Netflix Returns to AsiaPop Comicon Manila 2018

Finn Jones (Marvel’s Iron Fist), Mike Colter (Marvel’s Luke Cage) join the excitement as Netflix returns with fan-engaging panels, immersive booth experiences and more! 

PHILIPPINES - July 12, 2018 - Netflix will return to AsiaPop Comicon Manila, from July 27 to 29, at the SMX Convention Center. The #NetflixAPCC experience will be inspired by and designed especially for Pinoy fans. With bigger experiences, surprise guests,  a sneak peek at what’s coming to Netflix and special screenings just for fans attending this year’s convention.


Super-powered Netflix Marvel Panel
Mark your calendar for super-powered panels at ‘Hall N’. Marvel’s Luke Cage series star, Mike Colter (Luke Cage) joins showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker and this season’s villain Mustafa Shakir(Bushmaster) to answer fan’s burning questions from season two. Finn Jones, who stars as Danny Rand/Iron Fist on Marvel’s Iron Fist, will join showrunner Raven Metzner (Sleepy Hollow, Falling Skies) to tease season two of the fan favorite.

Marvel’s Iron Fist and Marvel’s Luke Cage are produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.

We loved Season 2 of Luke Cage! - You can check out my review here.


Netflix Loves Anime

Great news for anime fans! We’ll go behind the scenes with the creators of Castlevania (executive producer Adi Shankar) and Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (TOHO producer Takashi Yoshizawa) to learn how these series come to life  with a special surprise guest!

More Netflix Anime news here!


The Netflix Experience: Destination Fun 

A can’t-miss immersive experience awaits Pinoy fans at the Netflix booth. Designed for social engagement, fans can expect to rally their barkadas and walk through life-size replicas of sets from their favorite shows like Marvel’s Iron Fist, Riverdale, Stranger Things,  score collectible swag and meet some of the stars.


About Netflix

Netflix is the world's leading internet entertainment service with 125 million memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

Events: At 5'8 "Game of Thrones'" Joe Dempsie is considered tall in the Philippines -and he loves it!

"The amazing thing is - in the Philippines I'm considered tall?" Joe Dempsie said in an intimate meet and greet session with fans during the last day of AsiaPOP Comicon. Ending the sentence as a question, rather than as a statement. This was met with laughter from the crowd. 

"That has never happened before!" He continues on saying. The "Game of Thrones" actor, stands at about 5 feet and 8 inches tall. 

There are many characters in the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones" whose fate or demise has been an object of heated discussion and contention but it is the fate of Gendry, played by Joe Dempsie which is surrounded by the most mystery. The now-only surviving Baratheon was last seen rowing away three seasons ago and no one knows what became of him. 

Once news that he would be hitting Manila for AsiaPOP Comicon spread the interwebs, the joke was that he rowed all the way to Manila. There is even a variety of memes on the internet on Gendry's rowing and when  you're a meme then you know that you have made it. 

The question "How long will you think Gendry will be rowing?" was tossed a lot during Joe's time at APCC. "He'll be rowing until Dave and Dan (Benioff & Weiss, the show runners) decide to have him back. When we last see Gendry, we see he's rowing away, rather terribly. He'll have to get a lot better at it if he's going to survive." Dempsie jokes. 

"I'd love to have him back. I'd love to be back. Fingers crossed." he adds. 

In his scheduled "In Conversation" session during APCC, Dempsie was interviewed by radio personality Chico Garcia, who asked him. 

What do you think about that whole internet theory shipping you with Arya Stark? The whole crowd goes wild at this. Is it going to a thing? People would love to see Gendry and Arya together. 

"I mean, it's one of those things that um - fans are going to pick up on in the show and I think that maybe there's a hint of that in the books but again I don't have any idea if Gendry is returning and let alone if he will cross paths with Arya again. I'd say that I'd like to because I like working with Maisie (Williams, who plays Arya Stark) She's an incredible young actress. It's weird because I thought I'd be doing this (acting) for a few years now but I was learning from her (Williams is 19 years old). She's incredibly talented. 

Chico then asks. Have you seen the meme, where she (Arya) tells you, (that) you'll be her family and you tell her, you won't be my family, you'll be my lady. This elicits cheers from the crowd. 

