| 10.28.2018 – Halloween Comic Fest in the Philippines just happened yesterday and it was quite a routine for someone who used to worry getting into this event in one area around four comic shops.
But here’s the thing about Metro Manila is one big city composed of other cities and too many grounds to cover. Saturday was something unusual for someone who used to live outside the city and in the suburbs that takes you a forty-minute bus ride to town. But the advantage now is the distance no needed to take the bus and you only need is to walk your way to the nearest mall about almost 2 km since it was a busy weekend. |
The footwork is the only exercise in the morning and it was a full-on Saturday as mapped out the day what plans to accomplish is easy-peasy if you speak Aussie language from the get-go.
Anyways, Fully Booked is celebrating Halloween ComicFest one of the few shops that do this annually since both this bookstore and Comic Odyssey organized their individual event in 2012. But after Comic Odyssey opened a store inside the Fully Booked’s flagship store they’ve been doing one event together.
There are other shops that do this too like Filbar’s but they don’t highly promote it, unlike the first time they did it a few years back. But back in Adelaide, all comic shops with the exception of the now-defunct Pulp Fiction Comics that closed its doors late in September 2018 have been celebrating Halloween ComicFest.
Now back in Manila, the biggest book shop to occasionally celebrate Halloween ComicFest is Fully Booked as they hand ONE FREE COMICS with no purchase necessary in all its Metro Manila branches with the exception of the flagship store giving out TWO COMICS per customers.
It was a busy Saturday and here are the stores I went to yesterday as you see below:
Fully Booked Greenbelt Located at the basement of Greenbelt 5
Fully Booked Glorietta Located just at the Entrance of Glorietta 1
Fully Booked at Bonifacio High Street, the Flagship Store
The highlight of this so-called ‘routine’ this year is to see how they give away comics as you all know from last year in Adelaide in South Australia they don’t ‘hand out’ the comics you have to just pick-up THREE COMICS per customer as THEY TRUST YOU to follow simple guidelines and know your place in how you follow it.
But then again, this is the Philippines and there’s no such thing as ‘Honor System’ giving respect and owning accountability especially living in a densely populated area, where the majority of Filipinos misbehave themselves as they see fit as they think that is ‘freedom of expression’ when its already being entitled to do what they see is right which is obviously primitive of their thinking.
These establishments put a strict guideline on how they do this type of promos to avoid abuse as Fully Booked hands out what they have and they put a stamp on your wrist or sign up to make sure you don’t overdo it.
The experience in going to Halloween ComicFest in Adelaide was quite different for me knowing my place and accountability how I should carry myself and that is what I’m applying it now back here.
I was fortunate enough to appreciate and acknowledge Greenlight Comics last year especially Ross who was the one on-hand and keeping an eye on the free comics shelves. He actually told me right there that I should get all the titles, which I felt not compelled to do so until the last minute to give others the chance to pick up the titles they want for the reason I did not complete the set for 2017 Halloween ComicFest titles.
Because personally at that time I had a small living space and I wasn’t too keen to complete the set even though I wanted to. I was just appreciating the simple things like seeing all kinds of people read comics unlike back in the Philippines only the young adults and comic book collectors appreciate it.
The day started personally for me going to Greenbelt, where a long line has gradually entered the store. Since having limited access to only pick one comicbook I just get whatever it is available then proceeded to the next Fully Booked store in Glorietta. Planet X Comics and Filbar’s in this area did not show any participation for this year. Besides that, I got to the stores quite late in the middle of the morning, where two years before I’d probably head to the flagship store.
Once I got through a few short ‘toy runs’ checking Toys R’ Us and Toy Kingdom I headed to Bonifacio Global City taking the BGC Bus, which is the only way you can get there aside from the jeepney as another alternative.
It takes you 30 to 40 minutes to get to BGC due to ot the heavy traffic that has become a norm along McKinley, which is the only route the public transports take and it hasn’t improved since I left that is getting worse every day. Bonifacio High Street the outdoor mall similar to Rundle Mall in Adelaide is the busiest now than compared to ten years ago or earlier when this place was being developed.
I kinda miss Rundle Mall as that place has better terrain than Boni High Street. There are so many things happening in this mall aside from the Halloween ComicFest. Speaking of this event the local community of Spider-Man fans had conduct a special activity as moderated by Jiggy Cruz and you can follow him on YouTube for his special vlogs about Marvel and anything of his current interest.
Capping off the day at BGC was not I’d expect to spend the whole day ending up buying overpriced postcards at the basement of Fully Booked was not also the thing you’d react to as these things are also sold at National Bookstore for a lower cost. Although it was a bit annoying that both e bookshops get the same postcards from one source and yet Fully Booked sells them for twice the regular price at NBS.
It reminds me how a LEGO set was sold at BigW is a bit different from pricing when you end up at Target. But it is hilarious to see that while the day ended with the sunset with this view of BGC on A Saturday I guess this is going to be the norm in my perspective for now.
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