If you’ve been singing the blues because you didn’t make it to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and thus, were unable to order our Halo 3 Con exclusive – you’re in luck.

If you’ve been singing the blues because you didn’t make it to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and thus, were unable to order our Halo 3 Con exclusive – you’re in luck.

Starting today and available as long as supplies last, you can order this pair of figures through our online store. This special offer features two of McFarlane Toys' highly sought-after Halo 3 action figures in a commemorative combo.

An exclusive Spartan Soldier (EVA "HellSpartan") is paired with an exclusive clear Spartan Soldier (CQB Active-camouflage) figure. Production of these pieces was limited to 3,000 sets. Although packaged individually, the two figures will be sold ONLY as a set for $30 (plus shipping). There is a purchase limit of 4 sets per person.

A woman’s perspective on the TOYS, the restaurants, the people, and sharing a hotel with 2 stinky men!!!

A woman’s perspective on the TOYS, the restaurants, the people, and sharing a hotel with 2 stinky men!!!

The plane ride

The plane ride down was surprisingly delightful. Dan, Josh and I figured it for the best to upgrade to business class (as the chairs are way bigger and free booze). Upon lift-off I was getting myself ready for a relaxing and fun flight. And it was; the drinks flowed, the Steward (ess) were super helpful and nice. The whole last hours of the flight were spent with Dan and I chatting and laughing with the steward he even gave us tips on how to keep our skin GLOWING. As we departed the plane, they even gave me a bag of vodka nips for our room! Can you imagine?? We finally arrived in San Diego on Tuesday July 21st at 11:30 am.

The Hotel Room

As the booking for our trip was relatively last minute, all the rooms at the Hilton, the Clarion, etc. were taken. Which leaves us with the Quality Inn...If you research the Quality inn you will see it has much less than sparkling reviews. We had prepared for the worst, but it was surprisingly not bad. It would suffice just fine. After putting away some of our stuff we decided to check out the Con one day previous to it opening to the public.

The Calm of the Con the day before the storm

Now, the workers at the Con WILL NOT let you in pre show without an exhibitor's badge. So with our friend Matt’s help, I became exhibitor Fridge and Dan became Boris. We donned our passes and headed down to set up some of Josh's wares at our table. It was like the calm before the storm. The place was alive with people setting up some of their life’s works. Toys, art work, comic books, life size Stormtroopers, just to name a few. I have never attended anything of this magnitude. There were new Soul of Chogokin toys being displayed, a lot of my husband’s favorites and old favorites of us both. He immediately was compelled to buy a Giant Robot from the 80's and waited to pick up his Getter 1 Comic Con exclusive.

That night we went to have dinner at this Mexican place called Fred's and the whole gang was there. Sanjeev was there with Mark, Jesse, Matt and Megan Doughty, Jennileen, John, Josh, Dan and I. We ate and chatted about the weeks festivities but it was to be an early night as we were all super tired from our traveling

On sharing a Hotel room with 2 men.

Back at the hotel, we were all getting all set for bed. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth as Josh exited it. It smelled like septic death in there. But I didn't want to be rude and make Josh embarrassed, so I just brushed away, until I got really ill from the stink and started puking. My husband and Josh rushed in checking to see if I was okay. I said ”it stinks too much in here! It made me puke!!”. Josh was all glowing with pride, WOW! I made Nadia throw up!! AWESOME!! We all laughed our asses off. The rest of the night was peppered with farts and snoring. It's a good thing I am used to all this stuff, living with Dan and all..

The Waffle Spot and the Rickshaw ride

We woke up at 7:30am, or I woke up at 7:30 and made the other 2 get up with me. Josh had been talking about this magical place where you could get waffles with bacon baked right into them.... I was mesmerized. So we headed out to get a cab to take us to this almost mythical place. And you would have thought it was mythical. As the cab driver had no idea what or where Waffle Spot was. After some looking we found it.

We went in, and had our Waffles. The reality of those waffles was not as good at our hopes for them. But many pictures were still taken and are glad we went.