"I remember when that episode aired and there's this avalanche of memes on Twitter. For me the way I interpret it is - you wouldn't be my family, you would still be my superior. You are a highborn and I am a lowborn, essentially a nobody. People can read those lines however they want, I think that's one of the interesting aspects of being part of "Game of Thrones" the fans are so committed and they will analyze and pick apart every scene and line and I think it's just great. 

In a cast as large as "Game of Thrones" Chico asks Joe, if there's any friction on the set. 

"Yeah-there's bound to be d*ck in there?" Dempsie jokes but then goes on to say. 

"I auditioned for three parts before I was cast. I initially auditioned, wouldn't get the part. I thought, they think I'm terrible, I'm rubbish but that wasn't the case and they keep getting me back in for other roles and I think in my mind what that was all about is that they identified people they wanted to work with, that they (Benioff and Weiss) felt would fit in this kind of family that they created. Which piece of the jigsaw are you? Which character are you? I think they deliberately assembled a team of people that would kind of get on and it worked. 

Joe confessed to being a big fan of Kanye West but said that he couldn't rap. 

Click HERE for more photos of Joe during APCC. 

Click HERE for more posts on AsiaPOP Comicon on the blog. 

Events: Meet "Zen" The 3-Year Old Show-stopping Stormtrooper

Day 1 of conventions are usually low key since the crowd pours in on the second day; but as Paul and I were going around the convention floor we zeroed in on a cute, little Stormtrooper.

He had just come across the Philippine Garrison and it was just adorable to see him look up to Stormtroopers who were twice his size. As if things  couldn't get even much more adorable, the "good guys" of the Philippine Garrison invited him to join them!

The little boy needed some coaching from his dad, let's say a guy dressed in all black with a red lightsaber scarred him a bit. (Yeah. I'm talking about you Kylo Ren!)   

The little kid left a big impression on us, so after the hustle and bustle of AsiaPOP Comicon we got in touch with his parents and sent some questions to find about the little show-stopping Stormtrooper - who goes by "Zen" by the way.

How old is Zen? 

Zen is three years old. (Cue in the awwwwwwwwws). 

 Was this his ever cosplay? Was APCC his first convention? 

Officially, yes. He did a wear a panda (costume) a year ago (More awwws) but only in school. 

Did he decide to go as a Stormtrooper on his own? 

Yes. When his Uncle asked what costume did he want. He said he wanted to dress up as a Stormtrooper, since he was two years old. We ordered it from ebay. 

Did he enjoy his cosplay for Day 1 of APCC? 

It was very memorable for him, since seeing his toys come alive was nothing he could have imagined at his young age. Boba Fett was his favorite. 

What was it like for Zen to meet the "good guys" of the Philippine Garrison? Do you think that he'll be an honorary member some day? 

The Philippine Garrison was very nice and considerate to kids. They allowed him to interact with them and join them. (As to whether he will be a member in the future) I'm not so sure yet, since kids change as they grow up but we'll see.

One of the boys. Zen hangs out with the "good guys" of the Philippine Garrison during Day 1 of APCC.

Any future 'Cosplans' (Cosplay Plans) for Zen? 

We don't really participate in Cosplays, but if Zen wants to dress up as another character then perhaps next year.. 

Is he looking forward to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story this December ? 

 Very much, even if he doesn't understand any of it. (He's only three after all). He saw "Episode VII: The Force Awakens" and "A New Hope" a few times already. Can't make him sit down more than 20 minutes for the other Star Wars movie. Hopefully he will watch Rogue One. 

Thank you to Zen's cool folks for taking the time to answer our questions and we hope to run into you in a convention in the future! Keep it up little Stormtrooper!

Events: APCC Day 2 Goes Geek Crazy! Day 2 + Photos

Excited friends just got their Day 2 passes. 

As I am writing this, the sun is slowly making its way up the Manila skies. In a few hours the last day of the biggest pop culture event in Manila is about to conclude. Pardon the lack of literary eloquence in this post as time is always against me and we would seen be preparing to check out of the hotel and make our way for Day 3 of Asia Pop Comicon. 

With most of the guests arriving at Day 2 the crowd was noticeably larger and all the booths and exhibits were in full swing. Now, the thing about these kind of conventions is that you don't get to go to all of the events happening, since they are all happening at the same time. So it would be presumptuous to write about a "highlights of Day 2" features. What I will be writing about are my experiences around the convention.

