There’s nothing quite like good old San Diego Comic Con. Also known as Comic Con International, SDCC is the single largest annual gathering of geeks, nerds and pop culture enthusiasts in the world. While many people are excited for all of the big panels for the next big thing in movies and television, the mass abundance of celebrities, or some of the best cosplay the world has ever seen, SDCC is especially important to the collectors of the world. Why? Because it is both the best and worst week of their year, every single year. With an abundance of super cool new exclusive collectibles that you can only get at the convention, collectors are forced to choose which items they deem most important and that they need to pick up at the convention (if they can even get them), and which ones they will have to leave behind for now, only to spend an over exorbitant   amount of money on the internet for later. For collectors, San Diego Comic Con is both a blessing and a curse.

With this years convention just weeks away, there have been a ton of cool convention exclusives announced already! But which ones are the best? Which convention exclusives have people talking? And which exclusives are going to be the most sought after? Thankfully we’ve taken the liberty to do some of the legwork for you and tell you which items you might want to keep an eye out for if you’re planning on hitting the convention or if you were thinking about hunting some of these gems down after the con! Here are some awesome highlights…

DC Collectibles (available via Graphitti Designs, Inc.):

The team at DC Collectibles have never been ones to let fans down with their selection of comic-con exclusives, so why should this year be any exception to that rule? Some of their best offerings this year include a ‘Super Best Friends Forever’ 3-pack of Batgirl, Supergirl and Wondergirl, an ‘Arkham City’ Dr. Hugo Strange figure and a ‘Superheroes of Green Lantern’ 3.75” figure 4-pack featuring Yellow Lantern Arkillo, The Black Hand, Green Lantern Sinestro and Red Lantern Dex-Starr!

 Bluefin:

Almost any ‘Dragon Ball Z’ fan will tell you, if there was one prop replica from this highly celebrated anime series that could be made a reality while both remaining feasible and simultaneously making fans across the world squeal with joy, Bluefin really nailed it with this exclusive ‘Dragon Ball Z 3’ Piece Scouter Set! This awesome wearable collectible is available in green, purple and red color variations and features authentic sound bytes form the hit series! One of these guys will only run you around $25, so it’s a no brainer to try and grab one of them if you’re at the con! This item is bound to sell fast though, I hope they’ve made over 9000 of them so that everyone that wants one has a chance to get it!

Diamond Select (available via Action Figure Xpress):

Last year in 2012, Diamond Select’s Minimates line celebrated its 10th anniversary on the market, and over those ten years they’ve released quite a few awesome SDCC exclusive Minimate figures and sets. This year they seem to have taken it to a whole new level releasing not one, not two, but over a half dozen exclusive Minimates sets! While there are some pretty awesome smaller sets like the exclusive black and white’s of ‘Jay & Silent Bob’ and the ‘Lost in Space’ 2-pack featuring Doctor Smith and The Robot at only $10 each, there are also several 4 Packs available like the ‘Wolverine’ Saga ($20), ‘Dead Pool’s Assemble’ ($22), ‘Thundercats‘ Series 5 ($22) and the ‘Walking Dead‘ Hershel’s Farm pack ($20). The set that truly takes the cake here though is the ‘Iron Man 3’ Hall of Armor Minimate 10-pack featuring every main suit worn in the ‘Iron Man’ films, as well as 10-pack exclusive versions of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts! If you’re a Minimate enthusiast, it’s going to be near impossible to pass up on at least a few of these sets!

Bandai America 

2013 marks the 20th anniversary of the ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ in the US, so what better way to celebrate than with a few exclusives starring the series’ (arguably) most popular character? This year’s exclusives from Bandai include a limited edition 4” Metallic Green Dragon Ranger figure which includes a special limited edition Power Coin. Also available, and easily one of the coolest exclusives that has ever been offered at San Diego Comic Con (or any convention for that matter), is the ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ Green Ranger & White Ranger Legacy Power Morpher. This super limited Legacy Morpher comes with the highly requested Green Ranger and White Ranger Power Coins, is made with two die-cast metals and  is 24 karat gold plated! There are only going to be 1000 of these guys made, so we wish the best of luck to anyone looking to grab one. At the time of this writing, no price has been revealed for either of these convention exclusive items.