We then took another cab to the Con. The traffic was so thick we asked the driver to just drop us off a block or two away. Immediately we got accosted by these poor souls who make their living dragging people around in carts attached to their bikes. This one extremely spindly fellow begged us to let him take us the rest of the way to the Con. The three of us looked at him and asked him if he was aware that us three weighed like 800lbs! We are certainly not an ideal fare. He INSISTED.. I have never laughed so much in my life, this poor fellow carting the three of us up the hill on the way to the con. We oozed over the sides of the cart, and the poor guy had to get off his bike and push at certain parts. Poor guy. And what's worse - as he was nearing the crest of the hill, and was explaining about how terrible the cops were about rickshaws. (He said he had like 5 unpaid tickets, that those damn cops HATED rickshaws probably hated him.) And just as we got out, a cop ticketed him. Needless to say, I gave him a big tip.

Exclusive Lucasfilm after parties and unbelievably good Mexican food.

We went to many after parties, the first was IDW comics party which was really awesome. Open bar with really good drinks, good appetizers, and slammin’ music. As we got our drink on a BIG BRITISH man decided Josh was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.. (OOO do I see a love connection in the making?) We danced and drank and bumped in to Robbie Musso, an incredible artist, he does all the banners for CDX, did Dan's and Josh's business cards too. He's a cool cat and a good guy.

The next party was the G4 party; you would think this party would have been really super cool. It was okay, kinda packed no open bar, but fun nonetheless. At the very least it was good exposure for us. We then headed back home as Dan and I were really drunk and we wanted Denny's.

I got Moon Over My Hammy.

The next evening was the most important party, The Lucasfilm super invite-only party. We were going with Frank from Kotobukiya, but needed to get some chow first. We all wanted to get Mexican, so we stopped at a bar for a drink and asked the bar tender where the BEST Mexican food was. She told us to go to this little place called Casa Loma, a few blocks up. So we walked to the Casa Loma, and it was a dirty little hole in the wall and showing all the earmarks of an awesome Mexican place where good food was sure to follow. The three of us sat at this little high top table, the AC was broken, and it was dark in there. We all ordered Margaritas which set Josh and My mouths on fire after eating the salsa. Dan is some sort of freak so he wasn't bothered by the heat of the salsa at all. Then our plates came.. This food.. Oh my God this food...So good, everything was HAND MADE! The tortillas, both corn and flour, everything. The BEST I have ever had! And to top it off, the bill came to 42.00 dollars.. FOR ALL THAT FOOD and DRINKS! We left the Mexican place promising we'd be back the next night, and we were!

Time for the Lucas party, walking to the cab I found this homeless guy sleeping on a bench. He had 3 shopping carts expertly engineered together kind of like a cart-a-bago. Poor guy, I woke him up and gave him $20.00 to ensure my good Karma for the rest of the trip, he was so thankful. Remember to always be kind to the homeless and less fortunate. You’ll get it back ten fold.

We hail a cab which pulls up to The BEAUTIFUL Westgate Hotel. We get out and wait for Frank, enjoying the people watching and freak show of sorts.

Frank shows and we go upstairs to get these exclusive swag bags. One was an ammo case painted white with a Clonetrooper's face painted in black on it. It held a patch of the next Star Wars film coming out next month. The other was cool, it had a Darth Vader Nesting doll in it. Another Lucas party exclusive, I bet it could fetch a penny on EBAY. But we decided to give it to Josh's son Nate as he would just love it. We all filed into the elevator to get to the rooftop party.

When those doors opened and we saw the spread it was akin to when Dorothy opened her front door to view OZ. I have never been to a party of this stature, and dare I say I had no idea just how Hollywood Josh is!

Josh and Dan talked to George Sohn of Toynami as I went up to get some wine for us. George is a great guy, we hope to be reviewing some toys for him soon. Bruce Campbell was also there, I think Fred Durst, and Josh's British boyfriend too! Sucklord made his appearance as well. As Josh, Dan, and I stood in front of an ice sculpture, it really hit home. This had been an awesome trip! Awesome parties! Awesome people! Awesome traveling companions.

I am blessed to have gotten to go with Josh and Dan. I absolutely can't wait till next year.

In addition to the Doctor Who round table, I also got to sit in on the Torchwood round table with the executive producer of all three WHO shows, and Torchwood star Naoko Mori (Toshiko)

In addition to the Doctor Who round table, I also got to sit in on the Torchwood round table with the executive producer of all three WHO shows, and Torchwood star Naoko Mori (Toshiko).

