Meh. I hate the lighting in our house. These photos aren't sexy, but they'll get the point across today!
SDCC 2017 has come and gone. I hope y'all were following me on Instagram and Twitter for the updates during the con. Check out my Instagram for some videos and pictures that I posted if you haven't already. 😊
I'm bummed that I didn't get to do a "What's in my suitcase?" post this year, but it got so hectic before the con that I simply didn't have time. I would have repeated a lot of the essentials and probably brought quite a few similar nerdy items from last year. However, for next year, I'd recommend adding sunblock and a fanny pack to the packing list. 😂 It was so hot in San Diego this year! I don't remember if it's been that hot before since I've started attending years ago, but I definitely ended up with some sunburn this year. Eep. I feel like, as an adult, any sunburn whatsoever is just that much more serious. As for a fanny pack, my friend brought one with him, which I thought was genius. Having to constantly pull my backpack in front of me to pull out essentials like my wallet, tickets, badge, etc. got tedious so I think bringing a fanny pack can be a great idea for those key items.
To answer the usual SDCC-related questions, (1) I didn't dress up as any characters this year (unless you count the outfit in the photo below) and (2) my favorite part of SDCC was seeing all my friends! We've all agreed that's why we go now, to have fun with friends, not to trample over people for exclusives or panels. We're just there to be nerds together and we love it. ❤
With that said, there's always a haul to share after SDCC regardless of how you spend your time! Between the free stuff and the stuff you can't help but buy no matter how small, you never come home from SDCC empty-handed.
In the exhibit hall, we stopped by the Mondo booth at one point. As an Austin-based company, it's always cool to see Mondo at conventions outside of Austin. Their lines grow every year! We stopped by to see how difficult it would be to get something for a friend. After seeing the line, we just grabbed some post cards and went on our way.
In the exhibit hall, we stopped by the Mondo booth at one point. As an Austin-based company, it's always cool to see Mondo at conventions outside of Austin. Their lines grow every year! We stopped by to see how difficult it would be to get something for a friend. After seeing the line, we just grabbed some post cards and went on our way.
This next swag isn't much either, but I'm excited about it because I was told I'm a "mutant"! Hah. At the event activation for an upcoming X-Men related show called The Gifted, they were "testing" people for the X-gene, checking who among us are mutants. What they actually did was provide you with a heritage test (actual cheek swabs), which I've always wanted to try out personally. They intend to send the results to us in 4-6 weeks so you actually get something out of it! I'm looking forward to seeing my results. I don't anticipate they'll be super shocking, but who knows! After the cheek swabs, you went over to a tablet/photo area, pressed a button, and it randomly told you whether or not you're a mutant. I was with 3 other friends and was also the only one with the mutant result. I geeked out a bit. Everyone else got an image without the "wanted" text so pretty much I'm special and cooler than my friends. 😂
We also hit up the Atlanta off-site event activation. It was actually really cool so I recommend checking it out on my Instagram. They handed out these bandanas that features logos from several FX shows. It ended up being super useful to keep my sweat off my hat so I think I"m just going to keep it forever for that. 😂 I know, ew. It was seriously that hot.
Next up, some random stickers and pins from SDCC! The DC superhero pins came with the SDCC bags this year. I ended up trading a Wonder Woman pin for a Batman pin (of course). Wonder Woman stuff seriously has some great barter value right now.
Speaking of bags, for the first time in 8 years, I decided not to hunt down the most Batman-related SDCC bag to trade for and take home. I wasn't very attached to any of them so no biggie. We did end up dropping by the Seven20 booth and buying this adorable Batman plushie whose butt magnetizes to a gold DC coin stand. Too cute. We did end up sticking the Batman to various magnetic surfaces in the hotel room. That was fun. The Batman toy ended up coming with a nice, flashy gold bag which I did end up taking home! See below.
Man, these photos are just awful. I'm looking at investing in one of those portable photo light boxes in the future to hopefully help with some of these.
Moving on with this post in the mean time, I also picked up more Dustin Nguyen prints at this SDCC. He's always so nice and his prints are always so beautiful. The first 2 are variant covers for Supers-Sons comics. The last is a photo of the Bat-Family on top of the Seattle Space Needle. Did you recognize it?
The next picture is of some freebie fans from SyFy. My friends grabbed them and I didn't really need to take them home, but I thought it would be hilarious to just bring them everywhere with me to vote random things up or down. It might even be fun to have at the office.
