Free Comic Book Day at Fully Booked BGC

This is a follow up to WhenInManila.com’s feature on Free Comic Book Day 2012 in Manila. You can read the other post here.

 

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State subsidized libraries are the mark of a developed nation. In Brisbane, Australia, for example, they have, count them, 33 city libraries where you can take books, DVDs, magazines, etc. home with you, surf the internet or play video games, and more! All for free!

 

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Behold the breathtaking Brisbane City Library

 

When In Manila, where libraries are pretty much nonexistent unless you’re in school (and most of these are deserted), people get their fix of the written word in the bookstore! And last Saturday, I headed over to Fully Booked at the Fort aka BGC for Free Comic Book Day 2012 redux!

 

 

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 The entire Justice League (and then some) greeted patrons at the door.

 

For Free Comic Book Day, the doors opened at 10a. The line stretched all across High Street and looped around the aisles of books. I was in line for over half an hour, but for some reason, not a whole lot of faces looked annoyed. There was a lot of reading material lying around, after all. I chatted with a guy next to me in line who was with his 8-year old niece whom he was grooming for the world of geekdom, and had a stimulating 20-minute conversation on everything to do with the medium. She’s in good hands because this guy really knew his stuff.

 

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After standing in line for over half an hour…

 

After inching along in line for what seemed like ages, we were rewarded with…one comic. I suppose it was to ensure that they didn’t run out of stock.

 

 

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…behold! The Table of Free Comics at last! 

 

The titles for FCBD range from the extremely good to cat litter lining material. For a review of all the free comics released this year go here. Unfortunately, the really good titles (such as the hardcover Mouse Guard by David Petersen) weren’t released in Manila. What’s up with that? 

 

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Peanuts + Adventure Time, Avengers = Free. Cages by Dave McKean at 20% off. 

 

For those of you who didn’t read my last post, I gave out an online comic as well, titled The Man Who Wanted to Be the First Politician Who Didn’t Harm Anyone and Other Stories which you can download for free. Here it is again:

 

 

 
The Man Who Wanted to Be the First Politician Who Didn’t Harm Anyone and Other Stories    
 
 
Fully Booked also put all their comics and graphic novels on sale, some for as much as 50%! I have only two suggestions: First, don’t put the locally created comic in the Filipiniana section please. I had friends from Austria looking for the much-acclaimed Filipino Heroes’ League by Paolo Fabregas but we couldn’t find them. Support Pinoy artists by putting locally-made comics in the comics section please!
 
 

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Second, I really like the toy collection on display at the basement of Fully Booked. I’m not sure but I think most of these belong to Jaime Daez.  And since all the comics have been moved to the 4th floor, the collection should as well…although this is probably going to be difficult due to space constraints.

 

 

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I hope I don’t die from sheer awesomeness while watching The Dark Knight Rises. I really do.

 

Although the free comics were a bit of a let down, the main draws of that day were the Filipino artists who were doing on-the-spot sketches and the opening of Comic Odyssey at Fully Booked BGC!

 

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I could spend all day here. In fact, I did. My parking ticket cost a whopping P85! Validation!

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, legendary comic book artist Tony  deZuniga passed away last May 11. The comics/komiks community is pulling together to help raise funds to help alleviate the family’s medical bills. Proceeds from the sketch commissions will go to the deZuniga family. 

 

 

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The author with Pugad Baby’s Pol Medina Jr and the late Tony deZuniga at the 2011 Summer Komikon

 

If you missed out and want to help, you can go to Tony deZuniga’s website and facebook page which is still active and maintained by his wife Tina. You can also get sketch commissions at the Summer Komikon at the Bayanihan Center next Saturday. Details at the end of the post. 

 

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Filipina indie komik creator Tepai Pascual

 

The artists also showcased their other works and self-published comics.

 

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Indie Komiks are self published by the creator. That’s why they’re called indie. For independent. How it became a music genre is a mystery to me.

 

Fully Booked is really the library of Manila, and their flagship store at Bonifacio High Street is really the cat’s pajamas, if you get my lingo. Aside from a great selection of books, magazines, music, toys, accessories, etc, they have a cinema, a Starbucks coffeeshop, a White Hat yoghurt bar, and now…their own in house comic shop!

 

I clambered up to the fourth floor to visit the newly-opened Comic Odyssey. Can you imagine a more perfect location for a comic shop? I sure can’t. 

 


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Comic Odyssey Fully Booked High Street Branch

 

If comic lovers looked extra happy to be there, it was due to the presence of Comic Odyssey’s Sandy Sansolis. A familiar face and one of the pioneers of the comics retail business in the country, he’s had a lot of struggles financially in keeping a business, in what was once a niche market, afloat. Now, thanks to the soaring popularity of comics thanks in part to Hollywood, I think that the future is looking bright for the comics business.

 

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Comic Odyssey proprietor Sandy Sansolis aka Bruce Lee’s long lost stunt double

 

So When In Manila, feed your mind and get your read on at Fully Booked bookstores! 
 
 This is a follow up to WhenInManila.com’s feature on Free Comic Book Day 2012 in Manila. You can read the other post here.
 
 
Comic Odyssey: https://www.comic-odyssey.com/Â