APCC 2016: The Geekery Experience

Asia Pop Comicon Manila 2016 (AsiaPOP) definitely brought good experience and memories to all fellow geek congoers. And with all the hype and excitement, The Geekery would like to share the experience and feedback about the most awaited and biggest comic convention in the Philippines.

AsiaPOP was held last August 26-28, 2016 at the SMX Convention Center (SMX), Pasay City. Our AsiaPOP experience was made more awesome with the help of DC Shoes Philippines as they gave 3 day passes to 5 lucky geeks. All thanks to DC Shoes, we managed to pull-off our first and what we called the Geek-Away (geek giveaway) that brought joy to our followers.

Unlike last year wherein you need to fall in a long line for the tickets, organizers occupied the 2nd floor to focus on the ticketing, an SMX advantage. It’s also a good thing that line for Hall M is also at the Ticketing Section and gave it ahead of time so it’s a one stop shop (we’ll discuss more of Hall M below). Good job AsiaPOP!

AsiaPOP’s Facebook page also held a contest for a chance to meet and greet or have photo session with Stranger Things’ star Millie Bobbie Brown (Eleven) and Hiroshi Kitadani of Jam Project popularly known for the opening song of One Piece (We Are) which are awesome because all are free and no purchase required!

The first day has a low foot traffic and you can freely roam around the convention. If you’re anti-social and hate group of people, this is the most suitable day for you. There are less programs and merchandise are not so many. You still probably enjoyed the first day if you’re at the DC Skate park and fingerboard park while eating a lot of free KIMY jelly ice cream or having a break at the KitKat bench with the free, yes KitKats! Finger board!!! The skate dudes
Second day can be considered as the shifting phase of the con where we saw a lot more people and shops added more items in their booths. More cosplayers can be seen roaming and taking a lot of pictures. Participating brands also dressed up their models to gather more passers to visit their booths. Their inner creativity has surely paid off and attracted the congoers.

AsiaPOP has two sides of Artists’ Alley, local artists at the left and international artists at the right side. Mike Zeck, Ken Lashley, Billy Tan and Whilce Portacio can be seen signing autographs and strutting their stuff. Aside from them, International Pinoy artists Harvey Tolibao and Carlo Pagulayan also showcase their art works near the main guests.

It’s also quite amusing to see that AsiaPOP encouraged local artists to participate and show their talent as C.B. Cebulski of Marvel was present to scout potential artists for Marvel Comics. The local artist alley attracted a large crowd and bought sketches and prints from them. This could be a sign that local comics is still active and APCC helped them gain more exposure.

As for the most awaited last day, Marvel fans gathered for AsiaPOP’s main dish which is the Hall M. Fans fall in line hours earlier before the exclusive screening to avoid what happened last year which caused a lot of angry fans that didn’t see the exclusive extended trailer of Civil War. Food and drinks were also available in the waiting area which is quite delicious despite the price.

The screening starts with C.B. Cebulski revealing that Hall M stands for Hall Manila and they will definitely repeat this next year because of the growing fans of comic conventions in Manila. Recaps and exclusive behind the scenes of the Netflix hit series Daredevil and Jessica Jones are also showed before they presented the new trailer and exclusive clip for Luke Cage. Unfortunately there’s no Iron Fist, Punisher and Defenders clips but rest assured we will see them in the future.

Fans also recited the “Make Mine Marvel” chant to their lungs out and Cebulski was very impressed as he showcased the new trailer and exclusive clip for Marvel’s Dr. Strange. International guests joined in later and the clip and trailer has been played the second time. Cebulski also announced that Dr. Strange will hit the cinemas earlier in the Philippines. We will see Marvel’s Dr. Strange this coming October 26, 2016.

Since it’s already the last day, there’s a huge increase in attendees considering it’s a Sunday— a family day. It’s good to see families together attending a comic / pop culture convention. It could mean that all of them shares the same hobby or just wanted to bond together. We could firmly say that’s how AsiaPOP differentiates itself from other conventions here in the Philippines— it is for everyone.

AsiaPOP’s range from comics to art, toys to games and of course skating and tv series to movies, you will never be put out of place as AsiaPOP will also lead you to a new hobby, gain new friends, and a whole new experience.

So how’s your Asia Pop Comicon experience? Share us your insights. More photos from from AsiaPOP and other stuff at The Geekery on our Facebook page.Please like and share https://www.facebook.com/dgeekery/.