Dark Horse Comics:

As always, Dark Horse Comics is releasing some real Grade-A exclusives at SDCC! This year’s offerings include a 7” sculpture replica of the Stark Shield ($30) from the hit HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ and a bronze Normandy SR-1 Ship replica ($50) from the critically acclaimed Mass Effect video game series! Also available from Dark Horse are the SDCC T-shirt Hellboy Qee ($20) and the Caveman Domo Qee ($8.99) figures.

 Entertainment Earth:

For a company based entirely on producing awesome pop-culture merchandise, Entertainment Earth really makes living up to their name seem effortless! This year’s fantastic offerings from Entertainment Earth include a ‘Doctor Who’ River Song journal ($79.99), a 3-pack set of smaller ‘Doctor Who’ mini-journals ($24.99) and a series of neat lunchbox-like Tin Tote gift sets featuring characters and figures from hit shows like ‘Adventure Time’, ‘Regular Show’, ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Dexter‘ and ‘The Venture Bros’ ($34.99-$59.99).

 Funko:

Few toy companies have ever had a success story quite like Funko’s. They’ve been around quite a while now, but only in recent years have found great success in the toy industry with their wildly popular POP Vinyl line! The company has licensed out characters from almost every corner of pop-culture, and to showcase just how much effort they’ve put into bringing the fans what they want, Funko has announced over fifty-seven SDCC exclusive products! While many of the items remain a mystery, the few that have been announced so far include Pop Vinyl variants like an Unmasked Tony Stark, Green Bloodied Alien and Predator, bloody Rick Grimes and a Prison Walker Zombie from ‘The Walking Dead’, and metallic versions of all four ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’!

Super 7: 

This year at Comic Con International, Super 7 is going to be giving fans of the ‘Alien’ franchise something they’ve been waiting for since 1979 in the form of their ReAction Alien figures. What if a company found the original molds and prototypes for the long lost and even longer since canceled toyline for Ridley Scott’s original ‘Alien’ film from way back in 1979? That’s pretty much exactly what Super 7 is giving us with their retro-style figures based on the classic film. While the figures themselves will see a wider release later, convention goers will have the first chance to grab a set in the Aliens ReAction Early Bird Kit ($100) and the Aliens ReAction ‘Discovered Sales Kit’ 2-pack ($40). These figures are a MUST have for any fans of retro toys and for anyone that loves the ‘Alien’ franchise these figures are based on. They are easily one of the most interesting offerings ever seen at SDCC.

 Gentle Giant Studios:

While Gentle Giant Studios has always offered some rather amazing product, this year’s exclusives are pretty awe inspiring! The big stand out is their almost 20” tall statue of The Faun from the feature film ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. This statue looks to be some of Gentle Giants best work, and is certainly a sight to be seen, let alone an exclusive to be purchased! Also available is a new ‘Star Wars’ Boba Fett deluxe mini-bust, and of course the already fan-favorite ‘Magnitude’ Admiral Ackbar mini-bust; based on the art of Steven Daily.

The Bridge Direct:

When The Bridge Direct released their toyline based on Peter Jackson’s epic ‘The Hobbit’ film series last fall, the reaction from fans of the series was tepid at best. This series wasn’t bad by any means, but it certainly paled in comparison to Toybiz’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ line from a decade ago. Something just seemed to be missing from the line, and while it may have been hard for many to place just what it was, it was more obvious than you’d think- there was no real villain to be seen! Sure you could grab a few generic Orcs, or the briefly seen Goblin King, but where was Azog the hook-handed Orc Commander that chased our band of dwarfs for half the film? The Bridge Direct if taking their opportunity at SDCC to give fans one of the most desired characters from the film with an all new 7” Orc Commander Azog figure! This figure comes complete with his weapons and an alternate hand to replace his stump if you should so choose! This figure looks fantastic and shows that Bridge Direct is far from finished with their Hobbit Toyline. If the new series for the next film is as promising as this figure, fans should be in for quite a treat!

NECA Toys: 

The always awesome NECA Toys has more than a few stunning exclusives in store for fans this year! Some of the coolest are the new Albino Predator figure and the retro-gaming colored Jason Voorhees based on the classic NES ‘Friday the 13th’ video game! NES Jason is so obscure and specific, it comes as no real surprise that the company actually producing it is NECA, who are known for staying true to the fans of the franchises they license. NECA is also offering a 3-pack set of ‘Kick-Ass 2’: Uncensored figures and a ‘Kick-Ass 2’ Betsy Ross Axe Handle Prop Replica.

