Preview Night at Comic-Con '08: Toys 'n' Manga Highlights

While the Con doesn't officially open to the masses until Thursday morning at 9 am, Wednesday night from 6:00 - 9:00 pm is Preview Night at San Diego Comic-Con. Preview Night is purely the domain of those lucky few who bought their 4-day passes early, which coincidentally, were sold out as of a month prior to the show's opening day.

For those in the know, Preview Night is the one time when you can cruise the aisles (relatively) leisurely without the rest of the teeming mass of fans who will fill the convention center this weekend. So enjoy that breathing room while you can and maybe score one of those Comic-Con exclusives, like our pal Domo-kun, who's decked out in sunny San Diego yellow, courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.

Here's a few more manga-centric highlights for tonight, plus some booths and artists that are worth a look:

6:00 – 9:00 pm - Snag Those Limited Edition Toys!
Sure, there's comics, movies. games and all kinds of cool stuff, but the main action on Preview Night is the folks getting first crack at those limited edition toys, ehrr... I mean "action figures" that are only available at Comic-Con. Check out what's up for sale this year at the Comic-Con Action Figures Exclusives page.

Some choice picks:

• Clear Gundam Fix Configuration: RX-78-2 "Ver. Ka" at Toynami Booth #3229
  Mecha maniacs will be lining up for this Comic-Con exclusive. As the Toynami blurb describes it, this figure "features an enhanced range of poseability, in the exclusive Comic-Con clear "invisible" deco! Packed in stylish collector's box!" Woo!
• My Little Pony Goes Goth? at the Hasbro Toy Shop Booth #3213
  Okay, this has practically nothing to do with manga (other than a tenuous Junko Mizuno connection) but the words "My Little Pony" inspires joyful giggles from grown women who grew up with this cutie-pie critter, so this black and silver and fuschia pony is sure to be snatched up fast.
• Soul of Chogokin: GX-06G1 Limited Metallic Ver. Getter 1 at Toynami Booth #3229
  I don't know a heck of a lot about this particular mecha superhero from Japan, but hey, it would look pretty darn cool in your otherwise drab cubicle at work, no?
• Limited Edition Street Fighter / Chun-Li figures at Capcom booth #5113 - The bodacious, butt-kicking girl of video game fame is available as a limited edition resin statue. There'll only be 700 numbered figures available, making this an instant collectors' item.
• Limited Edition Yellow Domo-Kun at Dark Horse Booth #2615.
  Speaking of limited edition, Dark Horse is only producing 400 of these flocked yellow Domo's and is raffling one off for a lucky fan at Preview Night. Drop by the Dark Horse booth for more details.
• Vintage Snoopy, Lucy and Linus Tees at Peanuts Booths #1537 and 1636
  Once again, so not manga, but oh-so-cool, these super soft retro-styled tees feature the Peanuts gang with vintage flair. Only 300 of these tees were printed in both mens and womens sizes, so they won't last long.

Street Fighter Tribute limited edition hardcover art book at Udon Entertainment Booth #5368
Making its debut at Comic-Con is the Street Fighter Tribute art book, featuring 320 pages of all-new pinup art celebrating the Street Fighter franchise’s 20th anniversary. This art book for video game fans includes pieces by such greats as Adam Hughes, J. Scott Campbell, Aimee Major Steinberger, Bryan Lee O'Malley and my Hawaii pal, Jon J. Murakami.

Also tying into Street Fighter Tribute, Udon will have exclusive art prints for sale of select Tribute art pieces. Contributing artists will also be selling prints of their own contributions to the Street Fighter Tribute at their booths all over the convention, all weekend long, so be on the lookout for these special prints and original artworks and get your copy signed by the creators.

Plan ahead for Tite Kubo and Hiro Mashima Autograph Sessions
A lesser-known fact about Preview Night: It's a darn good time to snag your spot to get an autograph from Bleach manga-ka Tite Kubo and Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima this weekend. Here's how:

• Ticketing for Saturday 10 am autograph session with Tite Kubo at VIZ Media booth #4113
  Be one of the first 50 people to buy Bleach books, official tees or merchandise at the VIZ Media store and get a ticket and a special shikishi (autograph board) for Saturday's 10 am autograph session.
• Ticketing for Friday and Saturday autograph sessions with Hiro Mashima at The Comic Cellar Booth #806
  Mashima-sensei will be at two autograph sessions at Comic-Con (Friday from 2:30 – 3:30 at the Del Rey Manga booth, and Saturday at the Comic-Con Autographing Area from 4:30 – 5:30 pm). Both events are limited to fans who have got their tickets by purchasing their copies of Fairy Tail at the Comic Cellar Booth. Tickets are limited, so get 'em early.

Image credit: © NHK Tokyo