First up was the sit down of celebrity guest and Hollywood headliner Nicholas Hoult with the local press. Nick Hoult has been acting for a long time, you may not remember him as the adorable Marcus in "About A Boy" but he was literally just a boy when he starred across Hugh Grant on the 2002 romantic comedy and has since played a variety of characters, from a zombie, a giant slayer, a mutant and the war boy, "Nux" in Mad Max: Fury Road. 

When asked if this is a conscious decision, Hoult replied: "Outside of working with great people and telling a good story, the aim for me is to play as much varied characters ion  and the stories that I play. I would be bored if the I played the same characters again and again." Will be posting a separate post on the sit down soon! You ca catch him at the Main Stage at 4:00 PM on Sunday. 

Right after the sit down we had to rush to the Main Stage for Millie Bobby Brown's first appearance at APCC. As expected, the hall was filled to the brim with fans eager to see the twelve year old actress, who took the world by storm with the fan favorite and critically acclaimed Nextflix series "Stranger Things" which, since it's debut in July has become a big hit. Brown plays the mysterious and telekinetic "Eleven" and has become a fan favorite. 

Millie spotted local cosplayer Spider-Dan in an Eleven Cosplay in the crowd and took photos. Talk about highlight of his year right!

A fan asked if Millie could pretend that she was breaking everyone's neck with her "Eleven stare".

To which, the surprised actress asked "You want me to pretend to hurt you guys?" and the crowd responded with a resounding "YES!". That's such a weird request, host Delamar Arias said but Millie gladly obliged to the crowd's delight.


Will be posting more on the "Conversation with Millie Brown" on the blog soon. 

We rested for a bit and went around the convention floor to take photos, I was really happy to run into friends from work and in the music scene around the con, some members of my family will be coming on the last day. 

The last media time for the day was with "Game of Thrones'" Joe Dempsie and I was really excited to see him, being a big Game of Thrones fan and all.

When asked if there was a superhero he could play, Joe said he always wanted to be the Red Power Ranger. He went on to say that when he was five years old, he had a falling out with a friend because they both wanted to be the Red Power Ranger. Full post on Joe Dempsie on the blog soon. You can catch him at the Main Stage at 11:30 AM. 

Our last stop was Hiroshi Kitadani's live performance and it was as energetic as we expected as he sang songs from "One Piece" and "Yugi Oh". You can catch another performance later at 6:00 PM. 

I hope you guys come back when I do another write up for my overall APCC 2016 experience, which would probably be the case, we just want to get these photos out, we're just excited to share them with you :)

For our Day 1 highlights you can click here - it has photos too! 

Click here for more photos from Day 2.

#apccph2016 #asiapopcomicon 

Events: Things Heat Up for "Asia Pop Comicon" + Day 1 + Photos

Join the dark side. A cute little trooper gets a special invite. 

It's 3:00 in the morning. I got out of bed after being awake from more than 24 hours. I only need about 5 hours of sleep and I'm good to go but aside from feeling the body ache, which is still there, I'm just bursting with excitement. Day 1 of the biggest  pop culture event in Asia ended a few hours ago and while there were so many things to see and do I am overwhelmed with anticipation with what is to take place a few hours from now.

But before I get carried away (yet again) let's take a look at what we saw during Day 1 + Photos!

We could not get over this cute little storm trooper when he saw the his heroes from the Philippine Garrison. The Philippine Garrison is a unit of the 501st Legion, which is an international organization of Star Wars fans, dedicated to wearing the costumes of characters from the Star Wars franchise. The 501st is devoted to raising funds for children's charities all over the world.

The little guy needed some coaching to join "the dark side" as he posed with the different villains from Star Wars. He was shy at first but eventually overcame his fear to join guys in, bigger versions of his costume. Perks of being one of the few kid cosplayers on the first day.

American comic book illustrator Mike Zeck, meets Filipino fans. His work includes Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars in 1984 and his design for a black and white Spider-Man costume eventually led to the creation of the villain Venom.

Zeck has been coming to the Philippines since 1991, he said that he loves the beaches and the people. Just remove some cars on the road though, he added, during the Asia Pop Comicon press conference, which was held at the Conrad Hotel last Wednesday, August 24. Click here for photos and blog post on the Press Conference!

Fans have been anticipating to join the highly coveted "Hall M" which will feature never-before-seen footage outside of San Diego Comic Con of Marvel's upcoming "Doctor Strange" film. They will also showcase content from Marvel's television and web series. Hall M is limited to 1,000 attendees, which makes the tags highly valuable.

