ComicCon Asia was a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

fan convention Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...

held in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

that will feature in

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

, gaming,

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

, TV shows, and movies. The convention held its inauguration on March 24–25, 2018 at

SMX Convention Center The SMX Convention Center Manila is a convention center located in Pasay, Philippines. It is the largest private venue in the Philippines for trade events, industry conventions, corporate functions, and international exhibitions. The building ...

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...

Organization

The event was planned by Pauline Laping of PSL Entertainment Production, who is also the CEO and director of Miss Global Philippines, together with Nam Entertainment Group.

Events

Like most comic-book conventions, ComicCon Asia featured a large floor-space for exhibitors.

History

2018

The convention was held on March 24–25, 2018 in SMX Convention Center in Pasay. Eight Division world champion

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...

will serve as event ambassador. Legendary comic book writer and artist

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

was scheduled to attend but had to cancel citing health reasons. Hollywood actress

Hayley Atwell Hayley Elizabeth Atwell (born 5 April 1982) is a British and American actress. Born and raised in London, Atwell studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and made her stage debut in a 2005 production of James Kerr's translation ...

was also set to appear but canceled on the last minute due to conflict with her schedule. Walter Jones, who played the original Black Ranger, Zachary “Zack” Taylor and

Dacre Montgomery Dacre Kayd Montgomery-Harvey (; born 22 November 1994) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Billy Hargrove in the Netflix series ''Stranger Things'' (2017–2022), Jason Scott in the 2017 action film ''Power Rangers'', and Steve ...

were the international guests. The event also featured local talents such as musician

Yael Yuzon Ysmael "Yael" Yrastorza Yuzon (; born November 22, 1983) is a Filipino musician, best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the band Sponge Cola. Early life Ysmael Yrastorza Yuzon was born on November 22, 1983 in Manila, Philippines. His elder ...

, comic book artists Harvey Tolibao, Carlo Pagulayan, and Ian Sta. Maria, and Armand Serrano of

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...

. World renowned cosplayers Chad Hoku (Hoku props),

Linda Le Linda Le (born December 15, 1982) is an American cosplayer, costumer, model, artist and Internet personality of Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese descent. She is also known as Vampy Bit Me, or just Vampy or Vamp; "Vampy" is also a name she has giv ...

(Vampy Bit Me), Nana Kuronoma and Anna Redie (Enji Night) were in attendance.

Controversy

The inaugural convention received negative reviews from fans as they complained about long lines, less comic book oriented booths, problems with refunds and controversial guests.

Involvement of Manny Pacquiao

It was initially thought that Manny Pacquiao was funding the event which caused mixed reception especially fans from the Philippines in which they viewed it as another attempt by the boxer to enter a different profession. It also drew criticism from the LGBT community due to Pacquiao's stance on same-sex marriage with

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

' writer and inker Gerry Alanguilan to boycott the convention as it may be used as an outlet to promote his views. The organizer later released a statement that Pacquiao is not funding the event and they tapped the boxer because of his designation as the Philippines’ tourism ambassador.

Hayley Atwell's cancellation

Commicon Asia drew flak from fans after they stated that Actress Hayley Atwell cancelled her planned appearance due to political unrest in the country in which it drew criticism from the Philippine government. Atwell however posted on her

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account dismissing the statement and said the cancellation was due to conflicting schedule.

Problems with refunds

Many fans were not pleased that it took ComicCon Asia a week to address the refunds after Stan Lee and Hayley Atwell's cancellation. Criticism were also drawn when the online processing fees we're not refundable. Another issue were the long lines for those seeking refunds.

References

{{Reflist Nerd culture Multigenre conventions