ToyCon 2018: My Toy Exhibit and the Neal Adams experience

So ToyCon 2018 finally ended and it's time to rest up our wallet and take account on the damage it has done to our collection budget. ToyCon 2018 was perhaps a better year for me compared to last year's edition because not only have I taken a more active part in contributing to its toy collection show case but I also got to meet a comic book legend, Neal Adams himself. More details about the epic meet and greet will be detailed below. ToyCon 2018's guest celebrities however were a bit underwhelming for myself. Of course for me, nothing beats ToyCon 2016 because the organizers brought in DEAN CAIN, and being a huge Superman fan, well... you connect the dots. The 2016 edition also enticed me well enough that I had to spend for a Legendary pass which costs at a stunning P10,000 ($200) with all the freebies that came with the ticket. It is also sad that perhaps their biggest celebrity for ToyCon 2018, David Jason Frank (Tommy the Green Ranger of Power Rangers Fame) was a no show for the event. I actually considered getting a VIP ticket behind the strength of Frank's appearance, but the freebies were not of my taste. Other celebrities like Kelly Hu (Lady Deathstrike from the movie X-men 2) and Dante Basco (RUFIO! from the movie Hook) were not strong considerations enough for me to get a VIP pass. I guess ToyCon can only get my money if they get a Superman related celebrity to come to their future events. Well that's just me and I really would love to see Teri Hatcher, Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, or even the Superboys Gerard Christopher or John Haymes Newton in the future events to come. But I'm sure a lot of other people got a hell of a time by meeting their celebrity idols that ToyCon 2018 brought this year. And you could clearly see that judging by the look on the faces lining up on the main stage hall.

THE TOY EXHIBIT

DC Universe PH Toy Display with Roderick's Deadshot collection

ToyCon 2018 marked the first time I showcased some of my collections in their Toy Display hall. I always have been reluctant to volunteer on toy exhibits because of all the hassle of transporting your stuffs and going through the ingress and egress during the beginning and the end of the event. Also considering that I live far away from the event venue. But the people behind DC Universe PH (the FACEBOOK group where I proudly belong to and which I would like to invite you guys to join) were great inspirations in convincing myself that sometimes you just have to be selfless and sacrifice a little bit for the betterment of the Philippine Toy Community. Shout out to Eric Cruz, Frederick Tinio, Tenten Chua, Nelson Wu, and Jeffrey Velasquez for the excellent effort in revamping and breathing fresh life to our DC Facebook group. It is not easy to maintain and manage a group especially if all of us are juggling our time between family, work, and other important stuffs in our lives. And Eric and Fred are veterans of this hobby, you'd be impressed at their dedication and love for the hobby. Now, for this year's ToyCon edition, we decided to come up with a theme where we would celebrate the fandom of the DC Universe by presenting the various media platforms highlighting the best of what these platforms had to offer. Of course by utilizing action figures as the display base, we presented the greatest of what the DC Universe had to offer from comic books, animated series, and live action TV and Movie series.

Nelson Wu presented the greatest universe altering event in the history of comic books by re-enacting the CRISIS of INFINITE EARTHS with the Mattel DC Universe Classics toyline as the base action figures. Mattel's DCUC Classics is one of the most successful toylines that DC has to offer. The wide range of DC Characters that appeared in this action figure series is quite overwhelming that one could even nearly build an entire DC Universe by collecting this toyline alone. This represents the DC Comic book print media platform.    

I on the other hand dusted off my 5 inch DC action figures ranging from Kenner's Classic Super Powers (with an assist from Fredrick as I don't own a Batman and Robin, Martian Manhunter, and the rare Cyborg action figures) and Total Justice Toyline, to Mattel's recent efforts on Justice League Unlimited, The Batman, and Batman Brave and the Bold. This highlights DC's rich animated history in the small screen. I mean whoever never came across the classic legendary Superfriends cartoon series? Even your sisters and cousins who were more into Rainbow Brite and Little Ponies surely knew about this cartoon series. The Total Justice toyline on the other hand is an extension of the comic book representation as this was the 90's age where our DC Superheroes were more grittier to keep in the times of the 90's gritty comic book stories. For more of the evolution of these toylines you could visit my post here.

Lastly, Jeffrey Velasquez brought in the DC Live Action and Videogame representation of the DC Universe multimedia platform. By using the more modern action figure sculpts done by toy companies NECA and DC Collectibles, Jeff showcased in his display the Iconic Christopher Reeve Superman and Michael Keaton Batman. Two of the most successful live action comic book movies ever that paved the way for future comic book movies. These two were the benchmark for Marvel to not give up on the comic book movie genre. Because without both of them, we would never have experienced the Marvel Cinematic Universe (wink wink). The Arrowverse meanwhile represented the small screen media. The Arrowverse is made up of four T.V. series, namely, Supergirl, The Flash, DC Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow. This universe is called Arrowverse because it is Arrow's success (the title of the Green Arrow T.V. seeries) which paved the way for future DC superhero TV series to be developed. Marvel even joined the act by coming up with their own Superhero T.V. series. Lastly, DC's Batman: Arkham video game series were also included as it represents the video game media platform for this display. The Batman Arkham series spawned multiple sequels to the point that it even exists in its own universe. Video game junkies I guess just couldn't get enough of the game.    

