The Cosplayer Bringing Back Ms Swan

Her name is Rhapsody Artajo, and when she's not killing it in pin up style photo shoots...she's running around making videos as Ms Swan from MADtv..and generally making everyone she meets fall over laughing in the process. SHE'S JUST THAT AWESOME. You may have already caught a glimpse of Rhapsody in her now legendary San Diego Comic-Con 2015 video where she is followed by the SHAME Woman from Game of Thrones...but there's so much more Ms Swan shenanigans to enjoy. You weren't going to do any work right now anyway, were you? Didn't think so. LET'S WATCH!!

SDCC 2015: Hasbro's Marvel Action Figure Train Does Not Stop

2015 has already been a banner year for Marvel Legends collectors who are finding it hard just to keep up with the relentless releases of 6 inch action figures, and at 22 dollars a pop in some places, I feel your pain! Marvel is my jam...and my jam requires 2 full time jobs to pay for it. Let's take a look at everything Hasbro showed off for the Mighty Marvel Universe, well into 2016...

Pics by Emilie Noetzel, Hailey Mordah and a couple of extras from Awesometoyblog.com with info bits from Ben Delloiacono and myself

Marvel Legends 2016 leads off with Captain America: Civil War. Red Skull Onslaught Build-A-Figure forms the center of this wave with a Classic Captain America (believe it or not, the first Classic Cap Hasbro has done according to pr reps), Mockingbird and Taskmaster. Taskmaster gets an alternate Udon head and Cap becomes CAP WOLF!! It's silly..it's ridiculous...it's Marvel. Yay. Hasbro reps teased that more Marvel Cinematic Universe (aka Movie stars) characters could show up under the Civil War banner, with Vision, Scarlet Witch and Falcon mentioned as possibilities.

SDCC 2015: Hailey's Adventures: Day 2 - Celeb Sightings, Cosplay Rescue & THE SHAME WOMAN!

Hailey Mordah is one of our lead photographers, dropped in the thick of things to shoot those tiny little plastic people we obsess over all year. We never have to worry about pushing our "YOU MUST HAVE FUN" mandate on her, as she runs through Comic-Con like a 10 year seasoned vet and knows where all the good stuff will be, leaving time for ADVENTURE!! We dive into Hailey's San Diego Comic-Con 2015 Day 2 report with Teen Wolf sightings, cosplayer rescue and the SHAME woman who won Comic-Con in the eyes of all...

Friday was pretty exciting for me! (Even though I missed the Game of Thrones panel lol) A few of my highlights vary from my favorite cosplays to celebrity sightings to adventures after comic con. 

SDCC 2015: Nicole's Adventures: Day 2- Game Time with Skylanders, Mario, Yoshi & More

I love when even our photographers get in on these daily reports from giant-sized conventions. On the floor of San Diego Comic-Con, 100 people can have COMPLETELY different experiences. Nicole Marrokal loves to shoot all the cosplayers she can, as well as hunting up the newest Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon and My Little Pony products, but she's also into video games. At SDCC, she can get hands on time with an impressive list of soon to be released games from a number of excellent companies, and today she brings lends some of her impressions of ...well...arguably the cuter games found on the show floor!

Mario Maker:
You can play as a newer looking Mario or the old school version. The press rep on hand said there would be some pre-made levels, but you'll primarily be playing in levels you make or others online have made.
I jumped into a fast level were you have 10 or 20 seconds left on the clock to finish. You have to run-jump just right to get the star and you barely make it to the end. It took me 3 tries because missing the star means you will not win, so you've got to start all over!

SDCC 2015: An Army in Pastel Colors: My Little Pony Marches On

We sent Ben over to Hasbro to discover the wonders that come in 100 pastel colors in the worlds of My Little Pony. I asked how that went. He replied "I'm an Apple Jack man, I think." Good choice. Let's dive head first into the ocean of product Hasbro is putting out well into 2016...

So what can you tell me about what’s new in the world of My Little Pony?
Sure! Here are some of the things new we’re launching this year, this is our new Friendship is Magic collection that’s launching this fall it’s a great way for fans of all ages to engage with the brand in a whole new way. Its leveraging our 1 ½” scale figure and really brings to life the world of Equestria. So every season we’ll be launching a new location and we’re launching with Sweet Apple Acres this year, celebrating Apple Jack, the whole Apple family and friends. And as you buy across the line, across every price point, it enables you to recreate the whole world of Sweet Apple Acres.

