Pre-STGCC 2012: Mark Brooks Meets Fans at Invasion

Well-known Marvel comic book artist arrives on Red Dot Island. Decides to do a pre-STGCC meet-the-fans/ signing session at local comic store.

Will Red Dot Diva be there?

Is that even a valid question?!!!

The cozy signing session held on Thursday 30th August evening at Invasion Toys & Collectible's store, was one of the BEST-est-*est* ways to ease into an all-geek showdown at STGCC.

When Red Dot Diva arrived at the shop, she said hi to owner David and noticed there were about 8 guys waiting in line for their turn with guest, Mark Brooks. Mark was already comfortably settled in his seat next to his wife Lisa, chatting with fans.

STGCC 2012: Leave Your Guilt Behind - Snatch Those Exclusives!

The frenzy at pop-culture and comic conventions is not just about the shared passion in geekdom. It is also the uncontainable google-eyed glee at being able to shop for all those limited edition items and exclusives!

And STGCC is not short of these. At all!

To help you bust your wallet, Red Dot Diva lists some of those awesome exclusives available this weekend at STGCC.

She knows you know you want them! *g*


HOT TOYS
Serious toy collectors and those looking for a quick buck know that these are *the* hot items to grab for.

At last year's STGCC, people lined up overnight just to be able to rush straight to the Hot Toys booth when doors open, and then lined up there again for these coveted figurines.

STGCC 2012: Pre-Convention Geekout Begins Thursday!

Just barely three days away, and there will be the biggest East-West pop-culture geek fest of the year in Red Dot Island!

The Singapore Toy, Games and Comic Convention (STGCC) will kick-off this year at Hall B & C, Level 1, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands this weekend. Online sales have closed but you still can get tickets onsite from 8am to 7.30pm.

As the fans, gamers, cosplayers, collectors and all-round geeks get ready for the convention, some of the guests from far away lands are making their way or are already here on our island - where it's hot, humid and ...quite rainy, of late.

While this blog is being typed, writer Andy Diggle is on his way here from the UK via Doha, flying in swanky business class.

He's Baaaaaaaackkkkkkkkkkk ---- Furby that is!

Is this one more shuffle toward an impending Roboapocalypse??

Many years ago, a creepy interactive toy called Furby took the world by storm. It was a Mogwai-looking creature-thing that could blink its eyes and chatter incessantly, and it either charmed or infuriated households everywhere.

If you are one of those who misses teaching robotic toys tricks, Red Dot Diva says to take heart. Thanks to Hasbro, the new rebooted and refurbished Furby will be coming back to create some mischief and stalk your hallways!

SDCC 2012 Recap: "Spartacus" Gives Fans An Energetic Farewell

Oh, it is with such sweet parting sorrow to be able to sit through Starz's "Spartacus" panel at this year's Comic-Con. *sniff*

Red Dot Diva was almost unable to make it to the panel because she was busy covering another event at an exhibitor's booth. However, she managed to say farewells quickly and gracefully, just in time to make a Olympics-worthy sprint from the basement to Room 6BCF, with barely 4 minutes to spare!

Was she even able to get into the room at all? It was the last "Spartacus" panel for the fans and the series is admired by so many. When she arrived at the venue, there wasn't a line at all, and the volunteers were not stopping anyone from entering yet. Phew!

But inside, the room was nearly filled with spots of empty seats here and there. Red Dot Diva knew she would not be able to sit up front but she managed to snag a seat in the middle of the room, where she had a good wide-angle view of both the projection screen and the guests on stage.

It was a warm, lively and memorable panel with lots of laughter. The cast members were absolutely having fun being there, teasing the fans in general, and having a go at it with each other.

Red Dot Diva's good friend Chelle was in the "Falling Skies" panel earlier, and was lucky enough to score a seat at 6th row centre of the room, enjoying a darn good droolicious view of all those hunky biceps. So, Red Dot Diva will leave it to Chelle to give a recount of that wonderful hour.

STGCC 2012: Spotlight On Newcomers - Firestarter & Bleufish

What makes a pop-culture convention energetic and vibrant lies mostly in the people who participate in the event. This includes the organizers, creative guests, fans, promoters and of course, the booth exhibitors!

Many of the larger booth exhibitors are well-known retail store or industry names, but quite a few, especially in Red Dot Diva's favourite area Artist Alley, are manned by indie but equally talented folks. Many may not be household names right now, but who knows? With time, some of them may take their creative work to higher places!

One of the new booth exhibitors at this year's STGCC is the artistic team of Firestarter & Bleufish. Such a fantastical and intriguing name!

Red Dot Diva managed to get hold of one-half of the duo Firestarter, for an introductory piece before the convention kicks off on 1-2 September. She thinks that those who love monsters and colourful whimsical artwork would find their booth interesting!

Firestarter is the moniker behind 25-year-old Sarah Isabel Tan, who is currently a concept designer/ illustrator in a local game company. Sarah confesses that she loves animation, video games, movies, travelling and wheeeeeeee! theme parks!

Here's Sarah telling us more about herself and all poised to bring her fiery artistic passion into the world at large:

SDCC 2012 Recap: Hints & Teasers at the "Falling Skies" Panel

Anyone involved in Star Trek should not be a stranger to alien invasions. So it was no surprise that "Star Trek: TNG's" actor, lifelong geek and fan-favourite Wil Wheaton was the moderator for the TNT scifi drama "Falling Skies" panel at the recent Comic-Con

Red Dot Diva was busy networking at the Heavy Metal booth with the folks involved with animation movie "War of the Worlds: Goliath" on Day 2 July 13 Friday afternoon, and did not attend the panel. But her good friend Chelle was there!

