Comic-Con is for the Toys! Toy Store Guide’s coverage of San Diego Comic Con 2024.

The year’s most exciting pop-culture event is always full of news and what’s new. Movie news might take center stage, and there probably isn’t enough comic news for a so called comic book convention, but we are here to talk toys… Con Exclusives and Previews.

Con Exclusives have become a big part of Comic Con and this year was no exception. The DC booth had multiple convention exclusives including a special Gold Edition Super Powers 3-Pack featuring SuperMan, Wonder Woman, and Batman. McFarlane’s Super Power line has that nostalgia element that hits me right in the feels. I spent Preview Night waiting in that line to get my hands on them.

San Diego Comic Con runs from Thursday through Sunday each year, but attendees who buy a four day pass and are lucky enough to get through the virtual queue get a chance to add the Wednesday before as a preview night. There are no panels and doors don’t open until 6PM but it gives people a chance to score some big ticket items early and saves you from waiting in a long line during valuable convention time throughout the weekend.

sdcc 2024 recap super powers toy store guide

From what I could tell the biggest convention exclusive was the Hasbro G.I. Joe “Once A Man” Cobra Commander. This figure depicts Cobra Commander during his transformation to a snake in the animated G.I. Joe: The Movie from 1987. This is another piece that hits you right in the nostalgia gut. Attendees were instructed to sign up for a lottery for a chance to win a time slot to purchase figures from Hasbro (and certain other vendors), but with some luck, good timing, and positive energy you could make it onto the standby line. A line that was almost always capped.

sdcc 2024 recap simpsons toy store guide

So many things grab your eye while walking the convention floor, your phone could die taking pics and video, and it is so easy to lose track of your friends. One thing that grabbed by attention was Mezco’s 5 Points Batman: The Animated Series line. Having pre-ordered it months ago, it was great to see it in person. I recently opened the Fleischer Studios Superman set they released and the two will go great together. The figures are 3.75” and come on Batman:TAS style hardbacks, making this a great piece for anyone who can’t get their hands on a carded Combat Belt Batman (or everyone who has one).

sdcc 2024 recap batman 1 toy store guide

sdcc 2024 recap batman 2 toy store guide

Imagine my surprise when I walked back past the display two days later to see Mezco Toyz had put out the second wave of Animated Series styled figures. Apparently they kept revealing things all weekend, including, 1:12 Deadpool, a 5 Points Beetlejuice, and a 5 Points 1989 Batman and Batmobile.

Speaking about Nostalgia.
Of course the Nacelle Company hit hard on multiple fronts.

The Toys:

On display con-goers were able to get a first look at a multitude of toy lines that Nacelle releasing soon. The C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, RoboForce, and s sneak peek at wave two of Biker Mice from Mars. The Biker Mice line specifically looks like it will be rounding into form nicely. The Bikes are on their way, and now we get to see that the mice’s foe Lawrence Limburger as well as friend Charley will get figures that look like they are pulled right out of the animated series.

sdcc 2024 recap moo mesa toy store guide

sdcc 2024 recap roboforce toy store guide

“Everything we are making has the look that’s been torn out of TV.”

– Brian Volk-Weiss

Volk-Weiss is the CEO and Founder of the production company behind television shows, comedy specials, and documentaries like Netflix’s The Toys That Made Us. Mentioning that the original Sectaurs figures had a great mold that looked cartoon accurate in the 80’s, something that wasn’t often the case. With that line their goal is to release figure for a character that haden’t been made. Bodyball coming soon!

The Nacelle display featured looks at the Walmart Exclusive variants of Maxx89 and Dargon. During their NacelleVerse panel Brian Volk-Weiss made it clear that all variant figures they ever produce will be canon to the stories. The variants Fireproof Maxx and Night Fighting Dargon will make appearances somewhere within the NacelleVerse, either in comics, animation, or one day live action.

sdcc 2024 recap biker mice toy store guide

Talking to Volk-Weiss about teaming up with Walmart in lieu of small independent retailers he said Nacelle “did it to be fun.”, and said this helps to bring the price down for everyone, the Indy stores and the customers. The new lower price at Walmart will be the price everywhere. Building a network of toy stores to sell Nacelle Consumer Products has been and is major priority to them but the logistics of pushing exclusives to small retailers is large, however it is something on their radar.