Mezco:

While the rest of the toyline for hit web comic (and soon animated series) ‘Axe Cop’ isn’t hitting stores until later this year, Mezco is giving fans of the series a special treat in the form of SDCC exclusives based on the fan favorite story! You can grab your very own ‘Axe Cop’ Badge Replica for just $5! If that isn’t enough to satiate your appetite for all things ‘Axe Cop’, they will also be offering an 8” Avocado Soldier plush and a 12” Wexter plush for $22 each as well! These awesome exclusives could be the key in stopping bad guys from doing evil; because evil is bad and bad is wrong (that’s just some Axe cop logic for you).

Nickelodeon:

While they aren’t offering much in the way of exclusives this year, it’s nice to see Nickelodeon offering up an awesome all new Shredder figure from their ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ series! This new Shredder features a brand new sculpt and a removable helmet! If you’re a TMNT fan and enjoy the current series on the air, this figure is going to be a must have!Mattel:

Mattel has been known to offer some amazing exclusives over the years at San Diego Comic Con, and with SDCC 2013 they do not appear to have broken tradition! Aside from their usual offerings for their ‘Masters of the Universe Classics’ line in the form of a Rokkon and Stonedar 2-pack, they are also offering a mini 3.75 inch set of He-Man and Skeletor to meet with fan demand for these characters in the smaller scale!

Mattel’s DC Comics Club ‘Infinite Earths’ series is also getting an exclusive ‘New 52’ style Shazam figure to fit in with the rest of the updated ‘New 52’ style Justice League figures Mattel has been producing in recent months. If the New 52 isn’t your thing, that’s fine too! For a bit more of a classic styling, maybe their 1960’s era Batusi Batman figure from the classic television series is more your style? Mattel will also be offering an exclusive ‘Man of Steel’ Movie Masters figure 2-pack of Superman and General Zod with new head sculpts and paint apps! There really is something for fans from every corner of the DC Universe!

For sci-fi fans, Mattel is releasing some convention exclusive ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Hot Wheels vehicles, including a Cylon Raider and a Colonial Viper! If space isn’t your thing, maybe the A-Team custom GMC Panel Van would be a better option?

Ladies, don’t fret just yet either! Mattel hasn’t forgotten you when they planned their San Diego Comic Con exclusives! ‘Monster High’ fans are in for a really special treat with the all new ‘Monster High’ Wydowna Spider/Webarella set!

Hasbro:

As one of the leaders in the toy industry, it’s really no surprise to see Hasbro pumping out a whole slew of epic SDCC exclusive collectibles for fans to drool over! Aside from the 6” Marvel Legends Thunderbolts box-set and the 3.75” Marvel Universe Deadpool Taco-Truck set (featuring six members of the Deadpool Corps including Lady Deadpool, Dogpool, Squirrelpool, Champion of the Universe, Kidpool and of course our titular hero himself), Hasbro is offering it’s the first figure from it’s new ‘Star Wars’ Black Series of 6” figures with the SDCC Exclusive Boba Fett w/Han Solo in Carbonite!

As if those weren’t enough, Hasbro is helping us relive the 1980’s with the return of classic 80s icon ‘Jem‘ for their Glitter N’ Gold Jem con exclusive! Even more updated 80s action is coming at you in the form of ‘My Little Pony’s’ DJ Pon-3 and the MASSIVE Transformers Metroplex figure, who stands over two feet tall and comes fully loaded with twelve minifigures to occupy this city sized Transformer!

Last but not least, what will likely be the most highly sought after item at the Hasbro booth is the ‘G.I. Joe’/ ‘Transformers’ crossover set! The last two years Hasbro have given fans offerings from this crossover comic series, but this year’s set is so mind blowingly expansive that it’s got something for everyone! Included in this year’s set is a Jetfire Skystriker, V.A.M.P. Hound, Snake Eyes, Blaster w/Tapes, Bludgeon, and a Baroness figure with her faithful pet Ravage! This set is so jam packed with awesome that it will likely be flying out of the booth faster than they can stock them!

Whether you’re going to make it out to San Diego Comic Con this year, or if you plan on hunting down some of these sweet exclusives online later, it’s hard to argue that this year’s offerings for convention exclusives are some of the best that Comic Con International has ever seen! Remember, these are just some of our favorites, and there are plenty more out there to be found! Which exclusives are you planning on picking up? Let us know in the comments section below!