At the time, I didn't realize that Julie Garder was executive producer of all three series - Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Sarah Jane Chronicles.

Torchwood is a spin-off of Doctor Who, but its edgier, made for a more adult audience. If you haven't seen it yet I suggest you check it out.

The Clone Wars were in full swing at the Hasbro Booth, but the real star of the show was the HUGE Millennium Falcon

This thing is absolutely beautiful, and even though I have no place to put it, I am SORELY tempted to buy it. I figure better to get one now than kick myself later when having to chase one down on the aftermarket.

So yeah, lots of figures from Clone Wars and the classics line. Cool new vehicles, build a figures - seems like Hasbro is on a roll. Oh, and that giant walker looks sweet as well.

It figures, I would forget the biggest toymaker at Comic-Con.

So yeah, Hasbro at Comic-Con. Never before have I seen such a feeding frenzy. People waited in lines that seemingly wrapped around the convention floor to get the Hasbro "Exclusives", which will no doubt available on online soon. I don't know about you, but no toy was worth waiting in those lines.

Hasbro had some neat stuff out though - another reissue of the classic G1 prime, lots of new animated and classics and other cool stuff.

a CollectionDX Exclusive! We managed to score a seat at a Round table discussion with Stephen Moffat, the new Lead Writer for the new Doctor Who series. We have the whole interview, in HD, inside....

One of the perks of being "media" is you can often use your credentials to get into events that you would otherwise be excluded from.

I am a HUGE Doctor Who fan, and I'd love to get more coverage for the series on CollectionDX. So when I saw the opportunity to sit in on a press Round table with Stephen Moffat, head writer and executive producer for the fifth series of Doctor Who, beginning in 2010, I jumped on it.

Stephen has been responsible for some of the most memorable Doctor Who episodes, such as "The Empty Child", "The Doctor Dances", and the more recent "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead".

We got the whole 30 minute discussion in HD video, where he talks about what its like working on Doctor Who, who the audience REALLY is, and plans for the upcoming series.

Edgy Series About Two Miscreant Boys’ Adventures In A Surreal Metropolis Is The Only Japanese Manga Title To Win This Year

San Francisco, CA, August 1, 2008 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced that its manga, TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE, by acclaimed creator Taiyo Matsumoto, won a 2008 Eisner Comic Industry Award for the Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Japan. Named for pioneering writer and comic artist Will Eisner, the awards recognize exemplary comics, graphic novels and other pop writings and are given each year as part of the annual Comic-Con International convention.

The manga, which is published by VIZ Media under its Signature imprint, was also the inspiration behind the Tekkonkinkreet animated feature film from Sony Pictures directed by noted visual effects artist and producer Michael Arias (The Abyss, Princess Mononoke, The Animatrix).

TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE presents a gritty depiction of urban and social chaos surrounding a pair of outcast kids. Orphaned on the mean streets of Treasure Town, Black and White steal and fight to survive but remain fiercely loyal to each other. The result? The citizens of Treasure Town are afraid of them, the police are afraid of them, and even the local yakuza gangsters are afraid of them…and when a crime boss known as the "Rat" returns to Treasure Town, a confrontation is set to occur.

VIZ Media released TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE in August 2007 and bundled all three volumes of the original series into a new, premium omnibus edition that includes a color poster insert and 12 additional full-color manga pages – the first time these pages were published in the U.S. An insightful interview with Michael Arias and screenwriter Anthony Weintraub is also featured in the foreword. TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE is rated “M” for Mature Audiences and has a Suggested Retail Price of $29.95. In addition to TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE, Matsumoto’s other notable works include BLUE SPRING and NO. 5 (both published by VIZ Media) and PING PONG, which was also adapted into an award-winning live action film that is available domestically from VIZ Pictures.

“We are extremely honored to have TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE recognized by the comics industry with this notable award,” says Alvin Lu, Vice President, Publishing, VIZ Media. “Taiyo Matsumoto has won international critical acclaim for his honest and unflinching depictions of young peoples’ lives and for his unique, immediately recognizable art style that blends both Japanese and European influences. We invite everyone to explore this award-winning series now available in a gorgeous omnibus edition from VIZ Media!”