The first batch of fans, get their hands on the highly coveted "Hall M" passes. 

We were really impressed with this White Walker cosplayer who got his make up done at the The Australian College of Hair and Design Manila, which is one of the exhibitors at APCC.

Paul also got to skate for a while, which was a treat since he used to skate back in the day.

There is definitely a lot of activities already going on for Day 1 of AsiaPop Comic con, Day 2 will definitely have more happening! Follow the page and our social media accounts for more updates! 

Click HERE for MORE Photos! 

Events: Coffee and Macarons with Asia Pop Comicon's Finest

Apologies. This is such a late post, as I am writing this Day 1 of AsiaPop Comicon has already transpired and Day 2 will begin in just a few hours but we still wanted to share what went down during the Press Conference for AsiaPop Comicon. We were not able to upload this right away, since after the press conference, Paul and I still had to sleep for work, go to work and then it was already Friday, the first day of AsiaPop Comicon. Phew. I know. More Enervon please? 

Overlooking the waters of Manila Bay at the posh Conrad hotel. Members of the local press were teased with what to expect during the upcoming Asia Pop Comicon, which promises to be the biggest pop culture event in Asia last Wednesday, August 24.

Bringing back that wonder we all used to feel when we were children, AsiaPop Comicon promises to bring the ultimate fan experience by bringing a wide range of pop culture elements in one venue, slated for August 26 to 28 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

They raised the bar by bringing a world class convention last year with over 30,000 attendees and inviting guests such as Paul Bettany, Nathalie Emmanuel, Colton Hayes and so much more and they are surely continuing that tradition this year,

Joining the press conference was a stellar line up of artists in their own fields and they got to sit down with the local press to pick at their creative minds.

Whilce Portacio. 

Whilce Portacio is no stranger to the field of comic books, whether it is the international arena or the local scene. The creator of Bishop (of "Uncanny X Men"), Whilce broke in the comics industry by inking Marvel Comics' classic book "Longshot" in 1985. He has then been a sought-after inker at Marvel and worked as a penciler on "The Punisher" in 1988.

"APCC will help open up Manila to the worldwide stage." Portacio told members of the press. "We're always looking for new people and new ideas." he continues. "I would like to see more Filipino mythology" (on new material) he adds.

Mike Zeck. 

Mike Zeck's work has graced the pages and covers of "Captain America", "Aquaman", "Batman" "Legends of the DC Universe," and many more. He has been visiting the Philippines since 1991.

"I love the beaches. I love the people." He says. "Just get rid of a few cars." He adds, referring to the traffic, which got members of the local press to laugh.

A first time visitor to the Philippines, Ken Lashley has been a veteran working on such titles, such as "Excalibur", "Black Panther", "X-Men", "Spider-Man", "Flash", "Superman" among others. 

"I was so excited to get here, I didn't care how many airplanes I took." he said.

Ken Lashley. 

When asked about the state of comic books in 2016, Lashley answered that "The (Comic Book) movies have done a lot of things, but it does not translate to comic sales. People easily recognize what you do though." 

He gives a shoutout to all aspiring artists out there, "Draw all the time. For every artist, there are a 1000 bad drawings. Always hustle. 

Jason Palmer.

"I've never felt so welcome, even before I left" says illustrator Jason Palmer, who is best known for his illustrations of "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" among others. 

"I was already getting messages, even before I left for Manila." 

Shinichiro Kitai. 

Shinichiro Kitai, art director of DEVILROBOTS, a design team of five from Japan are well known for their whimsical, yet sometimes sinister characters and designs. When asked what he was looking forward to in the Philippines, Kitai answered "Jollibee" which was met with laughter from the press. 

Kitai explains that Jollibee shows the Philippines as a happy people. 

"Somebody get this man, his fast food." Host Justin Quirino said laughing. 

Rounding up the line up of guests during the Press Conference is the Queen of Cosplay herself, Alodia Gosiengfiao, who is a household name when in comes to Cosplay.

Alodia Gosiengfiao. 

"It's nice to know that even world renowed artists are looking for new talent." Alodia said, aside from Cosplay she is also an artist herself and an avid gamer. When asked to give advise for the CAGE Cosplay Competition participants, she says "Have fun and be careful. Some people are starting to work with dangerous material." she added, laughing. 

Catch all of these guests and much, much more at AsiaPop Comicon happening this weekend! 

Click HERE for MORE PHOTOS!