After the Kon Reports: Winter Komikon 2013

Event poster taken from Komikon.org.

It's a day after the Komikon and I still have the leftover genkiness from all the feels from yesterday! And I can say that this has been the best Komikon I've ever attended in the past 3 years.
I arrived at the Bayanihan Center at around 11:30 am and was a bit surprised that there weren't many people crowding around the Ticket Booth as it usually did. This year's Komikon coincided with both the Otaku Expo in SMX Convention Hall and the Mallwide Sale at SM Megamall which may have contributed to the slow morning crowd. Still, I was a bit surprised that I was able to get the two freebies: the BONE Sourcebook and the Event Catalog, which also doubles as a souvenir sketch pad that your chosen artists can sketch on. (I only remembered that I had one after lunch so I wasn't able to get that many sketches. T_T)

Sir Lyndon Gregorio and the Rise of the Jhologs!

My first stop was Lyndon Gregorio's table to get a Komikon 2013 Exclusive copy of Go Beerkada: Revenge of the Jhologs. This is the second part to the Beerkada graphic novel Go Beerkada: Rise of the Jhologs that was released years (?) ago. Since a certain Potatohead wanted a copy, I bought two.I also got a copy of the first graphic novel as I've only been a Beerkadette two years ago (courtesy of the same Potatohead) and haven't read it yet.

Lyndon was also selling several button pins for the cause. Name your price, and that amount will be added to the donation pool. I got mine for Php 10, which would have been my change for the three komiks. Said pin was added to Potatohead's Smuggled Goods.

"Fear not the Dark" says Sir Budjette Tan

Next stop, Budjette Tan of Trese. Despite the fact that I love folklore and mythology and the supernatural detective stuff, I've only bought one copy of Trese, which is Trese 5: Midnight Tribunal for the contest. I had been waiting on a friend who has a complete set of copies of the series to lend it to me. Unfortunately, here I am still waiting. But then again, Visprint also released a compilation book for Trese entitled "Book of Murders". I can't help but stare at it, touch the hardbound cover, browse a bit, and then put it back. For the Komikon, the book was sold for Php 800 compared to its market price of Php 950. But still... ugh. T_T

Sir Robert Magnuson meets
the Girl with Cat Ears! Meow~

Cats usually don't like meeting one of their own kind, but I couldn't resist the cute and adorable face of Kuting Magiting. That's why I didn't miss the opportunity to head off to Robert Magnuson to get the first edition of Kuting Magiting. Last Summer 2013, I was one of the lucky few who got the i-Slap copy of Kuting Magiting, and from what I've browsed so far, there were a few changes, though the storyline remains the same. As a kid, I used to read one of his earlier works, Shirley's Pets. It was published on Junior Inquirer every Saturday. And later that afternoon, I was also able to meet Shirley, his wife, from whom the SP series was inspired from.

It's never too early to start them young. If you're looking for a comic for your kids, I'd recommend the Kuting Magiting series and the other books that Robert has written and/or illustrated. All of them are suitable for ages 2 and above.

On my second pass, I took out my Pugad Baboy collection and lined up at Pol Medina Jr.'s table to have it signed. PMJ laughed as he took note of how old and dilapidated my copies where. I told him my story as he started to sign each copy. Pugad Baboy was the comic book that me and my cousins shared with each other. We would pass down the copies between each of us until they grew up and finally passed it to me for safekeeping. Even though I only understood the green and political jokes when I grew older, I continued to love Pugad Baboy and it was one of the comics I look forward to reading in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. I originally had copies of Best of Pugad Baboy, PB 3, PB 4 and PB 6, but they were all dilapidated and got lost.

"Gusto ko hawak ko yung vintage." ~ Pol Medina Jr. — 

I head back to the Visprint table (while longingly looking at the Book of Murders), got the Book 2 copy of Filipino Heroes League, and had it signed by Paolo Fabregas... Well more of, he drew Kid Kidlat on it! XD

Forgot to ask Sir Paolo Fabregas if there is an opening for new superheroes in the FHL.
Maybe they can use a girl with cat ears?