From what she heard, the cast and producers of the series were pretty generous with their teasers concerning the remaining episodes of Season 2 (which will be ending this weekend) and the upcoming Season 3 to air in 2013.

Here's Chelle with her recap of the SDCC 2012 "Falling Skies" panel (note: there are some spoilers ahead!):

STGCC 2012: Gear Up For "The Battlemonks" by Kelvin Chan

It has been about a year since Red Dot Diva got to know artist Kelvin Chan. And since then, he is still keeping a very busy schedule maintaining a full-time job at a local newspaper, fulfilling family commitments, occasionally running a toy trading stall at China Square, and yet, able to practise his art by constantly drawing a whole range of pop-culture subjects.

(For an introduction on Kelvin Chan, check out this Red Dot Diva interview in 2011!)

So, it is even MORE amazing when Red Dot Diva saw the hard work Kelvin has been investing, with whatever available time he had left, in his creator-own material called "The Battlemonks".

Kelvin has already shared the first few pages of "The Battlemonks" on his own blog, and what had started out as a webcomic might see itself in print at this coming STGCC!

To get an early scoop about "The Battlemonks" and what Kelvin has planned for STGCC 2012, Red Dot Diva ate up even more his precious time for a pre-convention interview:

Get Your Wigs On For International Cosplay Day Singapore 2012

Do the names like Yaya Han, Jerry Polente and Jay Tablante mean anything to you?

If you are squeeing (or going into excited convulsions) at the thought of the three names, then Red Dot Diva supposes she would most probably see you at the inaugural International Cosplay Day Singapore (ICDS) held on 26 August 2012 at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

ICDS is a fan-based cosplay and pop-culture convention organized by The Neo Tokyo Project team and community. The Neo Tokyo Project folks are very active in cosplay locally, and Red Dot Diva got to know of them only in recent times. Thanks to the team, she has gained some insight to that intriguing world of cosplay through a stream of tidbits on her social network feed.

With the aim to celebrate the diversity of cosplay and pop-culture, ICDS also coincides with International Cosplay Day celebrations around the globe.

SDCC 2012 Recap: Diva Got The "Coma" Experience

There is one other thing Red Dot Diva is a sucker for -- a macabre thriller story.

And Michael Crichton.

OK. So those are actually two things. But combined, you'd get the 1978 medical horror film called "Coma", based on Robin Cook's best-selling novel.

Over 30 years later, cable channel A&E revives the creepy story about a young doctor who decides to investigate why healthy patients were suddenly found to be in a coma state. The 4-part mini series produced by Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, will premiere as a two-night event on USA's Labor Day.

To promote the epic mini-series, A&E set up a bloody good preview during the recent Comic-Con with something called The "Coma" Experience.

SDCC 2013 Pre-Registration: Did Passes Sell Out Again?

Making changes to the registration process is what Comic-Con's organizers tend to do in recent times.

After the insane long lines for registration in 2011 for 2012's passes, they have decided to do away with on-site pre-registration entirely.

Instead, people who had paying tickets for 2012's Comic Con, received an email informing them that online pre-registration would be held today, 4th August at 8 am PST, via their EPIC member login.

Many of Red Dot Diva's friends were poised nervously online, all ready to hit their fingers on the keyboard to join the almost Olympic sport of SDCC-registration.

STGCC 2012: Asian Comic Artists Get The Spotlight!

It is about time that talented local and regional comic artists given their chance to shine.

Did anyone notice that with each bout of STGCC guest announcement, there has been an indication that the spotlight will be on Asian artists this year? There also seems to be a stronger, more united support from the Asian artists involved with this year's event, and Red Dot Diva thinks it is wonderful to see this happening.

Sure, well-known creators from USA and UK, like Marvel artist Mark Brooks, creator of the Tokidoki brand Simone Legno, toy designer/ street artist Tristan Eaton, UK-based comic artist Andie Tong and the recently announced addition, prominent writer Andy Diggle, will all be attending STGCC 2012. But it is even more exciting to see the number of Asian artists getting ready to flock to Red Dot Island on the weekend of 1-2 September, armed with printed sketchbooks, an enviable resume and a ready fanbase.

SDCC 2012 Recap: Game of Thrones Panel - Of Sex Scenes, Direwolves and Turtles

After a rousing second season of "Game of Thrones", cable channel HBO has upped the ante even further with regards to fantasy-based TV productions.

That epic heart-stopping scene from the Battle of Blackwater has to be one of TV history's finest.

The series has an astounding number of characters belonging to different houses and set in varied lands. But these factors did not deter "Game of Thrones"' ever-growing fandom as they find themselves increasingly hooked when the story unravels after each episode.

Giving the show a nod to its success and huge popularity, the "Game of Thrones" panel was held in the cavernous Hall H on Day 2 of Comic-Con this year. Hall H has been holding mainly movie-related panels in recent years.

And to pay homage to their favourite TV series, hundreds of fans camped outside Hall H for the panel overnight since midnight. (Note: The panel was scheduled almost 15 hours later at 2.45pm!) Thanks to a few good friends, Red Dot Diva and her roomie @eserei27 managed to get seats right up front with a very good view of the stage.

She later learned from a friend who was volunteering and managing the Hall H lines that day, that many fans were angry when they learnt that no more fans were allowed inside the venue for either "The Walking Dead" or the "Game of Thrones" panels.

Hey... the No. 1 lesson to be learned here, people - "One does not just walk into Hall H."