But these guys did, so check out these links to Winter Wonderfest 2007 in Tokyo Japan

While we were home still licking our wounds from the NY Toy Fair, a much cooler con was happening on the other side of the world. While we couldn't be at the Wonderfest Winter 2007, some of our good friends were. Here is a wrap up of some of the more interesting coverage:

Matt Alt chimes in on the new ToyboxDX News Brog:

• CM's Corporation is releasing a fully Transforming Legioss and Tread fighter from Mospeada.
• Yamato is releasing a transforming Motoslave from Bubblegum Crisis. It will be in the same scale as the Garland.
• Yamato is also releasing a DX Transforming Bryger as well as a Grozier X
• There's a new EVA on the way. It's 6 feet tall and costs about 10 Grand

Tokyo Hunter reports in for Anime News International:

• WonderFest 2007 Winter - Good Smile Company / Max Factory
• WonderFest 2007 Winter - Age x Volks, Broccoli, CMs Corp, Dengeki Hobby
• WonderFest 2007 Winter - Bome
• WonderFest 2007 Winter Intro & Alter Review
• WonderFest 2007 WinterCoverage Begins

Super Otaku Danny Choo is on the scene:

• http://www.dannychoo.com/all/eng/wonfes2007winter/

Back from the dead - CoolJapaneseToys has a suprisingly large amount of coverage up:

• Wonderfest 2007

Some Japanese Coverage:

• http://wildcats.pupui.jp/mogu/
• Yacolog
• G-Toys
• http://pellmellrush.web.fc2.com/event/wf2007w/wf2007w.html

From July 27 to 29, Caracas hosted the first great convention in Venezuela: Avalancha 2006!

CollectionDX correspondent Juan Carlos Azpurua reports from Convencion Avalancha 2006!

From July 27 to 29, Caracas hosted the first great convention in Venezuela: Avalancha 2006. Three days where fanatics from manga & anime, Star Wars, RPG's, Magic: The Gathering, miniatures, action figures, american comics and all the stuff related to the 'geekdom' had fun and shared in peace.

The main location was reserved to the booths, oriented to a wide public, specially the Japanese. The most important booths was from well-known shops from the world of collectibles in Venezuela, like DPX Comics, Action Zone, Anime City Market, Animetal and, at last but not least, Mazingoandtoys. There was a lot of merchandising, but its necessary to mention the vintage stuff of Mazingoandtoys, with things from UFO Diapolon, Gakeen, Macross & Robotech, Transformers and Shogun Warriors. The stuff from the others booths was based mostly on Soul of Chogokin, Saint Seiya, lots of Gashapon, Marvel Legends and Star Wars. A 7 feet tall Mazinger, among other props from Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, was exhibited.

The other half from the location was reserved to all the competitions. Libros y Dragones ('œBooks & Dragons') was selling all the stuff related to role playing games and collectibles card games, and together with Grupo Roleros ('Role Group') both organized all the RPG tournaments, with games like Vampire: The Requiem, Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, World of Darkness, Call of Cthulhu and D20 Modern (I was lucky enough to won one of these as a player!!). Also, there was held three Magic: The Gathering tournaments, 2 in standard format and 1 vintage format (I was lucky enough again to won the vintage!!), and some tournaments of miniatures, specially WarMachine and HeroClix.

Some fan clubs were attendants to the con. The members from the Star Wars Club Venezuela, with costumes from the characters of the movies, made some lightsaber-duels exhibitions, and let the public take pictures with them. A life-size Speeder Bike, Han Solo in Carbonite and a prop of Darth Vader/Anakin from the last scene from the Return of the Jedi, was the decoration of their booth. The X-Men Fan Club Venezuela make some dioramas from the X-Men saga. Also, the Star Trek Fan Club talk about the whole Star Trek history.

But the most remarkable of all the convention was dedicated to the Japanese stuff. A local band, named Wasakksushi did a show of j-rock and j-pop, meanwhile a karaoke contest from anime series' was held too. There was A LOT of cosplayers, I think the most after Japan, with some cosplay contests (individually and team) of costumes from Evangelion, Bleach, Naruto, Tomb Raider, Starzinger (for me, the best!!) Vampire Hunter D, Sailor Moon, etc. Also, the voice actors in charge to dub the series to the spanish, made a forum named 'œThe voices behind the cartoons', with actors from Dragon Ball Z (Mr. Mario Castañeda, the voice behind Goku), Teen Titans, Sponge Bob, etc. Also, there was made a manga-drawing contest and demonstrations from martial arts, like Aikido.

