SDCC 2011 Exclusives: The Wish List



It's that time again: The 2011 San Diego Comic Con will be held this month from the 21st to the 24th. There has already been some press coverage when the movie studios withdrew their involvement from this year's SDCC, an unexpected shift from previous years when studios used SDCC to promote upcoming films. The good news, though, is that the SDCC will still have tons of exclusive merchandise, and this post will highlight some of the more promising pieces of geek goodies. Read on....

This is a very short recommendation list for SDCC exclusives, particularly in comparison to the one I posted last year. Honestly, I'm not impressed with this year's selection of exclusives, largely because very few of the franchises that I love (i.e., franchises that regularly convince me to shamelessly spend wild amounts of money for their merchandise) are represented. It also doesn't help that much of the exclusive merchandise falls into the "super deformed" category, merchandise such as Bobble Meads, Mini-Mates, Mez-Itz, Mini-Muggs and Mimobots. In spite of these drawbacks, there are still some SDCC '11 items that are worthy of addition to any horror and sci-fi geek's collection.


Dark Defender Dexter Figure, from Bif Bang Pow!


This exclusive figure portrays Dexter as he saw himself in one of his most twisted, delusional fantasies. That's no small feat for a serial killing vigilante who keeps blood slides of all of his victims and has regular conversations with his dead dad.



Dengar and IG-88 Ornaments, from Hallmark


Exclusive Star Wars items will be available by the ton at SDCC this year, with a selection that includes a Revenge of the Jedi box set that features 14 action figures, as well as some impressive offerings from Gentle Giant and Kotobukiya. Of these, the exclusive that gets my vote is Hallmark's ornament set of these two cut-throat bounty hunters who were on Darth Vader's payroll. With the arrival of these two and the previous release of a Boba Fett ornament back in 1998, we're only three Christmas ornaments away from getting the complete set of bounty hunters from Empire Strikes Back who'd be more than happy to capture Santa Claus for you, disintegration free.



Dollhouse: Epitaphs #1 with Exclusive Original Cover, from Dark Horse


I'm a big Joss Whedon fan as it is but even if I weren't, I'd still consider Dollhouse to be one of the most disturbing and provocative science fiction shows ever made. Thus, anything collectible that fills in the narrative blanks during the show's truncated run is a must-have in my book.



Guardian Predator Figure with Gort Mask, from NECA


Sure, Hot Toys will be selling a 1/6 scale figure from Predator 2 and Sideshow Collectibles will be selling a set of the three Predator masks from the Alien vs. Predator movie for $80, but NECA's Predator figure looks like the better deal. Not only would you get a unique Predator mask, but you'd also get a complete, multi-jointed and affordable Predator figure to boot. (Come to think of it, Hot Toys also sold a Guardian Predator as an exclusive at last year's SDCC but for a much higher price.)



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