We also grabbed some stuff for friends! The Star Wars figures are for our friend Nick back in California. We also grabbed a Spider-Man: Homecoming Funko Pop for our friend Luis. He particularly requested the one with the homemade costume. If you haven't seen Spider-Man: Homecoming, I highly recommend it! The Spiderman shirt is for our friend's 5-year-old. The kid's a huge Spiderman fan and we told him we'd bring something back for him. ❤️
Micks grabbed some Funko Pops for himself. The Bruce Lee is from the BAIT booth and the X-Men X-23 Funko Pop is from Entertainment Earth. I like that she's in her Wolverine costume.
Now on to the Pops that I ended up with! This year, there were 5 Batman SDCC Exclusive Funko Pops at the Funko booth. I ended up with 4 out of 5 and a couple from other booths. I'm still missing the Blue Chrome Batman, but after seeing the reseller prices, I'll likely just pass on it. I'm not about the Funko life now where you need to pay hundreds of dollars for the "rare" Pops you want. I won't pay the prices partially because I can't justify spending that much for a toy that just sits on my shelf and partially because I don't want to fuel the reseller market.
Before describing the Pops I purchased, I do have a story. For those that don't know, the Funko booth line has gotten impossible to get into over the last few years. You have to get in line the night before (typically one giant chaotic line that gets sorted some time in the morning) for a chance to pull a ticket for a chance to get a time slot for a chance to buy what you want. Notice how I said chance more than once? If they run out of tickets before you get to the front of the line, you're out of luck. Also, if you randomly select a late time slot, odds are they'll be out of everything you want before you have a chance to make a purchase.
I don't get into this line because I don't want to spend 12+ hours of my life waiting for potentially nothing because if I am lucky enough to get any time slot, I wouldn't want to buy anything other than Batman Funko Pops. If they run out of Batman Pops, I'd be out of luck.
Because of this system, since last year, I've started politely asking people in line if they'd be able to make purchases for me. I was lucky last year (I believe it was only 1 Batman Pop) and lucky at NYCC (where 1 person was able to buy all 5 Batman Pops for me). Note that exchanging money across the Funko line is not allowed and could get sellers in trouble. Typically, if they agree, they just purchase the Pop and I meet them at the end of the line after they've made the purchase. I'm well aware of this rule so I try to be as discreet as possible and typically "tip." You're only allowed to buy 1 of each item per person. Most people let me know that they intend to buy all the Batman Pops already, which is totally understandable.
By asking around, I actually had a person help me buy 2 Pops this year and another person help me buy 1 more and then a friend who got in line buy yet another for me so eventually I only needed one more Pop from the Funko booth, the Blue Chrome Batman. Thank you to all these people who helped me out! I asked a few more people about the Blue Chrome Batman Pop I needed and then it finally happened where I had an awful experience with one particular person who was extremely rude to me. He immediately started berating me, telling me that if I want it that maybe I should get in line at 2am like everybody else. He pretty much accused me of pretending not to know the value of the Pop. He said, "You mean you want me to buy the one that's worth $100 for you?" And I said, "Already?" because I honestly don't check the prices. He said, "Don't pretend like you don't know." I said, "I didn't mean to offend you. I've been collecting since 2010 and I only collect Batman Pops" and walked away because he was really just ruining my day. As I walked away, he said something about if I have been collecting since 2010 that I should know the value.
I have several things to say about this. First, I am sorry to any hardcore people who get in line to get these exclusives that my asking may offend. Like I mentioned above, I only collect Batman-related Pops and I honestly don't feel like there's a point in getting in line if I don't intend on buying anything else if the Batman Pops are sold out. Second, I don't get in line because I'm not a reseller. I don't get in line just to buy ANYTHING I can so I can turn a profit. Again, I'm just here to collect Batman Pops. Third, I do not research the most expensive exclusives prior to attending a convention because I don't care about the prices or reselling. I'm just there to buy things as a personal collector so I really resent this guy for being presumptuous. Just because I've been collecting since 2010 doesn't mean I check how much a Pop is valued at before I want to buy it at hopefully MSRP from the company. I just want to buy it because I like it and I intend to keep it.
There were others who simply said they already intended to buy everything. Others reiterated that they weren't allowed to exchange money over the line and when I mentioned I could meet them at the end of the line, they mentioned they just didn't want to resell, which is totally fine. This guy, however, was unnecessarily rude to a fellow collector... or supposedly a fellow collector. Maybe HE'S the reseller and got offended because he intended to flip the Blue Chrome Batman and thought I wanted to take that revenue away from him. Maybe he was seriously grumpy from sleeping on the concrete all night and had a bad experience with the line. Who knows what his deal was? Regardless, he could have gotten his point across without being so rude or simply just told me he was already buying the one I asked about. My friends helped me move on from this day-ruiner and I had a great rest of the con. I hope that guy got a better attitude for the rest of his con or I hope no one else had to run into him like I unfortunately did.
