May 22 is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY at Fully Booked!

For those who missed Free Comic Book Day last May 1st, here's your second chance. It's Free Comic Book Day once again as Fully Booked celebrates the event on May 22, 2010! All Fully Booked branches will be participating so head on over to the nearest branch to get your free comics! Aside from the free comics, they're giving a 20% discount on graphic novels!

Comic give-aways begin at 10 A.M., on a first-come, first-served basis.

Thanks to Kate and Dante for the heads-up!

Photo from wardonthenet.com.

My FCBD 2010 Side Trip

Initially, I intended to cover every comic book store that participated May 1st's Free Comic Book Day. But my plans changed so I limited myself to Comic Odyssey in Ortigas. Hello, Iron Man 2!

My friend and I went to Makati after the FCBD at Comic Odyssey, so we took a side trip to Planet X in Glorietta to see how their celebration was. We got there around 6 PM, at which time there were no longer free comics and no line of comic book fans waiting to get in the store. There were just a few people looking through the back issue bins, which were on sale at PHP 50.00 each. I wasted no time in going through them myself and picked up these 5 issues of Black Widow: Black Widow Deadly Origin 2 & 4, and Black Widow The Things They Say About Her 2, 3, and 6.

After chit-chatting for a bit with the store peeps as I paid for my purchases, my friend and I went on our way. Mcdonalds beckoned.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY At Comic Odyssey Report

Free Comic Book Day at Comic Odyssey was a success! I arrived at around 10 A.M, just as Robinson's Galleria opened, and when I got upstairs there was already a line that reached Saizen.

I was hoping to get first in line to get the free comics, but surprise-surprise, every other comic fan had the same idea.

Comic Odyssey gave out three free comics for each person, as well as other free stuff like book marks and lollipops as well as, I believe, a goody bag of comics for a certain number of people. There was a raffle draw held every thirty minutes since they started where they gave out fantastic prizes.

The store was packed inside. Comic book fans took advantage of the PHP 50.00 back issue sale, myself included, so it was a very tight squeeze.

Also at the FCBD were Pinoy comic book artists Leinil Francis Yu and Gerry Alanguilan, who signed copies of their new collaboration Ultimate Avengers 2 #1. Ed Tadeo was also there as well as a surprise appearance from Jay Anacleto, who I had been hoping to meet so I could have my Aria comics signed. Too bad I missed him.

So what free comics did I get? I got the Iron Man and Thor comic book; Artifacts from Image Top Cow and Dark Horse's Doctor Solar and Magnus.

From the Php 50.00 back issues bin I got X-men First Class 8, X-men 36 & 37 (chromium covers) and issue 39; I also picked up Uncanny X-men isuues 283, 284 and 286, as well as House of M 3; and Jim Lee's Divine Right 7 as well as Iron and the Maiden 0 and 4.

I also got this:

Just like last year, I had such a great time at this Comic Odyssey's FCBD. What made it more enjoyable was meeting fellow collectors from Comic Kolektor Phillipines, who were there not only to get free comics and buy back issues, but to reach out and promote the forums to others.

Thanks to Sandy and the Comic Odyssey crew for such a wonderful event. Till next year's Free Comic Book Day at Comic Odyssey!

More photos here.

My UP SUMMER KOMIKON 2010 Loot

Now that I've shared my experience at this year's UP Summer Komikon, Let me now share with you my loot! Let me start with the local comics. I got myself Gerry Alanguilan's Elmer #3; Jay David's Kubori Kikiam Komikon exclusive, where it was Kikiams against Man vs. Wild host Bear Grylls; and Taga-ilog's Pasig. All signed by their respective artists, of course!

From the indie Tiangge I got Lucia, whose cover art I just love; and Juan Masipag/Juan Tamad.I was hoping to get Aswang Files #2, but I wasn't able to because the seller was late. Maybe at the next con. I also picked up an issue of Mangaholix.