SDCC 2015: Mondo's Collectibles Own Your Retro Heart

At San Diego Comic-Con last year, Mondo stepped up with an Iron Giant collectible figure that made the top of people's heads blow clean off. Brains....everywhere. This year, Mondo premiered their 1:6th scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a mega-artistic Godzilla statue, MADBALLS and more! This company is quickly becoming the one to watch among toy collectors and grown up geeks with a soft spot for 80's properties, so we sent Ben Delloiacono and Emilie Noetzel to spend some time with Creative Director for Toys/CollectibleBrock Otterbacher at Comic-Con 2015 to get all the details on their latest projects. Take it Ben!

SDCC 2015: The Suicide Squad Trailer Officially Released

You strained your eyes. The little blueish black and white box jumped around and under your breathe, you wish the damn camera operator would sit the hell still and provide a clean shot. You strained to decipher the muffled words spoken by DC's most unlikely heroes. Ultimately, you got what you could from a vid shot seemingly from someone's lap in the middle of San Diego Comic-Con 2015, dodging security and knowing full well they were acting against the wishes of the movie company present in that hall, at that moment. For shame. Now, Warner Bros. answers your cries for ACTUAL clarity (because..seriously..that vid was damn horrible) and releases the Suicide Squad trailer in glowing, eye melting HD. BEHOLD....the new Joker speaks...

SDCC 2015: Cosplayers Charging For Photos Now

While running through the battlefield known as San Diego Comic-Con, the brave crew of 4 Idle Hands reporters see many odd things. Since they predominantly shoot collectibles and cosplayers, they are in the thick of it for the entire show with no leisurely breaks in air conditioned panels or prolonged stops at charging stations inside posh lounges where free food and drink are available. My crew are soldiers. This is WARCON!! While there is no way around the fight that is shooting tiny little action figures surrounded by mobs of fans, we usually don't have a bad time when photographing cosplayers, no matter how little our costumed friends get to move across the floor as they are assaulted with odd requests, inappropriate "jokes", the random grope and long, creepy, lingering looks into their boob windows. These are generally happy people who work hard on their costumes and enjoy showing them off. Sure, there are rude folks who hear your request plain as day, regard you and turn away as if you are not cool enough to capture their image, but that's life. Every group has jerks. What we didn't expect this year was a number of cosplayers trying to make some quick cash amid the Comic-Con frenzy.

SDCC 2015: The Full Batman V Superman Trailer Goes LIVE

You've all been on the fence about this movie. Well...maybe that's generous. A lot of you resoundingly shouted "IT SUCKS!" and have continued to shout it every day since the teaser trailer was "leaked" to the internets. I've been keeping my expectations low. Very low. I even waited in line for 2 hours to watch the same teaser you all viewed from the comfort of your own homes, on the offchance Zack Snyder was going to show us ...just a little more. Indeed..there was a tiny bit more, but two guys in super hero costumes charging each other didn't go a long way to ease my mind. This latest trailer....it's working on me!

SDCC 2015: The Game of Thrones Panel

Can we talk about the season finale yet? Yea? OK. WTF. I'm hearing all this crazy junk about Jon Snow riding a dragon into battle beside his sister Khaleesi...and perhaps Tyrion follows close behind on the back of a giant. INSANITY! Despite the rumors, this last season ended in with one of your favorite characters expiring unceremoniously in a pool of his own blood and we are left with more questions than answers. Let's jump into Hall H with the cast of Game of Thrones and see if they'll let loose any clues as to how next season will pan out!

SDCC 2015: Star Wars Wins Comic-Con

As if we didn't expect this. Star Wars took Hall H by storm yesterday and DOMINATED as cast from The Force Awakens took the stage, including three heroes near and dear to our hearts; Hal Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. ...I know they are real people..but shut up. It's Comic-Con.

Fans at San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H were treated to a special look behind the scenes of Star Wars:The Force Awakens by director J.J. Abrams, producer and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and writer Lawrence Kasdan. The filmmakers were joined on stage by cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford to the surprise and delight of fans.

SDCC 2015: Ben's Adventures: Day 1

While I am no stranger to a good Con (I’ve always been fond of calling them “Nerd Proms”) this is my first at the now infamous San Diego Comic Con. My expectations: I was told it’s four times the size of NYCC. It’s crazy. It’s packed. So, it’s larger. Big deal. So, there are lots of people. Bring it. Bring me your Vaders and Hobbits, your huddled Disney princesses, yearning to be free!

Here’s something I learned early on: if you plan on attending SDCC don’t tell anyone. Keep it secret. Keep it safe. Otherwise you’ll receive emails, private messages, posts, calls, and texts from everyone you’ve ever met asking you to pick them up “this special thing” or “bring me back something for my kids.” To those of you doing the asking, here’s what you need to know: most of the stuff on sale at SDCC you can already get online or wherever, and the “special” stuff sells out rather quickly. To my friends reading this: dude, I totally looked and that place and that thing you wanted was totally sold out. It’s true.