About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), is one of the most comprehensive and innovative companies in the field of manga (graphic novel) publishing, animation and entertainment licensing of Japanese content. Owned by three of Japan’s largest creators and licensors of manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is a leader in the publishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa and is a global ex-Asia licensor of Japanese manga and animation. The company offers an integrated product line including magazines such as SHONEN JUMP and SHOJO BEAT, graphic novels, and DVDs, and develops, markets, licenses, and distributes animated entertainment for audiences and consumers of all ages. Contact VIZ Media at 295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133; Phone (415) 546-7073; Fax (415) 546-7086; and web site at www.VIZ.com

Toynami and Bandai teamed up at this years Comic-Con, but what does it all mean? Will we be seeing chogokins in Toys R Us? Read on to find out...

Many people were surprised, and rightly so, when Toynami and Bandai announced their partnership this year. We here at CollectionDX have known about this since Toy Fair, but were sworn to secrecy. Can you imagine what other secrets we can't tell you?

The partnership between the companies is still in its infancy, and long term plans have yet to be laid out. The goal of having the Bandai Tamashii display was to gauge customer interest and introduce some of the Bandai collector lines to the US.

As it stands right now, the only Bandai product to have been officially released through Toynami are the show exclusives. Toynami actually bought and owns the stock, and then sold them at the con - Bandai's hands were off it as soon as Toynami bought it.

Toynami has plans to release Bandai's Soul of Chogokin line in the US starting in 2009, and ideally the other Tamashii lines would follow.

Shown at the booth were Soul of Chogokin, Gundam, Saint Seiya, Kaiju Manor, Tamagoras, Kamen Rider and SIC. SIC designer Takayuki Takeya was even in attendance for a signing. The full list of products shown at the exhibit are available on the Tamashii Website

Bandai did say though that they are not ruling out working with other companies as well. As an example, the Movie Realization Batman and motorcycle has to be sold through DC Direct due to licensing restrictions. So it will be interesting to see what ultimately happens with this partnership.

With the release of the English Language Tamashii site, Bandai hopes to be the direct source for information about its line of collector products. They know the site has not been updated as often as they would have liked, but they are still looking for people to staff and maintain it.

In the meantime, you can find out the full details of Bandai's presence at Comic-Con at their SDCC page on Tamashii nations.

Kotobukiya was back at SDCC with all new merchandise from this summer's hottest properties

Kotobukiya was back at SDCC with all new merchandise from this summer's hottest properties.

The Indiana Jones ArtFX Theatre pieces really astound me with the high level of detail.

Of course The Clone Wars was prominent, with some smaller size statues that all have connecting bases. These will connect with magnets. Buy them all and get all the parts to assemble Yoda.

Chewbacca, what a wookie.

Lightsaber Chopsticks. An idea so obvious its a suprise nobody has done this before. These are just prototypes, Koto is still unsure about going into production.

More Star Wars

Batman statues are from Classic Batman, Batman Begins AND The Dark Knight.

Gurren Lagann Model Kits. These snap-kits are only about $10 each.

Linebarrels model kits

Kotobukiya is going all out with the Marvel properties. Check out the Havok bust:

This iron man was great. They used an actual paint sample from the screen-used armor to match the color.

I always thought Cable was kind of a douchebag, and I blame his introduction for the downfall of my favorite comic book - The New Mutants. It's a tribute to Kotobukiya's sculpting that they can make this jerk look good.

The baby on his front is removable, or it can have a helmet on him. I'm not sure who the baby is, but it is likely one of the Summers' kids.

Sideshow had the usual massive display of toys, including items from Street Fighter, Hellboy, Star Wars and more.

Sideshow had the usual massive display of toys, including items from Street Fighter, Hellboy, Star Wars and more.

These Street Fighter statues were pretty rad. There was a lot of love for the Street Fighter characters at SDCC this year, probably due to the unveiling of the new SF4 game.

Another big trend I noticed was everything "Animated". Even shows or characters that havent been cartoons are being done in that "Animated" style. Take for example, Buffy:

The TICK

Alien human crew members

Hot Toys Iron Man

Sideshow 12" Star Wars series

Customized Medicom VCD Darth Vaders

VCD Alien

Medicom Death Note

Medicom Hokuto No Ken (Fist of the North Star)

Hellboy II