Must Have Kitty

Convention embroidery on the back

Stackable ice cream exclusives

Little Ones Plush Nurse

New extra furry Little Ones

MUST HAVE

For the sixth year in a row, Boom gets a new Tentacle Kitty

Just in case I thought I was the only person with a mission to collect multiple Tentacle Kittys on Friday, the girl behind me in line at the Official Show Store wanted the green dragon exclusive and then showed up at the Tentacle Kitty booth to purchase the Cat-o-lantern. Maybe that’s anecdotal evidence. So I checked out their Kickstarter: 5,195 backers pledged $512,474 to fund the Interdimensional Critter Series 2. Another 3,500 people supported “Thank You to our Heroes,” a line of Tentacle Kittys as first responders and essential workers.

“How’s it going?” The woman behind the table gave a sort of shrug like it’s a convention. Then she opened up about how if Walmart needs 20 containers on a ship, their one container gets bumped. Then inventory spends time in Customs. So her blindbags didn’t arrive. Their Kickstarter is delayed. I wished them well. Tentacles crossed!—MV

EYES IN THE BACK

OF ITS HEAD The

original kitty peeks over the top of the booth to be seen from other sections of the Show Floor. So many more sizes, colors, and styles are cropped out from the booth photo.

NOT A MYSTERY

Cuteness abounds on the Show Floor. From a Pusheen Box to a new mask, vendors aim to meet all sorts of needs. Pins seemed to be everywhere. “Disney Pins” made me laugh because that’s everything from Mickey and Tigger to the Mandalorian and Loki. For good measure, the booth is advertising Pokémon and anime as well.

Keychains and tags are still a thing for backpacks, but they weren’t as obvious as all the pins. I also wasn’t sure what my kids would want on their backpacks.

When Luis asked if I’d been to the Topps booth, I was like, No, not yet, but I’ll totally stop there... Seeing it in the background of this wall of mystery boxes, I’ve decided that despite looking bigger than previous years the Topps booth was lost to be behind towers of T-shirts and walls of mystery boxes. Somehow I missed walking directly in front of it three days in a row. —MV