should be blue and yellow at retail. In any event, fingers crossed that April’s numbers merit us a Shredder. I already plan to pick up a couple Aprils for friends and family.
NECA has posted packaged pictures of the exclusives they’ll have at San Diego Comic-Con, from their Street Fighter, Dead Space, GoW, Coraline, and TMNT licenses.
For those curious to our earlier report that April O’Neil would be released in blue at SDCC and in different colors for retail, TNI has posted pictures of April in green and yellow jumpsuits.
Hey, Nice Package NECA’s SDCC Exclusives Show Off The Goods
In case you needed some last-minute convincing to get your booty headed in the direction of San Diego Comic Con this week, July 22-26, to be exact, here’s an advance look at NECA’s exclusives in their packaging. This way you know what to go for as you’re shoving everyone else out of the way. Dig it if you dare, and don’t forget the details:
Street Fighter 4 Guile in Charlie Costume
Dead Space Isaac Clarke in Unitology Suit
Gears of War Lambent Locust Grenadier
TMNT April O’Neil with Mousers
Coraline in Star Spangled Sweater
Street Fighter 4 Guile in Charlie Costume
Based on the DLC Classic Costume Pack from Street Fighter 4, Guile pays tribute to his war buddy Charlie by donning his classic costume. This figure features over 30 points of articulation, interchangeable hands, and a newly sculpted torso and vest.
Dead Space Isaac Clarke in Unitology Suit
Isaac comes with LED Lights on the mask and spine, more than 20 points of articulation and the Unitology version of the Cutter weapon (not pictured). He features unique deco to recreate his Unitology Suit from the Dead Space video game.
Gears of War Lambent Locust Grenadier
An exclusive version of the Locust, mutated from prolonged exposure to Imulsion. The convention special Lambent Grenadier features a translucent head, torso and upper arms, with all new deco to recreate the Lambent ranks of the Locust and the Gnasher shotgun.
TMNT April O’Neil with Mousers
NECA proudly presents this special edition April O’Neil action figure, based on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. April is fully poseable and comes with two menacing Mouser villains with articulated jaws. Celebrate 25 years of TMNT with this exclusive set.
Coraline in Star Spangled Sweater
This special edition figure of Coraline from Tim Burton’s hit stop motion film features a brand new outfit and facial expression not available anywhere else. Coraline also sports a fully poseable bendable doll body and articulation at the neck, wrists and boots, and comes with a doll stand for display.
Note: In light of the economic situation and in gratitude to collectors and fans, NECA is proud to announce that for the sixth consecutive year the prices for our Exclusives will remain the same at an ultra-affordable $20 each.
And don’t forget, due to the increased costs of freight and storage at the convention site itself, we’re bringing in smaller edition sizes on all of our exclusives. For those unable to attend the San Diego Comic Con, we will be offering limited quantities online through the NECA Store on Amazon.com. Watch for more details closer to the event.
), we world debuted new figures from BioShock, and unveiled the latest from Gears of War, Army of Two, Twilight: New Moon, Dante’s Inferno, 9, and Boondock Saints — and even showed off our brand new BATSU line of specially designed stylized figures, showing off the likes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Insane Clown Posse, Gears of War and Street Fighter!