SDCC 2015: Idle Hands Mourns the Loss of Two Reporters

San Diego Comic-Con is a brutal, brutal show. Our reporters brave the very heart of darkness -the show floor- daily to bring back a billion pictures of all the toys you will drool over for the next year...and what do they get for their troubles? Crippling nightmares that lead them to horrifically stab themselves repeatedly and murderous impulses that can't be denied. Here's Emilie Noetzel and Ben Delloiacono in their final moments on this good Earth. They died doing what they love.

SDCC 2015: Nicole's Adventures: Day 1

While Hailey is no stranger to San Diego Comic-Con, she's clearly been whipped into a nerd-frenzy this year! Wish all the insanity surrounding Star Wars and Batman V Superman, who could blame her! Now we get an alternate perspective from Nicole Marrokal, a photographer known to dress up and blend right in with the cosplayers around her. Nicole is not a regular writer, so we've got the highlights of her activities, in her own words...

Well let's see I fought and won with my new wig and this year I have a parking spot across the street from the convention center so I drove and that was interesting. I used my friend's parking spot. Her dog was the one who took a picture with Conan.

SDCC 2015: Hailey's Adventures: Day 1

We here at Idle Hands like to encourage all of our staff to actually enjoy the cons they go to, thus creating mini adventures, if possible. San Diego Comic-Con is no different, and you might say that extra bit of fun is essential, as this massive event will chew you up and spit you out if you take it too seriously! For nearly 5 years in a row, I shot pictures from the second the doors opened til they kicked us off the show floor on Sunday night. You know what I got for taking 14 thousand pictures that year? TOTAL OBSCURITY! ..But I am king of my home where my Ice Bat couch pillows love me, and that's what's important. Let's spend a little time with Hailey Mordah, one of out excellent photographers, and see how her Day 1 went...

SDCC 2015: The Jakks Collector Presentation

It's Ben Delloiacono's first San Diego Comic-Con, and with me playing Oracle in NJ and my two excellent photographers working real jobs, he was left on his own to brave the crowds at the most chaotic geek gathering on the planet. Brave man! PEOPLE WERE PUNCHING EACH OTHER AT THE HASBRO BOOTH OVER STAR WARS FIGURES!!! It's insane over there! Taking a break from the hazardous show floor, Ben ducked into the JAKKS Pacific collector panel to see what's going down with their World of Nintendo, Warcraft and big figure lines...

SDCC 2015: The Walking Dead Season 6 Trailer

“The Walking Dead” stars Andrew Lincoln as Rick, Chandler Riggs as Carl, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Melissa McBride as Carol, Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha, Lauren Cohan as Maggie, Steven Yeun as Glenn, Norman Reedus as Daryl, Lennie James as Morgan, Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel, Michael Cudlitz as Abraham, Josh McDermitt as Eugene, Alanna Masterson as Tara, Christian Serratos as Rosita, Tovah Feldshuh as Deanna, Ross Marquand as Aaron, Alexandra Breckenridge as Jesse, and Austin Nichols as Spencer.

Season 6 starts October 11th!!

SDCC 2015: Doin Time With Ash and the Evil Dead

Starz is generating plenty of buzz with their upcoming Ash vs the Evil Dead TV show, and there was no better place to promote it than San Diego Comic-Con, where oceans of primitive screw heads are eager to scream HAIL TO THE KING to the chin himself, Bruce Campbell! Ben Delloiacono spotted Ash's camper on the show floor and hopped in line to check things out...

SDCC 2015: DC Collectibles Batman the Animated Series Action Figure Commercial

SO MUCH FUN! We are so programmed as children by Saturday morning cartoons and the constant bombardment of toy advertising seen during them, we immediately think of cheesy retro commercials whenever we see a new toy line that begs to gave a kid launching the characters into battle, making all the sound effects possible. No? Just me? Fine then. My imagination rules. DC Collectibles obviously shares my killer reality and just dropped a mock-commercial on our heads, showing off their Batman The Animated Series action figure line, complete with excitable, newscastery voice over and NON STOP PLASTIC ACTION! Let's watch...

SDCC 2015: Hot Toys 1:6th Scale Madness at Sideshow's Comic-Con Booth

Somewhere in New Jersey, NO PANTS COMIC-CON HAS BEGUN! This is the part of the show where I sit at my computer, with no pants on, awaiting the avalanche of news and images from the Idle Hands crew, with wiggly fingers of wanting and a jealous squinty eye. Thankfully, folks like Raymond over at Hot Toys are keeping me busy while I wait for the rest of the world to wake up and start newsing it up. Here's their report from Preview Night at San Diego Comic-Con 2015...