Event: AsiaPop Comic Con

APCC wasn't my first con ever, but it was my first international con that had guests with legitimate celebrity status. I first decided to go (and semi-swindled my sister and her boyfriend to come with me) because I found out Paul Bettany, who plays JARVIS/Vision in the Avengers franchise, would be going. I don't think I legitimately thought of getting an actual autograph or a photo op with him - I was really just thinking of the merchandise that would probably be there.

It was really just by chance that I found out last Monday that there would be a special screening for Captain America: Civil War footage and that there'd be a "special panel" for it. I flipped the fuck out. My best friend knows this because I was with her when I found out and I couldn't talk properly for maybe a few minutes (thanks, SBC for tolerating my minor meltdown).

Anyway, things that worked out well for us mostly had to do with lining up and enjoying exhibits. We got to the venue at around 7:30AM, and there were already around 20 people there. The gates open at 10AM, so we killed time in line by eating our packed sandwiches and judging other geeks' opinions on things. Eventually we got in, and at least the queue system was organized (somewhat) in the sense that they followed the order in which people came. Since we bought our tickets online, they were able to process our tickets faster and we were the 10th in line to get in. We got a freebie - a special toy thing. My sister got a Pinocchio with donkey ears, her boyfriend got Chip and Dale (two toys!), and I got a Stitch with a burger!

Around 11:00 we started eating lunch at the food stalls outside (it took us a while though, because the queue going into the venue was insanely long, and it scared us a little). Eventually, we were able to eat while lining up for the Marvel panel, which was basically the main attraction. We were the tenth in line, and there were some very confused security personnel, probably wondering why the hell people were lining up 2 hours before the actual event.

We made some friends in line, with whom we bonded over shared outrage, because there was this group of girls in line who let their friends cut. What the hell! Also, we later found out they were Steve/Bucky shippers, which is Strike 2 in my book. They weren't even the classy kind - they were the rabid, foaming-at-the-mouth type who chanted 'Stucky, stucky' for no reason. Ugh. The worst. It really shouldn't have surprised me that they were also Loki sympathizers - another one of my fandom pet peeves. Loki is a villain, people, open your eyes. Tom Hiddleston is adorable etc etc, but please. Stop.

Thankfully, once we got into the venue, they got the hint (thanks to my make-bitchy-eye-contact-until-they-shut-up strategy) and sat pretty far away from us. We sat in the very front row, and after maybe half an hour of waiting there, some Americans walked out and came back in with Paul freaking Bettany. He was really tall, he had a can of Coke (LOL), and he kind of sauntered to the front, and stood literally 2 feet in front of me. Suddenly, they grabbed a chair and dragged it toward the middle of the front row, so I was literally 2 seats + a body guard away from him. Oh my god, if I just leaned forward and looked to the left, he was right there. I was freaking out. (To be honest, I still am.)

I'm sure how much I can disclose about the Civil War footage we saw but I can confirm that it was similar to the SDCC one, with added footage. ALSO, thanks to our excessive shouting, they showed it twice. Everyone went out of their minds during the first round, but you could pretty much hear the pens scribbling during the second one.

After the "panel," we went out to get our devices back and went back into the main convention hall. In terms of the main convention, it was actually a little underwhelming for me. There were really few vendors and merchandise (strangely, only Comics Odyssey - or was it another store? - and National Bookstore came with actual comics), and I was pretty disappointed at the lack of t-shirts for sale!! This is the best crowd for that, but no luck.

The layout was also pretty disproportionate considering the people there. There were huge chunks of space where there were no people, but the space for the Artists' Alley felt really cramped, as well the area around Filbar's. They should have anticipated the heavy traffic around the heavy-hitting vendors.

Because there was really nothing there for me to go back to after the Civil War screening, we didn't go back for Day 3. Still, though, no regrets lining up half the time! We made friends, we saw the footage oh my GOD, and we did what we came to do! Eventually we went to Eastwood for dinner, where we spent more money than we did at the con. Haha.

So APCC as a whole ... not the best. But the Marvel panel really saved it for me. Hopefully if they still have it here in the future (I hear it's going to be held around Asia and not just in the Philippines), it'll have more vendors, have a better and more well thought-out layout, and less issues with celebrities cancelling their appearances. It probably didn't help that this year it was held at the same week as MIBF, which appeals to the same crowd. Also, to the gods that be, please get Hayley Atwell.

Still. Civil War. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.