This mini Spiderman sat confidently, waving enthusiastically while perched upon the shoulders of a man. Cute father-and-son tandem, one thought. But no, the man corrected that impression. For Spiderman was not his son, but his daughter. Dad revealed that the young girl had been quite a Spiderman fan for quite some time.

On another aisle, a shy Princess Leia posed for pictures between her Mom and a duo of Stormtroopers.

Spotted sauntering up to the entrance were Thanos and his adopted kid, little Gamora.

These were just some of the families seen cosplaying at the fourth Asia Pop Comic Con held last 27 to 29 July at the SMX Convention Center. Gone are the days when only serious geeks would roam the halls of comics conventions. Today, going to comic con is a family affair, with one group considering it as their annual family event.

Gone are the days when only serious geeks would roam the halls of comics conventions. Today, going to comic con is a family affair, with one group considering it as their annual family event.

FREDDY Krueger (Nightmare on Elm Street) with a fan. Indeed, as Abdulla Mahmood, director of Marketing and International Business Development for Al Ahli Holding Group, proponents of Asia Pop Comic Con, remarked as he welcomed media at the pre-event press con, “I can see a lot of familiar faces and over the last four years, I can say that Asia Pop Comic Con Manila has been an extended family.”

And wanting nothing less than the best for his APCC family, Mahmood continued, “Last year when I met you here, I told you that that year APCC was the biggest event so far. I think when I said that I lied. Because simply this year, it has gotten bigger than last year. We never anticipated that in terms of content and talent, we will grow so much. This year, it is going to be much more exciting, much bigger, and the kind of experience that we’re going to have in APCC is going to be something that probably in this region has never been seen before.”

True to his word, APCC 2018 did deliver on the fun for the whole family.

Roaming down the main exhibit hall of SMX, fans encountered characters from their favorite comics, movies, TV shows, and pop culture. From the world of Star Wars, storm troopers were marching, Kylo Ren pointed a menacing finger and there was Darth Vader, shaking hands with Brian Muir, the British sculptor who created his helmet and armor using Ralph McQuarrie’s design.

CAPTAIN Barbell and Darna. Also seen greeting visitors were an assortment of happy heroes like Iron Man, a couple of Vikings, Jedi knights, as well as creepy villains like Freddy Krueger. The cute factor also came in the form of those lovable “We Bare Bears” (Grizzly, Panda and Ice Bear), friendly mascots, and a T-rex gang dueling with light sabers.

Likewise, on display were statues of Pinoy superheroes like Captain Barbell and Darna. And, of course, that idol of many Filipino kids, that inimitable friendly bee, Jollibee himself.

Jollibee was so popular that waves upon waves of Pinoy families endured long hours in line just to be the first to purchase his limited Funko Pop figure.

Now, what’s a Comic Con without a cosplay competition? At this year’s the CAGE, Filipino cosplayers proved once again how creative and resourceful they can be. International cosplayer, Philip Odango of Canvas Cosplay, shared his excitement for The Cage, saying, “To be able to see the incredible craftsmanship, the dedication, the passion, the resourcefulness of a lot of these cosplayers, building costumes in their own garages and seeing their sewing abilities, it is really awesome to see how they can translate a concept to reality.” Winners for the CAGE 2018 were: 2nd runner-up, Saber Arthuria Pendragon; 1st runner-up: Rank 9 Set; and Grand winner: Kai (Kung Fu Panda 3).

This year, the Creative Circle hosted an impressive roster of renowned artists and illustrators, like Brian Muir (Star Wars, Alien, Indiana Jones), Simone Legno (Tokidoki), Stanley Lau (Imaginary Friends Studios), Alex Sinclair (Batman, Astro City, WildCATs), Lan Medina (Fables, Punisher, Deadpool), Whilce Portacio (X-Men, X-Factor), Mike McKone (Exiles, Teen Titans, Spiderman, Fantastic Four) Phil Noto (X-Force, Birds of Prey, BioShock) and Amanda Vissel and Michelle Valigura (Elf, The Simpsons, Kidrobot, Disneyland, Switcheroo).

KYLO Ren Portacio shares this advice for Filipinos who want to get into comics art: “What I say to a lot of aspiring artists, is to strive to come here (APCC) to start showing their work…I want to find more and more talents to bring into the industry.”

Portacio adds that as C.B. Cebulski, writer and editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics always comes to APCC and he has a direct line to him, a great door of opportunity is open for talents that he can discover at the convention.

Because art is not solely visual, APCC 2018 featured voice actors in two special panel sessions at the main stage. These guys may not have been front and center, but they provided the soul of their characters through their voices.

