As a casual geek, I’ve never gone to the AsiaPOP Comicon. Sure, I read about it after, but I wasn’t that invested in comic books and cosplay to go. But this year, I had the burning desire to attend after I found out that the organizers were flying in Nicholas Hoult, Joe Dempsie, and Millie Bobby Brown. I followed Hoult and Dempsie in the first and second season of Skins, and I was a fan of Hoult in both A Single Man and the X-Men films. But what I was really excited for was to see Brown, who stars in the hit show Stranger Things.
Having had no previous experience with AsiaPOP, I did not know what to expect. And boy did I get a surprise.
The first thing I noticed when I entered the SMX Convention Center in Manila is the number of people in cosplay. And not just regular cosplay. The people wore elaborate and sophisticated costumes that wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi or action movie. One of the more popular characters was The Joker. While they all channeled Heath Ledger’s interpretation, I saw fans wearing the villain’s iconic purple suit and the nurse’s outfit he wore when he blew up the hospital in The Dark Knight. I also saw different kinds of Eleven from Stranger Things: men, women, children, fat, tall, thin, and short. Some walked around with Eggo boxes while others had flesh-colored hairnets to make them look bald. It was so fun seeing so many Elevens in one event!
And of course, people in Star Wars cosplay care of Fightsaber Philippines!
Check out what else I saw at the AsiaPOP Comicon 2016 on the next page!