Before describing the Pops I purchased, I do have a story. For those that don't know, the Funko booth line has gotten impossible to get into over the last few years. You have to get in line the night before (typically one giant chaotic line that gets sorted some time in the morning) for a chance to pull a ticket for a chance to get a time slot for a chance to buy what you want. Notice how I said chance more than once? If they run out of tickets before you get to the front of the line, you're out of luck. Also, if you randomly select a late time slot, odds are they'll be out of everything you want before you have a chance to make a purchase.
I don't get into this line because I don't want to spend 12+ hours of my life waiting for potentially nothing because if I am lucky enough to get any time slot, I wouldn't want to buy anything other than Batman Funko Pops. If they run out of Batman Pops, I'd be out of luck.
Because of this system, since last year, I've started politely asking people in line if they'd be able to make purchases for me. I was lucky last year (I believe it was only 1 Batman Pop) and lucky at NYCC (where 1 person was able to buy all 5 Batman Pops for me). Note that exchanging money across the Funko line is not allowed and could get sellers in trouble. Typically, if they agree, they just purchase the Pop and I meet them at the end of the line after they've made the purchase. I'm well aware of this rule so I try to be as discreet as possible and typically "tip." You're only allowed to buy 1 of each item per person. Most people let me know that they intend to buy all the Batman Pops already, which is totally understandable.
By asking around, I actually had a person help me buy 2 Pops this year and another person help me buy 1 more and then a friend who got in line buy yet another for me so eventually I only needed one more Pop from the Funko booth, the Blue Chrome Batman. Thank you to all these people who helped me out! I asked a few more people about the Blue Chrome Batman Pop I needed and then it finally happened where I had an awful experience with one particular person who was extremely rude to me. He immediately started berating me, telling me that if I want it that maybe I should get in line at 2am like everybody else. He pretty much accused me of pretending not to know the value of the Pop. He said, "You mean you want me to buy the one that's worth $100 for you?" And I said, "Already?" because I honestly don't check the prices. He said, "Don't pretend like you don't know." I said, "I didn't mean to offend you. I've been collecting since 2010 and I only collect Batman Pops" and walked away because he was really just ruining my day. As I walked away, he said something about if I have been collecting since 2010 that I should know the value.
I have several things to say about this. First, I am sorry to any hardcore people who get in line to get these exclusives that my asking may offend. Like I mentioned above, I only collect Batman-related Pops and I honestly don't feel like there's a point in getting in line if I don't intend on buying anything else if the Batman Pops are sold out. Second, I don't get in line because I'm not a reseller. I don't get in line just to buy ANYTHING I can so I can turn a profit. Again, I'm just here to collect Batman Pops. Third, I do not research the most expensive exclusives prior to attending a convention because I don't care about the prices or reselling. I'm just there to buy things as a personal collector so I really resent this guy for being presumptuous. Just because I've been collecting since 2010 doesn't mean I check how much a Pop is valued at before I want to buy it at hopefully MSRP from the company. I just want to buy it because I like it and I intend to keep it.
There were others who simply said they already intended to buy everything. Others reiterated that they weren't allowed to exchange money over the line and when I mentioned I could meet them at the end of the line, they mentioned they just didn't want to resell, which is totally fine. This guy, however, was unnecessarily rude to a fellow collector... or supposedly a fellow collector. Maybe HE'S the reseller and got offended because he intended to flip the Blue Chrome Batman and thought I wanted to take that revenue away from him. Maybe he was seriously grumpy from sleeping on the concrete all night and had a bad experience with the line. Who knows what his deal was? Regardless, he could have gotten his point across without being so rude or simply just told me he was already buying the one I asked about. My friends helped me move on from this day-ruiner and I had a great rest of the con. I hope that guy got a better attitude for the rest of his con or I hope no one else had to run into him like I unfortunately did.
For my readers, this experience is not representative of SDCC and other comic conventions. More often, it's a lot of nerds connecting with other like-minded nerds. It's nerds wanting to share their fandoms with others. It's nerds wanting to learn about other people's fandoms. It's nerds just wanting to learn MORE about their favorite old and new fandoms. Check out my previous blog post about how I met Kevin Conroy because of another SDCC-attendee for an example of nerd kindness! There are plenty more examples in this Twitter thread too. I wanted to make sure I ended this section on a positive note before I go into the Pops I purchased!
