At Comic-Con's preview last night, we were menaced by cave trolls from The Hobbit, tried on cat ears that are controlled by brain waves, and went into a minifig frenzy with The Hulk and My Little Pony. And that was before we saw the live snakes and hoverboards. Whether you're fighting crowds here in San Diego, or are sitting quietly at your desk, we'll help you discover what lurks around every corner on the floor at Comic-Con.
Click any image to embiggen.
Weta was at the Con with a gorgeous, massive booth topped by a full-size figure of Gandalf and covered in displays of swords and carvings from the ancient lands of men. But the best part was a gigantic display of the three stone trolls from The Hobbit, who loomed over our heads, raising a foot to stamp on people who posed for a picture with them.
Just look at the detail in this face.
There's even snot running out of this guy's nose!
Creepy! This movie is going to rule.
These statues were so detailed — just check out the texture on the skin here.
Here they are from behind.
And of course, since this is Weta, the artists are sticklers for detail. We couldn't resist doing a quick troll upskirt shot, only to discover extremely dirty underwear and a pretty hefty package there between our troll's legs. Thank you, Weta, for giving us our first-ever glimpse of troll balls.
Bike from Rian Johnson's Looper.
At the Sony booth.
Bike from Rian Johnson's Looper.
At the Sony booth.
Guns from Rian Johnson's Looper.
At the Sony booth.
Guns from Rian Johnson's Looper.
At the Sony booth.
Guns from Rian Johnson's Looper.
At the Sony booth.
Guns from Rian Johnson's Looper.
At the Sony booth.
Guns from Rian Johnson's Looper.
At the Sony booth.
Suit from Will Smith's post apocalyptic movie AE.
Suit from Will Smith's post apocalyptic movie AE.
Suit from Will Smith's post apocalyptic movie AE.
Suit from Will Smith's post apocalyptic movie AE.
Suit from Will Smith's post apocalyptic movie AE.
Total Recall flying cars.
Superman Man of Steel costume. Note the lack of "S" on the back cape.
Superman Man of Steel costume.
Superman Man of Steel costume.
Superman Man of Steel costume.
Indiana Jones real life snake pit. No seriously, some of those are snakes!
Booth #Booth 2913.
Pacific Rim suits. Legendary Films booth.
Pacific Rim suits. Legendary Films booth.
Falling Skies booth.
Mattel Booth.
Colossal, traffic-halting TMNT display from Nickelodeon promoting the new cartoon series (Booth 4113)
Donatello stares us down at the Nickelodeon booth (Booth 4113)
A working Cat Grab display from Adult Swim (Booth 4048)
Brainwave Controlled Cat Ears! $100.00 per pair.
Booth #407.
Portal Blow Up Turret, $35.00, Booth #123.
Fringe Observer hats. The Fox Booth.
On that note, let's move over to some My Little Pony action. There was a new collection of adorable minifigs on display that made us and a giant herd of excited boys and girls freak out.
Cuuuuuute!
Adorable!
There is an entire series of wedding figures, but this is the centerpiece. It's the Wedding Castle!
At the Mattel booth, we got to see the Back to the Future hoverboard, on sale this fall.
David Tutwiler's amazing paintings of C3PO and R2D2 made our hearts break. These are at Acme, Booth 5629.
Another Tutwiler painting, also at Acme.
And here's another gem from Acme, a portrait of the Admiral as he was intended to look. This is part of an incredible series of portraits showing the Star Wars characters done in nineteenth century style. You must see them all, at Acme, Booth 5629.
There is an amazing collection of Godzilla figures at the S.H. Monster Arts booth. Here, Godzilla fights Mecha Godzilla, with Rodan shooting fire in the background.
Beautiful paintings, tentacle-covered t-shirts, and art nouveau weirdness await you at the Century Guild, Booth 2845. Here, they show off their collection of wax cylinders. Yes, they are actually playing music on that old-school machine. If you want to find a completely unique piece of art, or a t-shirt that looks like a piece of art, you must check out their wares.
Darryl Dixon zombie ear necklace given away to the first 100 people to pre-order Activision's new Walking Dead video game (Booth 5344)
Scott Pilgrim, Vol 1 Comic-Con Exclusive Evil Ex Color Edition. Oni Press, Booth 1833.
You can buy the first issue of Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens from writer and artist Meredith Gran, and buy original art from Gran's webcomic Octopus Pie. Dumbrella, Booth 1335.
This Red Robot thumb drive (which also comes in black) comes preloaded with R. Stevens' Diesel Sweeties ebooks. Dumbrella, Booth 1335.
These airship badges designate your rank, and also come in the shape of steampunk airships and submarines. Kelly's Heroes, Booth D7.
Grab "Rocket Queen," the limited edition print by Jason Edmiston, at Zerofriends, Booth 5502, where you'll also find monstrous artwork by Alex Pardee.
History buffs would do well to check out one of Kate Beaton's new calendars for 2013. Drawn & Quarterly, Booth 1629.
In honor of the 20th anniversary of Power Rangers, take your photo taken at the foot of the Red Ranger to the far end of the Exhibitor Tables.
These purring Tribbles are crew-colored, so you can have an Engineering Tribble, a Science Tribble, a Command Tribble. They're limited edition — just 1701 sets were made. Tribble Toys, Booth 934.
This Brandon Graham t-shirt is one of the story shirts illustrating Neil Gaiman's The Day the Saucers Came. Twenty five percent of the sale of each tee will go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Threadless, Booth 1617.
Even the Hulk wouldn't have the heart to smash a LEGO minifig made out of LEGO bricks.
Take your photo on the actual Iron Man 3 set amongst the Iron Man suits. Just look for the giant Iron Man 3 sign and the giant crowd.
Boba Whatt? Some sort of animatronic creature has taken over Boba Fett's helmet at the Star Wars VI Celebration table.
Dawn M. Schiller's Old Fae necklace.
Booth 4716.
Cthulu Underwear at the all things Cthulu booth. Only $12.00 at Booth #4423.
Lightsaber Lamps at the Massive Star Wars Celebration booth!
Sonic Screwdriver Remote Control.
BBC America Booth #3629.
Walking Dead's "pose with Michonne" booth.
Star Wars chairs! Giant Death Star bean bag chair ($95) at Camp Planner. Booth # 2913.