Segwaying to Panels:

Nacelle had more panels at this convention than at any convention in their history. During their NacelleVerse panel they invited everyone in attendance to be a part of the animated action. Last year everyone got to take part in a crowd scene for RoboForce, well this year the audience got to take part in a battle between the Martian Army and the Plutarkians. Like last year, one lucky member of the audience was selected to be animated in an episode of Biker Mice From Mars.

During the Q&A segment of the panel the question was raised about the tone this iteration of Biker Mice will take. Specifically when it comes to PTSD considering that the three main mice characters as well as their human friend Charlie were all veterans with physical and mental wounds from their respective wars. Something the original series would touch on only slightly in the manner that a mid 1990’s animated series would. Volk-Weiss and company acknowledged that these concepts are cannon and would definitely be explored in a more mature fashion this time. You could guess that the person who asked such a thought out question was the one chosen to be added to cartoon in animated form.

sdcc 2024 recap nacelle panel toy store guide

For anyone wondering. Nacelle’s version of Biker Mice From Mars will ignore the 2006 revival and instead continue on from where the original series left off in 1996. However, the Biker Mice will now share in the NacelleVerse with RoBoForce, Sectaurs, The Great Garloo, Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, and Power Lords.

During the panel Volk-Weiss explained that all shows will intertwine and that the audience will end up seeing the same events from different perspectives during the respective series. Think of the scene in Back to the Future 2 where Marty and Doc go back to the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance.

The Deadpool & Wolverine movie happened to be released Comic Con weekend, with all that buzz around Ryan Reynolds who happens to be co-producing Biker Mice From Mars with Nacelle, I asked Brian if Reynolds would be able to convince Hugh Jackman to lend a voice in Biker Mice? “Highly unlikely” was the response.

The NacelleVerse Panel touched on all elements of their shared universe in all media, Animation, Books, Toys, Product Collaboration’s with Pop-Culture artist Thom Bulman known as Bull Airs, and one day Television. The Nacelle Company has made it a point to give a state of the NacelleVerse at conventions since it’s first announcement, this one centered around music.

Music is so important to any cartoon and the Nacelle crew knows it. Especially when it comes to the opening theme. For this important task Brian Volk-Weiss has partnered with past collaborator Matt Margeson. During the panel Margeson talked about how television and cartoons have a different rhythm (no pun intended) than movies from a composing standpoint. He is excited to tackle a series, something he does not have a ton of experience with except with one well known property… Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures.

Nacelle was looking for a “Killer Intro Song”.
Take a look and see if what they came up with succeeds.

Matt Margeson will also provide the music for Biker Mice From Mars. He did speak to the tones of the shows. What kinds of music would bikers who are mice listen to? He asked. His aim seems to be molding the music and bending it to the property. I am ignorant to what that entails but considering he composed the music to both Pam & Tommy and Rocketman, two projects that must have required very specific musical tones (again, no pun intended) it would seem he is up to the task of figuring out a musical score goes with robots fighting to save the day.

Nacelle’s other panel took them back to what started all their talk of toys. The Toys That Made Us. Click here to see all of our coverage of what we could look forward to in Seasons 4 and 5.

Chatting with Brian Volk-Weiss before either panel he told me that there will be “new announcements in September and November that will be equal to what’s happening here.” He had to stop himself from saying more but he said with a tone that I took as him understating what’s to come. That time frame puts us squarely in the sights of a New York Comic Con announcement.

sdcc 2024 recap collecting panel toy store guide

Another panel right up our alley was Toy Stories: Collecting Memories & The Fandoms That Shaped Us. The panel was all about toy collecting and collectors and included Garrett Sander the creator of the Monster High toy line. Sander and fellow Panelists Odfel, Dan Veesenmyer, and Isabel Dieppa talked collecting, fandoms, the future of collecting, and gave tips on how to display your collection.

During the panel one suggested selling some of their collection in order to make room for new items. At Toy Store Guide we wish to take a stand against ever letting a toy go, just ask our significant others!

With those words of wisdom, SDCC 2024 is done, and that means standing in the Comic Con lines are done for 51 weeks.

Article by: Dave at Toy Store Guide
@toydelorean on Instagram

Dave’s Comics & Collectibles

Nacelle Returns to the Toys That Made Them: “The Toys That Made Us” Season 4 & 5 Announced.