Senti Saturday with Sir Dexter Roxas and Sir Jun Dayo

Afterwards, I left the main conference room and head off to the Indie Tiangge where I met two artists who once worked for Funny Komiks. First was my drawing inspiration/idol, Dexter Roxas! His first series, Adeneiss X or more commonly known as AX, debuted in Funny Komiks and even had a sequel, AX II. Now he's working on the "prequel" of AX, which is AX Genesis.

Just a table away was Jun Dayo, who had also worked in Funny Komiks before. I'm not very familiar with his work though, because he got published way before I started to read FK. He is now dedicating his work to bringing back the old FK through Pinoy Old School Komiks.

All the sentai feels! Lakas maka-throwback!

The cast and crew of Blue Bustamante were also present at the Komikon! Blue Bustamante is an indie film about an OFW who works as a stunt double for a sentai show. Aside from promoting the film, merchandise such as action figures, posters, stickers, and T-shirts were sold during the event. There was even a short game where Jun Sabayton had a "giling" dance showdown with two other male participants. All I can say is that if you were watching the showdown, it's something you cannot unsee (LOL),


After watching the short presentation about Blue Bustamante, I head back to the Visprint table to find Carlo Vergara, the author and artist of Zsazsa Zaturnnah. All I got was the second book, which I had acquired from the contest, but I'll probably get the first book next con. The first book had been adapted into a movie and a musical a few years ago.

 I hope he didn't notice the "Complimentary Copy" stamp!

Grafitea satisfied my tea cravings!

I was getting pretty tired at this time so I went out to try and claim the milk tea I won from the Bring Me Game. I realized that this was a Buy 1 Take 1 Coupon, which means I'd be drowning myself in two milk teas. I decided to save the coupon and give it to my artist friend Miko, who was coming over to the kon that afternoon. I bought myself a glass of Cool Winter Milk Tea from Grafitea, a food truck that specialized in cold iced tea and milk tea.

Their milk tea was delicious! Creamy and light, it can give other more expensive milk tea brands something to be worried about. Miko arrived late but we were able to catch up with the truck before they officially closed. XD

The line was expectedly long for Manix Abrera. I actually didn't bring anything for Sir Manix Abrera to sign (coz all of my Kikomachine komix were already signed), but I got a free copy of Tibok ng Utak from the NBDB (National Book Development Board)  booth which he had illustrated, so of course I just had to fall in line! XD

Feeling pa-deep lang hahaha!

The Cosplayers and the Komikon Loot
A couple of surprises I got at the Komikon this year.

First, was the cosplayers. There were several cosplayers walking around but I only got to take a picture of the three most notable:

Cosplayers found!
Nepeta from Homestuck, Babman from Pugad Baboy, and the Kambal from Trese!

I also got a lot of freebies this year! Only two of the freebies were acquired after purchase (AX bookmark and pin, and Anti-Hero).

Who doesn't love free stuff?

Since Lico Reloj was also there, I also got my fortune told. Looks like I'm going to have a fruitful year ahead. :)  P.S. Lico wrote a comic called Butthurt Philippines which has gained a following among my FB friends. 

Before I go to the loot, let me show you some of what the authors signed:

Finally signed! Yay!!!

And here's Potatohead's Smuggled Goods:

Lyndon's getting tired of not being able to draw you, Potatohead.
Next time, ask for his signature personally.

Finally... Dun dun duuuuunnn!!!! I present to you my Winter Komikon 2013 loot!!!

It's going to be a long and fun weekend.  XD

Winter Komikon 2013 is definitely awesomesauce! They were able to succeed in their fund raising activities without making Komikon a charity event. In fact, I think that's what made this Komikon extra special.

I can hardly wait for the next Komikon in Summer of 2014!

~Neko Mimi over and out! = ^w^ =