The people behind DC Universe Philippines.

The people behind the DC Facebook Groups who represented the DC Toy Displays 

Of course, the success of the DC Toy Displays wouldn't have been achieved if DC Universe Philippines did it by their lonesome. We were joined in by various DC Facebook Groups who represented specific fandom from the huge DC Universe library. There's The Reign of the Supermen (which I'm also a proud member) headed by Vince Olano and Issa Rollorata, Wonder Woman PH by Tenten Chua and company, Pinoy Batman Kolektors by Ian Cruz and company, DC Toy Collectors by Dennis Lim and company, and Roderick Miravalles who is a huge Deadshot fan. There are some other groups I couldn't remember but give me a shoutout and introduce yourselves. The people behind these groups are amazing people, and I could feel the camaraderie during Ingress, Egress, and my whole time there as we helped each other out regardless of affiliations and other what not. I think it is very important in this hobby that we should not lost track on the ideals of our superheroes and focus on them rather than on ourselves.    

THE NEAL ADAMS EXPERIENCE

With Neal Adams

So who is Neal Adams? Casual comic book fans may not know him as he is not that big as a media star as Stan Lee but that does not diminish his Legend one bit. Neal Adams is the guy responsible for bringing the DEFINITIVE DC Comics imagery of DC Characters Batman and Green Arrow. But his Legend is more attributed to his championing of the comic book creator rights, bearing fruit the legal battle won by the heirs of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster against DC Comics. He is one of the leading reasons why every time we read or watch our favorite comic book heroes, the creator's name is always emblazoned during the credits scene. While he is also more identified with Batman and Green Arrow, he had his share of works handling the other DC Supehero characters, most notably Superman. He was the artist behind the intergalactic clash between Superman and Muhammad Ali. His Superman covers and interior art back in the bronze age were one of the best, arguably surpassing those of Gil Kane and Curt Swan. His recent Superman mini series The Coming of the Supermen also looked quite good when compared to the modern contemporary artists. So with that, there is no other comic book I wanted autographed but a Superman comic book. Neal actually insisted to the organizers that every Toy Con goer should be allowed to get one free autographs for him. How cool is that?  

Relating his tale about Superman's iconic Red Trunks

Neal was also selling art prints for him to autograph for interested con goers. I really wanted to get the iconic Kryptonite Nevermore cover art print but to my surprise it sold out. Every one of his Superman art print sold out! I also had a nice chitchat with him as I told him how I was a fan of his work during his time with Continuity Comics. He told me that I should watch out for its return later this year. My comrades at The Reign of the Supermen, Vince, Issa, and I also engaged Mr. Adams in a discussion about our Superman fandom and we were surprised that he related to us his personal thoughts about Superman's missing red trunks and its return. He told us that he was against DC's removing of Superman's red trunks at first. But he eventually grew on it. But to his horror, in a recent San Diego Comic Con event, two Superman cosplayers approached him while he was seated on his table wearing the trunkless Superman costume and to his ghastly surprise, his eyes were fixed across those dudes "junk". It happened the whole day with Superman cosplayers approaching him for signatures, which led him to pray that DC better return those red trunks back on because he never wanted to see a man's junk ever again during comic book conventions. This tale was hilarious and it cracked me and the group with fits of laughter. On a serious note, Mr. Adams also intimated to us that when reading his books, we should take note on certain details because all of his books are interconnected. And if we come across these and remember them, we'd get a better clear look at the big picture. A legend like Neal Adams was surprisingly down to earth. I guess we are lucky that he visited us here in the Philippines.  

The Reign of the Supermen Admin with Neal Adams 

HAULS!

I didn't expect that I would spend a good amount of money this Toy Con but there were some items that were too good to pass up. And here are those items.

Neal Adams signed Comic Book

Various Superman comic books

My Post-Crisis Superman comic book collection project is now down to 12 issues. And the hunt has started getting harder and harder each day. This collecting project begins from the John Byrne Man of Steel mini-series down to The Reign of Doomsday, the last book published before the New 52 reboot. There was actually a funny story at a the con when I approached a seller selling Superman comics. A longtime seller/friend told me that they were just talking about me that I was the one who bought all of her Superman comics and that I'm a huge Superman collector. I was surprised by their story. Give me a good laugh as some of the people there got intrigued.

DC Super Powers Steppenwolf

This completes my Kenner Super Powers Apokolips big three, Darkseid, Kalibak, and Steppenwolf.

Witchblade action figures

I've started an Image Comics comic book and action figure project and I finally got a Witchblade action figure at a very affordable price.

DC Origins Versus System

Cryptozoic DC Confrontations Deck Building Game 

I also started stocking up on Superhero Board games and Card Games. And my priority was finding a good DC Universe table top game. I want to start bonding with my kids through these table top games. Too much gadget is no longer healthy. We'll need more family bonding time in a competitive and fun atmosphere. Both of these card games were being sold at a very good price. Had to snatch them up before I regret not getting them.

Hanging proudly on my Action Figure Display Cabinet at home

So that's it for Toy Con 2018! Let's see what's in store for next year. Til' then!