Now that I'm done ranting, on to the fun stuff, here are the Funko Pops that fellow nerds/friends helped me acquire for my collection at this year's SDCC!
This first Pop is Interplanetary Batman. I actually like him so much more in person than I thought I would. Based on the pictures online prior to the con, he wasn't my favorite, but I absolutely adore his helmet. I guess I'm starting to really like when Pops have some sort of helmet because I really loved Batman: The Animated Series Mr. Freeze too (from my previous post).
This next one is the one I was most excited for because it's part of the Batman: The Animated Series Funko Pop collection. It's Dr. Langstrom in his Man-Bat form. I had to post various angles of this one because his wings are so hideously, adorably detailed... if that makes sense. I'm very happy to have this as part of my collection!
The next Pop is the Suicide Squad Joker Batman. I'm not a fan of anything Suicide Squad Joker because of that hideous grill (see similar grill on Conan Joker from last year), but he's Batman! I had to have him as part of my collection. The little batarang he's holding is pretty cute.
This Pop is Justice League Bruce Wayne (aka Ben Affleck). I took a photo of him close up because I wanted to show the different coloring in his hair. The hair and batarang are nice details. This was also a nice surprise in terms of how much I like him. It makes Bruce Wayne look adorable.
I was lucky enough to get 4 tickets to a Conan SDCC show again this year! We attended the Thursday evening showing (they had Wednesday, Thursday afternoon, Thursday evening, and Friday) where the cast of Lego Ninjago was interviewed. Some people on Twitter were disappointed to be going to this show because of the guests, but it was an all star cast of comedians, a lot of which I'm a fan of so I was grateful for the tickets. The cast included Zach Woods, Michael Pena, Olivia Munn, Justin Theroux, Dave Franco, Abbi Jacobson, and Kumail Nanjiani. At the end of the show, everybody received this Conan Flash Pop. I love how well Conan's hair translates to his Pops. Even though, I'm not a Flash fan specifically (I do enjoy Grant Gustin and Ezra Miller as actors), I'm glad to have this as part of my collection. If anybody is interested in trading this for a Batman Conan from Conan's 2015 SDCC show, please let me know!
The next Funko Pop is not an SDCC exclusive, but she's relatively new and I didn't have her yet. We found her at a Pop booth at SDCC and gladly added her to the collection. This is the Batgirl in her blue/gray/yellow costume. I have a very similar one in a black costume. This Batgirl mold is probably one of my favorites.
I realize I forgot to include the below items in my overall haul photo at the beginning of this blog post. The Hufflepuff snapback hat and Batman tank are from Stylin' Online. They always have multiple booths at SDCC and always have an amazing selection of nerd gear for all fandoms. I LOVE this Hufflepuff hat. It's a Hogwarts alumi letterman logo in the front with the Hufflepuff coat of arms on the side. The fleece material also makes it unique. They only had a Hufflepuff version of this cap. I got a lot of compliments from strangers and friends and a lot of people were bummed they didn't have the same cap for all the other houses. #HufflepuffPride
When I saw this Batman tank, I didn't buy it at first, but was really interested in it because you don't see very many Batman tanks made for women! I almost had buyer's remorse because when I came back, they were gone! Micks found and bought it for me from another one of the Stylin' Online booths as a gift before we wrapped up SDCC and I love it.
The Batman cap shown below is actually from my friend! He bought it off eBay and it didn't fit him so he gave it to me. When all your friends associate you with Batman, it can sometimes come with perks. 😉
The Batman cap shown below is actually from my friend! He bought it off eBay and it didn't fit him so he gave it to me. When all your friends associate you with Batman, it can sometimes come with perks. 😉
Micks also purchased the Magic: The Gathering Planeswalker SDCC exclusive, which you can see in the haul photo at the beginning of this post. It's actually for sale so I didn't open it to take pictures, but you can see the contents in this Bleeding Cool article here!
Whew! Despite being what I thought was a small haul, this post got pretty wordy. Hope you enjoyed the post. Thank goodness I didn't spend as much as I did when I was in NYCC last year! I'll be attending NYCC this year again so will need to practice some self control. I can't wait for NYCC 2017 and SDCC 2018. Hope we can get badges for SDCC again! I'll hopefully be back with another blog post soon. Thanks for reading as always!
