comics

Metro Comic Con was held last August 8 and 9 in Megamall Megatrade Hall 1 & 2.   The event was organized by HobbyLink Productions, Inc. and was to be the biggest gathering of comics, comic book enthusiasts, artists, and publishers in the country.  I was able to attend the first day of the convention.

Entrance to the event was PhP100.00 though it wasn't abundantly clear when I was trying to find the price on their website.  There wasn't much of a line to the ticket booth and the entrance which was rather a welcoming site.  The event space was rather huge and quite spacious.  I did like the floor plan for the event. It was clear and unobtrusive.  They placed the stage area on the far right of the event hall, the major sponsors and exhibitors were placed in the middle with enough walking space to walk in between them, and the comics and independent titles on the far left of the event space.  I love the fact that there was so much space. 

There were a lot of booths and merchandise being sold at the events, typical of what you would see in a convention of this size.  There were times from toys, collectibles to anime and fashion merchandise.  However, it became quite clear that there was a severe lack of comics at this convention.  This is sad considering this is a comics convention.  Observers have said that this was more like a toy fair than a comics convention.

Last May 23 was Free Comic Book Day at Fully Booked. On this day, all branches of Fully Booked gave away free comics to anyone who came to their stores.

Free Comic Book Day is a promotional effort to encourage readers to patronize new titles and encourage "newbies" into the joys of comic book reading and collecting. This is an annual event in the US and Canada which is scheduled during the first Saturday of May. It is often tied to the release of a major film adaptation of a well known superhero franchise such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine this year or the upcoming release of Iron Man II on May 7 next year.

As early as 6:30 AM, there were already people lined up and waited in front of Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street branch. By the time I arrived, around 10 AM, there was a long line already stretching from the bookstore all the way to the car park. Kids, their parents, and adult comic book fans waited in line in the heat to get their free comic. It took me almost an hour before I could even get in and pick a comic that I wanted. There were so many titles to choose from that I wished I could pick up more than one title. Some of the titles they had included, Shonen Jump English, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons and a Wolverine Origins comic. I personally ended up choosing an Avengers comic.