Comicology Goes to ToyCon 2009!

We’re fresh off the heels of one of the biggest events for geeks, and what a weekend it has been. Actually, no, I wouldn’t know. I was sick Friday and Saturday and decided to leave the crowd the fuck alone and cut the risk of getting A(h1n1) and lots of geek sweat on me. I went Sunday instead, for the sole reason of being able to write about it, because I’m seriously running out of content ideas.

It was a fun event, just like every year. It lacked something for me, though. It seems nothing has changed for a few years now, same forumla. I guess if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Here’s my take on the whole thing.

I got there at 10:00 AM exactly, but I wasn’t late. Here’s a tip for the next ToyCon, guys- park at the 5th floor instead of waiting outside of the malls. By the time the doors open, the line’s going to fucking long. With my method, I was third in line, with two people who look like they slept there ahead of me. They even smelled the part.

See? Third in line.

The line. And I bet a good number of those people were wondering how the fuck I was able to get there so fucking quick.

I was told that the Saturday ToyCon was packed to the point that the lesser geeks were forced out. Reports vary from 9,000 to a less believable 15,000 attendants. Entrance fee is at P100. If 15,000 people came, that’s P1,500,000 in monies. Now, if monetary gain is the sole measurement of an event’s success, then this is one successful event, yeah?

Since I got in early, I saw the place practically empty except for the people attending to their booths. There were tons of merch. Oh, dear lord, the merchandise! The booth placements were exactly the same it has been for the past few years.

It didn’t take much before the place got packed though.

The usual fanfare was there- toys, statues, anime costumes, anime stuff, Maxi Toy Collector, Druid’s Keep, randzman, TopBoy,  Best Toys was probably there, and some other notable ones. This year, ML didn’t get the same spot light as it used to, because probably the toyline is dwindling. Instead, we got treated to a lot of G.I. Joes and Transformers, which are both produced by Hasbro.

Here are some shots of the toys for sale:

Yellow Daredevil Icons is one of the things on my list of things-to-get. You will be mine. YOU WILL BE MINE!

More Joes!

TopBoy and his merch. Yes, that is a Hulk Buster statue.

From Maxi Toy Collector, pre-order your Mark II helmet now! And run around in your mom’s basement and pretend to be an unfinished Iron Man!

*drool*

There are tons more, but that’s all I really have space for.

Now, the displays never cease to amaze me. The net worth of those displays, especialy from fatboystudios, would be enough to pay for a small car, and I bet multiple college educations, too. Here are some of the displays:

Lastik Man, home grown hero from ABS-CBN’s booth! Next to him is a creepy anime guy, Astoboy and the fat one from Voltes V.

Hot Toys Iron Man from that Theater-thingy World. Awesome toys.

That’s right- that’s Rowdy Roddy Piper as a G.I. Joe! Your eyes do not deceive you.

If each one is P350, then that totals to… roughly around P35,000? Yowza.

Transformers’ awesomeness before Michael Bay bastardized them.

The MOST AWESOME Deadpool ever, by fatboystudios.

There’s a Wolverine one now, too. And check out the sweat on Michael Jordan, who can be considered the most super out of these heroes.

DC Heroes*droooooool*

Awesome sculptures by Jun A., he’s the one doing those fantastic statues at TK Megamall

In the middle was this HUGE diorama of G.I. Joe figures.

Yo Joe!

These, I think, were actually for sale, but yeah, check it out.

There were a few other notable things, some of which I won’t discuss in detail, but show you instead. Well, first off, I ran into Eric, the Fourth Wall guy. If you’re around the Makati area, check out Fourth Wall comics near Cash and Carry. I’ll write a post about that place soon.

Sculpey was being sold at the event. Sculpey holds a special place in my heart, but a good friend of mine, Mike Andaya, taught me how to  sculpt, and we bought some Sculpey to make zombies. People now use Sculpey for customizations. They even had a 6″ Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander on display.

Sir Unleashedviper, one of the founders of PTK! ALL HAIL!!!

I am glad that they include this display every year. It pays homage to the great Alfredo P. Alcala. Even before there were Leinil Yus or Carlos Pagulayans or Philip Tans, there was Alfredo P. Alcala.

And PlayCulture, my new best friends. These are AWESOME shirts. They’re opening up a branch for their geeky shirts. The designs include the contra code, a very adorable “All Your Base” deviation, and that typewritter guy from Sesame Street. I’m keeping my eye out for these guys.

Solar UIP was one of the sponsors, and they showed the trailers to G.I. Joe (bastardized version) and Transformers (UBER bastardized Michael Bay version).

Transformers and WWE peeps were there, too. Other sponsors include Wacom, this online gaming company whose name escapes me at the moment, playing Cabal and War Rock, and some other notable ones, but I keep forgetting.

While I was there, they had an auction. Now, this didn’t play out like an auction normally does, with one item being focused on until the item was sold. Instead, they took bids for all the items on the table simultaneously. I really didn’t like this part for a number of reasons. Not focusing on one item takes away the excitement and the sense of urgency found in most actual auctions, just like ebay. Participation was pretty low, only a few people were bidding, and there were few spectators. And the woman hosting.

“PEY-SOWS!!! ONE HUNDRED PIFTY PEY-SOWS!!! LOOK TO THE HERE! LOOK TO THE HERE! TWO HUNDRED PEY-SOWS!!! PEY-SOWS!! PEY-SOWS!!!!!”

Seriously, organizer guys,please find a better host. She need not speak perfect English, but when she does, try not to find someone who speaks it like she does. PEY-SOWS!!! Por one hundred PEY-SOWS!! Seriously, goddamn it.

My hauls were cheap this year. I just landed me an Urban Legends Box Set Daredevil for P175, a MIB Diamond Marvel Select Thor for only P1200, about P300-P800 cheaper than the price it usually goes for, and a PTK mug for P100. I got two, because I dropped the first one.

Since I was there Sunday, the day after the cosplay event, I just found some of the leftovers, so it’s nothing really worth showing. Anyway, to see the shots I took of the Sunday ToyCon 2009 event, click here.