Here you can see the official website: http://www.convencionavalancha.com/

Juan Carlos Azpurua

figurasdeaccion

En Español

Durante 3 días, desde el 27 hasta el 29 de Julio, se estuvo realizando en Caracas la primera gran convención de Venezuela: Avalancha 2006. Tres días en los que fanáticos del manga & anime, Star Wars, RPG's, Magic: The Gathering, miniatures, action figures, american comics y muchas otras cosas relativas al 'œgeekdom', pudieron compartir en sana paz y armonía.

El área principal del evento estaba reservada para los diferentes stands (booths) de ventas orientados a diferentes públicos, entre los que destacaba el japonés y el de Star Wars. Los mejores eran los de tiendas ya conocidas dentro del mundo, como DPX Comics, Action Zone, Anime City Market, Animetal and último pero no lo menos, Mazingoandtoys. Dentro de la gran cantidad de mercancía, es necesario hacer mención a la vintage de Mazingoandtoys, como UFO Diapolon, Gakeen, Macross & Robotech, Transformers and Shogun Warriors. La mercancía de los demás stands se basaban prácticamente en Saint Seiya Myth Cloth, Soul of Chogokin, mucho Gashapon, Marvel Legends y Star Wars. Un Mazinger de más de 2 metros de altura y otras réplicas de Star Wars y el Señor de los Anillos fueron exhibidas.

La otra mitad del local estaba dedicada a las diversas competencias. Libros y Dragones se encargaba de vender todo lo relativo a juegos de rol y CCG's, mientras que 'œGrupo Roleros' organizaba los torneos de rol con juegos como Vampire: The Réquiem, Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, World of Darkness, Call of Cthulhu, D20 Modern (Tuve la suerte de ganar uno de ellos como jugador!!). Además, se llevaron a cabo 3 torneos de Magic, 2 stantard y 1 vintage. Tuve la suerte de ganar el torneo vintage!!. También se realizaron diversos torneos de miniaturas, en especial WarMachine y HeroClix.

Igualmente, se contó con la presencia de diversos fan clubs. Los miembros del Star Wars Club Venezuela, disfrazados como personajes de las películas, realizaban exhibiciones de duelos con Lightsabers y permitían a los asistentes fotografiarse con ellos. Un Speeder Bike tamaño natural, así como Han Solo en Carbonita y una réplica de Anakin/Darth Vader, de la escena final del RotJ, decoraban su stand. Además, el Fan Club de X-Men en Venezuela, elaboro diversos dioramas relativos a la sagas de Phoenix y Apocalypse. Por último, el Star Trek fan club dictó una charla relatando toda la historia de Star Trek.

Pero lo más destacable de toda la convención fue lo dedicado al área japonesa. Una banda local, Wasakksushi dio un concierto de J-Rock y J-Pop, mientras que también se llevaron a cabo concursos de karaoke de temas de anime. Había gran cantidad de Cosplayers, creo que nunca se habían visto tantos juntos fuera de Japón. Se realizaron diferentes concursos, tanto individuales como grupales. Había disfraces desde Evangelion, Bleach, Naruto, Tomb Raider, Starzinger (el mejor para mí!!) Vampire Hunter D, Sailor Moon, etc. También se llevo a cabo un foro titulado 'œLas Voces detrás de las Caricaturas' en el que se presentaron los encargados de realizar las voces en español de comiquitas como Dragon Ball Z, Teen Titans, Sponge Bob, etc., los cuales luego firmarían autógrafos. También se realizo un concurso de dibujo manga, y por último, se dieron demostraciones de Aikido y otras artes marciales.

Aquí se puede visitar la página oficial: http://www.convencionavalancha.com/

Juan Carlos Azpurua

figurasdeaccion

Images from the New York Comicon 2006

Here are some great images of the new Kaiyodo Revoltech Figures, shown by Organic Hobby at the New York Comicon. Thanks to Paul Segal for the images. There are over 30 images in the gallery.