Apollo Abraham gave life to Dragon Ball Z’s Freiza, Krillin and Mr. Satan/Master Pogi, and also Voltes V’s Prince Zardos and 24’s Jack Bauer in the Pilipino dubbed versions. Bernie Malejana is the Pinoy voice of robot cat Doraemon, Dragon Ball and Naruto. Benjie Dorango was the Filipino voice of Meteor Garden’s Dao Ming Si and Apo Jukai of the Zenki anime.

And last, but certainly not the least, was Jeff Utanes, who voiced Dragon Ball’s Son Goku, Yu-Gi-Oh’s Yami Yugi and Sailor Moon’s Artemis.

Fans were able to immerse themselves in Netflix’s biggest shows such as Stranger Things, Riverdale, Iron Fist and Luke Cage at the Netflix booth. Bigger and more exciting life-sized replicas of each of the shows’ settings awaited enthusiasts who attended APCC 2018.

COMIC book artist Phil Noto. Say cheese! Die-hard followers were able to take their yearbook photo ala Riverdale High student with matching varsity jacket. People also posed by Pop’s Diner’s iconic signage while Josie and the Pussycats performed on stage.

FROM left Mike Colter, Cheo Hadari Coker and Mustafa Shakir. It was a trip back to the ‘80s as soon as one stepped inside the Stranger Things section.

Eager fans were able to play Ms. Pacman, Dragon’s Lair and Dig Dug at the Hawkins arcade, just like Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin did on the first episode of the show’s second season. While they’re at it, they took time to drop by the Byers house, where they helped map the way towards the Upside Down.

Among the celebrity guests for this year’s APCC, Supernatural’s Osric Chan has been in the country for over a month already ahead of the event. That’s because he is currently in town filming a passion project about “two people who come back to the Philippines after being away…And the story is about how they reconnect with their roots, with their culture, and hoping to get that feeling of home that they did not get anywhere else in the world.”

Of his experience with Filipino fans, Osric flashes a charming grin. “I feel like Filipino fans are professionals,” he says. “Does that make sense? Like they’re professional fans…They’re so good at being fans, they’re like the most supportive, the loudest, the craziest, it’s wonderful!” And to show his appreciation for his Filipino fans at the meet-and-greet session, Osric was prevailed upon to do a back flip. Which he did, effortlessly. How cool is that?

READY One Player’s Tye Sheridan. Speaking of cool, Ready Player One’s Tye Sheridan, who also reprises his role as Cyclops in X-Men Dark Phoenix, explains that one does not need to have superpowers to be a hero.

He says, “I think we all have to listen to each other, to hear people’s voices, and we have to understand what the true problems are. And I think sometimes that, certain issues can get quite dated or masked. But whatever it is you’re encountering, when you see a problem, you try your best to resolve it. I think that’s what all of us can do.”

Then, after finishing Season 1 of Iron Fist, Finn Jones, who plays the title role and his alter ego Danny Rand, observes how his billionaire superhero character has evolved. Briefly referring to the end of Defenders, when Matt Murdoch’s Daredevil whispers to Danny to “protect my city,” Finn explains, “In Season 1, Danny was (not sure of his) purpose. Now that Matt has given him the mantle to protect New York, that has given him a purpose.

Mini figurine of Marvel’s Thanos. Now he seems to me a little bit more settled in himself because he has this purpose. He’s also living with Colleen as well, so he’s more settled with his home life. He’s really on the streets trying to balance a home life with the vigilante life. Quite difficult.”

As to his own growth as an actor, Finn shares, “Personally, I don’t really know how I changed, it’s very difficult to…how do you process your own evolution in such a short period of time? I guess I’m more just like Danny, I’m more assured of myself, more relaxed, I know my mind, what I want, there’s just more confidence. I guess I’m [also] more settled.

I’ve never really been settled, I’ve moved around the place, always been traveling for the last 10 years. And I guess I’ve just become more used to that, more settled in the process.”

Excerpts from Iron Fist Season 2 were previewed at the special Netflix panel in Hall N, where Finn was joined by Defenders co-star Mike Colter, who plays the titular role of Luke Cage. The series creator Cheo Hodari Coker and Mustafa Shakir, the villain Bushmaster, were also at the panel.

RIVERDALE’S iconic Pop’s Diner. Aside from Hall N, two other exclusive pocket events teased the audience with upcoming shows. Hall M featured Marvel content, while Hall D excited fans with new Disney material.

Lines to enter all these halls were predictably long and tedious, but the geeks and their families did not mind at all. After much patience and perseverance, they were amply rewarded. And perhaps, even now, many of them are already anticipating next year’s APCC and what treasures lie behind those SMX halls.