4 things to do this SuperManila Pop Culture Convention

4 things to do this SuperManila Pop Culture Convention

By Rick Olivares

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – It will be Christmas in October when Filipino pop culture fans get to stuff their goodie bags in the first ever SuperManila Pop Culture Convention at the Podium in Pasig City this October 18-20.

SuperManila Pop Culture Convention offers local fans three days of comic book signings from a battalion of Pinoy comic book legends and stars, but also panels featuring top creators, exclusive toys, a sneak preview of an upcoming Filipino variant of a comic book, artwork, and more. 

Here are four things for the Filipino fan to do in these three days of geek bliss.

1.    Meet this galaxy of Filipino talent

Filipino illustrators have worked in American comics since the 1970s beginning with Tony de Zuniga, Nestor Redondo, Steve Gan, Alfredo Alcala, Ernie Chan, Romeo Tanghal, Danny Bulanadi, and many others.  

Whilce Portacio and Rafael Kayanan carried the torch for Filipino talent in the 1980s when they worked the Punisher and The Fury of Firestorm respectively. And they presided over the second wave of talent that made a splash with the independent comics boom of the 1990s. Among those creators who came up from Portacio’s Starfire Visuals that was located at 55 Balete Drive in Quezon City include Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Jay Anacleto, Roy Allan Martinez, Edgar Tadeo, Gilbert Monsanto, and Ryan Orosco who all worked on various titles for the burgeoning Image Comics

In this new millennium, a whole cavalcade of other creators have made names for themselves. Lan Medina is the first Filipino to win the prestigious Eisner Award for his work on Vertigo Comics’ Fables. Fans will get to meet Pol Medina (Pugad Baboy), Harvey Tolibao, Carlo Pagulayan, Stephen Segovia, Mico Suayan, Rod Espinosa, and many more.

2.    Check out the FOUR Funko Pop exclusives for SuperManila! 

The Philippines is acknowledged as one of the biggest pop culture collectors’ markets and this weekend, fans are in for a treat when the exclusive Funko Pops of the Arkham Asylum Purple Chrome Joker, the corrupted Venom, glow-in-the-dark Phoenix, and Harley Quinn as Robin Pop become available!

3.    Attend those informative, exciting, and geeky panels. 

Panels are a staple of pop culture conventions and one of the biggest attractions. There will be several panels with two each hosted by noted fans and hosts Jay Ignacio of local alternative band, Da Pulis, Jiggy Cruz and Jason Inocencio. 

Ignacio will moderate the “A Look Back at the 55 Balete” panel on Saturday, October 19 at 2pm. That address – 55 Balete – was the location of Starfire Visuals, the studio put up by Whilce Portacio that opened doors for Leinil Yu, Gerry Alanguilan and others. 

The Sunday, October 20 panels will have Cruz moderating the “Make Mine Marvel” panel at 12 noon as well as the “Spider-Talk” panel at 3pm.

Inocencio will preside over The Creator Focus at 2pm where he sits down Whilce Portacio and Rafael Kayanan.

4.    Await the big reveal of the exclusive Filipino variant of an upcoming comic.

SuperManila organizers have promised that the big reveal of this Filipino cover variant of an upcoming comic will be senses shattering!

After the success of the Wave cover variants of the New Agents of Atlas and Aero comics, prepare to be astonished when this timeless character is given love and a taste of sugar by one of our rising artists.

And speaking of Wave, during the convention, fans are encouraged to sign the petition for the character’s very own Funko Pop and Marvel Comic. 

If you are a fan of pop culture, then the SuperManila Pop Culture Convention this weekend is the place to be.

The SuperManila Pop culture Convention is organized by Filbar’s and Comic Odyssey,