The bulk of my purchase was US comics, the majority of which came from Comic Odyssey's booth. These were all from the PHP 20.00 boxes that everyone raced to get their hands inside. I got Superman/WonderWoman "Whom Gods Destroy" Book One; X-men Phoenix Endsong 1& 2; Crimson Dawn 2&4; Fathom Vol 2 1-4; Mighty Avengers 22, House of M 1,4&5; Supergirl 20 (an Amazon's Attack tie-in), Amazon's Attack 3&5; Xtreme X-men In the Savagelands 2; Spin Angels 4; Soul Fire "Dying Of The Light" 0 & 1; Tomb of Dracula 1; Aria 3; Black Widow Deadly Origin1; New X-men Academy 4, 7,8; X-men 36 & 37 (regular cover),and Iron and the Maiden 1.

 What's so great is that for every 5 comics I bought, I got another one for free! From another booth, I got WonderWoman 223- because I thought it was a tie-in with Amazon's Attack. Turns out it wasn't; and X-men First Class 6. Bothe were PHP 50.00 each.

Some of these titles are already on my list like House of M, Tomb of Dracula and Aria to name a few; some are new titles I picked up like Black Widow Deadly Origin and the Superman/WonderWoman book. Getting these issues brought me closer to completing some titles, making my list shorter, yet at the same time longer because of the new titles I picked up. I guess it never ends.

UP Komikon 2010 "Summer de Avance" Report- Or What I Did At UP Summer Komikon 2010

I hardly slept the night before the UP Summer Komikon. I think I only slept for about 3 hours prior to waking up at 7 am. Yes I was that excited!

After having breakfast and finishing my chores, as fast I possibly could, I left the house. Now I live fairly close to UP, close enough that if I were to drive it would only take me about 10 minutes to get there. But alas, I only know how to drive a mini race cart and a bump car.

So I commuted instead. I left the house around 9:40 am and arrived shortly after the doors of the UP Bahay ng Alumni opened. I made my way in after paying for my ticket and the first thing I see is heaven-- Comic Odyssey's booth! I actually had to muscle my way in because there was quite a crowd gathered in front of the PHP 20.00 comic book boxes.

I had a blast going through Comic Odyssey's boxes. For one, everything was PHP 20.00-- and if you get 5, you get one free! I found myself some great titles, some are in my list while some are not, that are still in great condition. It really does pay to be early! Kudos to Sandy and the Comic Odyssey team for bringing such a good selection this year. And thank you for the extra!;)

Comic Odyssey also sold manga for PHP 200.00 each, and if you buy 3, you only pay PHP 500.00. across from their booth was a booth that sold Pocky and anime. Too bad I don't have a decent photo of the Pocky booth to share.

After that, I ventured deeper into the venue, which wasn't as hot as expected thanks to lots of blowers and an overcast sky, and found another booth that sold US comics. Their boxes had prices that ranged from PHP 20 to PHP 100, plus a specified amount for sets. I decided to go around more before buying anything else to see what else I can find. There were far more local comics this year than last.

Bayan Knights was there, Gerry Alanguilan, Ed Tadeo, the guys from Point Zero( Pasig, Kubori Kikiam); and a whole lot more of local publishers and artists. They signed copies of their comics and even gave out some as special prizes for the raffles and games that Syeri hosted. The games ranged from bring mes and, riding on the election fever-- debates on who is a better comic book character. The Who-is-Better-Superman-or-Batman fan debate was such a hit with the crowd!

There was also a comic creation contest that went on in the afternoon. There's a full list of winners here.

The selection of indie comics this year was also good. I've noticed quite a lot of good books that have fantastic art work and story lines. I missed out out on an indie comic I was looking forward to getting-- issue 2 of Aswang Files. The seller was late! Up until the time before I left the con, he still wasn't there, despite assurances from his friends manning the booth that he was on his way. I hope to see YOU at the next con ha. I want my copy of Aswang Files 2!

After a break and a few more rounds of going around the venue, I picked my stuff up at Comic Odyssey's booth and went home. I couldn't wait to read all the cool stuff I got! I picked up some great titles with some even signed by the artists themselves. I'll be sharing these in another post.

Kudos to the Komikon Committee for another great event. You guys are awesome! Can't wait for the next one!