Comicology goes to ToyCon 2008!

I just got back from a whole day of unnecessary spending, debauchery and awesomeness known as ToyCon 2008 DAY 1! And I almost became mongoloidal due to the sheer amount of AWESOME that was laid out on which my eyes would feast!

Come with me as I recount my epic adventurous journey of wading through nerd sweat, dodging cosplay swords and attempting (and failing miserably) self control!

I made sure to arrive before the mall opened because I was damn sure that the figures I was hoping to find would vanish in a matter of minutes, as has been the trend for almost all conventions. To ensure my place, I mapped out my plan of attack, from the entrance to which escalators I would take going up. I hauled my ass to Mega A and ate at Jollibee, because there’s less of a line if you enter through Jollibee.

Apparently, I was mistaken. I had made a slight miscalculation. When I got to the fifth floor, the line already looked like this:

Those bastards. How the fuck did they get there before me!? I had planned everything out. So, I kinda figured out a little trick some of you can maybe use for tomorrow.

Bring a car, park at the very top floor if that’s possible. If not, maybe you can take a car inside, then walk all the way to the top floor, and then wait for them to open those gates. You’ll be right next to the convention. Genius, huh?

Upon entering the convention grounds, the smell of plastic filled my lungs and I became very happy. I rushed to each booth selling Marvel Legends. My mission was to find Hawkeye and an HML Silver Surfer. Alas, I completed only half my task.

Here are some shots of the booths and the crowd in their full AWESOMENESS:

I was able to acquire a good haul this year. Financially, at least. I could’ve scored a few more figures. I think I might, too. BWAHAHA!

There were tons of toys of all kinds- DC Universe, Marvel Legends, McFarlane Toys, NECA, lots of bootleg stuff, Cars, animé stuff and so many other stuff, you can’t shake a stick at them all at once. Unless you have a really big stick.

What I really loved were the statues and busts. Unfortunately, I cannot afford any of those, so I decided to collect action figures instead. Although I wasn’t able to get details of the makers and to which booths they belong, I do have pics. Think of it this way, it just gives you, dear reader (all four of you), to check the event out tomorrow.

Oh sweet sweet lord, if only I could afford those, I’d probably be one of the happiest men alive. If I had to choose between these and sex, well, I’d pick sex, but I’d be thinking about these statues all the time during sex. Birthday gift, anyone? Daredevil bust? No? Didn’t think so. Jerks.

Apart from those, there was a tribute to Filipino comics, most notably Mars Revalo and Alfredo Alcala. These were around last year, but I love seeing them here just as much.

And, of course, since it was a toy convention, there were people who flexed their toy muscles and showed everyone their personal collections and customs.

Oh, and speaking of custom figures, I got in touch with a couple of the guys who make em’, so I’m going to be featuring them here at Comicology. And hopefully, my Iron Man will look like theirs.

And of course, ToyCon wouldn’t be complete without the COSPLAYERS! Seriously, my pedo sense was tingling off the hook during the event. I felt like a dirty, dirty pervert.

This year didn’t disappoint. They had Hard Gay (he’s like a fucking celebrity now, actually), and M.O.D.O.K., but I was too slow to take a pic, and people were flocking around him. Lots of great animé costumes. There was a guy who looked a lot like Manny Pacquiao dress up as Manny Pacquaio. And the fattest Spartans and the fattest Speed Racer guy I have ever seen.

I’m not sure who this girl is or if she’s famous, but if she’s not, she really fucking SHOULD BE.

I have no idea who won the contest, but I’m sure whoever did probably deserved it. I mean, making those things cost money and take a lot of time- money that could have been used to buy Magic: The Gathering cards and porn and time to clean out the basement in which they sleep.

As the day went on, the area got fuller and fuller. It was packed by the time I left. There was just too much nerd juice for me to sift through. It was an amazing event, and if I could make it tomorrow, I’ll see you guys there!

To see more images of ToyCon 2008 Day 1, check out Fritzified. This guy’s got magic camera skillz. Nothing looks bad, nothing is capable of doing so through his lens. I’m not even remotely kidding. That’s even more reason to go tomorrow, yo!

Oh oh oh, and TMB’s Ade Magnaye’s band, Lose Your Beer Belly will be playing there tomorrow. Even more reason to go, yo.