One thing I noticed at San Diego Comic Con, while there is a lot of cool stuff on display, not all of it is for sale. One booth that had a lot of cool stuff but wasn’t selling anything was Previews. Owned by Diamond Comics Distributors, Inc., part of the reason Previews wasn’t selling stuff is because they are not a retailer, they are a distribution company. Aside from being a huge supplier of merchandise from comic book publishers to retailers, Diamond Comics Distributors is also known for publishing Previews, a monthly catalog/magazine showcasing the latest and greatest in pop culture-a publication that they make available both to retailers and consumers.

I remember the first time I grabbed a Previews catalog from my local comic book shop. I was drawn to it because it had a really cool illustration of Lara Croft on the cover. After taking a closer look and seeing how thick it was and how it only cost like 2.95, I thought “why not?” Although, I was disappointed it wasn’t actually a comic book, I was still amazed by what was inside. It didn’t just have quick summaries of what was going on in upcoming issues from the big publishers like Marvel and DC, but glimpses of new miniseries from Image Comics, teases of foreign films, animes, mangas, toys, and model kits-it was just so overwhelming-and the presentation too, it Now while this might not sound too impressive now, I have to say this was back in 1999, before I had internet. Even if I had internet access back then, pop culture was so compartmentalized that to be able to find all the information, would have required scouring dozens of websites, and even then the way that Previews had everything was just top-notch. The art was beautiful, the descriptions were eloquent, Previews did everything right to make you look forward to all the things they were featuring.

Anyway, I was honestly surprised Previews had their own dedicated booth at San Diego Comic Con, since I figure the companies they were representing would have had their own booths, but I figure maybe it was for smaller companies who couldn’t afford their own booths. Since they had their own dedicated booth and I’m still trying to figure out how to make things easier to digest, Previews is getting their own dedicated post.

Enjoy!

This display honestly makes no sense to me. I was tempted to throw out this pic but it got me ranting which is why I decided to keep it in-I just really wanted to get my opinion on this out there. I mean what is the theme of this display? The top row you have E.T. followed by the Wolfman, Frankenstein, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. This would make it a Universal-themed display-except on the next row you have Superman, Flash, Batman, Catwoman, and Nightwing which judging by the costumes are supposed to be more recent versions of these characters. Then on the bottom row you have the Witch-King of Angmar and Gollum from Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was made by New Line Cinema which is owned by Warner Bros. (or Warner Bros. Discovery as they’re currently known as) so I guess you could call this display a Universal x Warner Bros. mash up? I don’t know, like I said it just got me ranting.

DLX Hulkbuster aka Iron Man Mark 44, and Iron Man Mark 43 both in damaged form and undamaged form, all of which are from Avengers: Age of Ultron.

An assortment of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures based on how they looked in the original Mirage comic book.. Aside from the Turtles and Shredder, you also have some Foot Clan ninjas and a Foot Elite.

EVA 00, EVA 01, and EVA 02 from Neon Genesis: Evangelion.

Iron Man Mark 50 along with War Machine, Iron Patriot, and armor which is labeled as Mark 44 but honestly looks like the Mark III armor used in the original Iron Man movie.

Movie and cartoon versions of Bumblebee and Optimus Prime.

Bayverse Optimus Prime with his dual swords out.

I think these are Titans from Titanfall.

A few Space Marines and I believe a Primaris Invictor Tactical Warsuit from Warhammer 40K.

Another Warhammer 40K display.

Final Fantasy VII figures from judging by the title cards Bring Arts.

Batman and Joker done in the style of the Paul Dini Batman: The Animated Series from the ’90s. Note Magneto and Jubilee in the background also done in the style of the ’90s X-Men cartoon.

Beast Kingdom’s Medieval Knight Iron Man figures.

A Transformers: The Movie lunchbox, which I kinda want even though I’m not 6 years old anymore.

Some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lunchboxes.

Morrigan from Darkstalkers, I think a Rule 63 version of Stormshadow, and I’m not sure who the guy in the center is but I think he looks pretty badass.

A variety of G.I. Joe figures.

And I’ll close this out with some Power Ranger figures. You have Red Ranger wearing the Dragonshield, White Ranger, and Lord Drakkon and Pink Ranger Slayer from the Boom! Studios continuation series.