STGCC 2016: What Exclusives Will Mighty Jaxx Showcase At the Convention?

Mighty Jaxx, the local indie studio producing unique toy collectibles, is getting pumped up to drop a list of exclusives at the upcoming STGCC. 

The outfit is also hosting two toy designers and guests of STGCC at their booth - Jason Freeny and Huck Gee. Both artists have been featured as STGCC guests before, and it will definitely be great to see them back here to meet their fans!

Here's Ed from Toys-etc providing the deets on what kind of goodies Mighty Jaxx will be offering at the convention!

--------------------------------

STGCC 2016: Mighty offerings from Mighty Jaxx

Mighty Jaxx is having a morbid STGCC party with all things skullish and dead. It's time to plan and prioritise your buy list because 2016 is the bumper crop year. Seriously, I have never seen a better drool-worthy selection. It's certainly putting Singapore on the map and hopefully it can catch up to Taipei Toy Festival.

STGCC 2016: Artist & Creator Emma Rios Reveals Her Own Memorable Fan Encounters

Every year without fail, STGCC organizer Reed Exhibitions would send out a survey to attendees and guests asking them for their views about different aspects of the year's show. And in every single survey form, Red Dot Diva would request that Reed should invite more female creators as guests.

Red Dot Diva's wish has finally come true as there will be at least four women comic book creators on the guest list in the upcoming STGCC 2016. (Yes, there have been female guests before, but for several years, the male comic book guests far out number the women ones!)

Spanish graphic book artist and creator Emma Rios will be heading to Red Dot Island together with other stellar female artists - Brooke Allen, Stephanie Hans and Hwei Lim. Each of these artists have made their mark in the comic book sphere with their enriching and noteworthy creations.

In Emma Rios' case, she has built a solid fan base through the years drawing for comic, ranging from Boom! Studio's "Hexed" series to Marvel's "Dr Strange" with writer Mark Waid. She then worked with high profile writer Kelly Sue Deconnick on "Osborn" and the collaboration continued again with twisted Western-horror folklore "Pretty Deadly", published by Image Comics. Her fluid and wildly imaginative art style lends a kind of unearthly quality to the images, making them seem as if they are about to pop up from a fuzzy dreamscape or bloody nightmare.

Beyond just providing artwork for books, Emma Rios has also written original stories and designing new worlds, for example in the dystopian tale called "I.D". She has also been working closely with best friend Hwei Lin for fantasy series "Mirror", which was also published by Image Comics. The two ladies will join forces as guests of STGCC 2016, and will be launching the convention-exclusive "Mirror: The Mountain" book during the show.

In the short Q&A below, Red Dot Diva got to know a bit more about Emma Rios and her creative preferences.

STGCC 2016: Something Fishy Is Going On with Mame Moyashi

There's nothing that most Red Dot Islanders like more than scrumptious seafood. Hence, there's no stoppin' art lovers and collectors in getting their hands on the fishy and crabby concoctions created by Japanese toy designer Mame Moyashi.

Mame Moyashi is a designer toy chowder consisting of the twisted brain sauces of three artists - Producer Clinton Kenny, Designer Chino Lam and Sculptor Seanjob. The trio will be exhibiting for the first time at STGCC 2016, and Red Dot Diva's Glam Bloggers Alliance geek bro, Ed from Toys-etc, managed to bait them for a quick Q&A.

--------------------------------

STGCC 2016: Spotlight on Mame Moyashi

toysetc: Mame Moyashi is a trio. How did you come up with the name and what does it mean?
MM: The full name should be Mame Moyashi Shacho. In Japanese, Mame Moyashi means Little Beans and for anyone who watches enough anime, Shacho is the respectful term for Chairman. It might seem like it came from the idea of how small we are as a company but we produce toys that are big in the wow factor, but no, it's just for fun

STGCC 2016: Booth Highlight - HRJoe Photography Talks About His Techniques and His Fave Toys!

One of Red Dot Diva's favourite things to do in STGCC is wandering around Artist Alley. More of than not, there is a credible level of accessible and appealing artistic endeavours in that section of the show floor.

Red Dot Diva is excited to note that there are several new exhibitors and booths by local and regional creators in this year's convention. One of those exhibitors is HRJoe Photography.

Fans might be familiar with HRJoe Photography's cheeky superhero toy images, like the one show below. This photo has also been noticed and shared by Iron-Man himself, Robert Downey Jr. A couple of his other images have also been shared by the legendary Stan Lee!

A photo posted by hrjoe Photography (@hrjoe_photography) on Jun 12, 2015 at 10:46am PDT

With an increase in fan interest, HRJoe Photography has started boothing at various conventions, including Asia Pop Comicon Manila which just wrapped up yesterday. He will soon head to STGCC where he will be offering art prints for sale. After which, he has plans to exhibit at Italy's Festival del Fumetto in September and then back home for Indonesia Comic Con in October.

As you can see, HRJoe Photography has a very busy schedule ahead of him! So, Red Dot Diva is glad to be able to catch him for a few minutes to answer some nosy questions. And in case you are wondering, his name is not Joe!

STGCC 2016: More Unicornos and Skullhead Samurai on the Toy Front!

The Glam Bloggers Alliance pal Ed from Toys-etc is shimmering with glee about another tokidoki Unicorno variant by toy designer Jason Freeney and Skullhead Samurai by Jon Paul Kaiser.

Jason Freeney was a guest at last year's STGCC, and he will be returning to the show again this September. Thanks to his host MightyJaxx (booth H3) & Pobber (booth AA83 & AA85)! The art collectible makers are also bringing back Huck Gee to the convention. It is wonderful that Huck Gee has decided to return to Red Dot Island, especially after the unfortunate incident where someone stole his precious prototype at last year's show.

---------------------

STGCC 2016: Three ain't always a crowd

Stellina is one of the very first Unicornos and was featured in Series 1 (and also in the upcoming Metallico Series) and prominently in many of LeSportSac x tokidoki bags. Here, it gets Jason Freeny's withering touch and well, you won't be finding stars and rainbows inside. I'm thinking aloud but who else would want to see the entire Series 1 XXRayed and released blindboxed? No matter how ugly one half the unicorn is, there's nothing like pulling a Prima Donna. Yes. I am obsessed. MightJaxx. You will find me stalking you.

AsiaPop Comic Con Manila 2016: An Interview with Comic Book Artist Mike Zeck

AsiaPop Comic Con Manila (APCC Manila) kicks off later today with its second edition. The 3-day convention will see fans in Manila mingling with celebrities, comic book guests, cosplayers, and have fun participating in other activities, like panels, meet and greets and autograph sessions.

This year's celebrity guest roll includes Nicholas Hoult of the "X-Men" franchise, "Warm Bodies" and "Mad Max: Fury Road" fame, young breakout star Millie Bobby Brown known for her memorable role as Eleven in Netflix's "Stranger Things", Claire Holt of "The Vampire Diaries" and Joe Dempsie who is most familiar to fans as Gendry in the international hit series, "Game of Thrones".

However, as the convention is still called a "Comic Con", a few comic book artists have also been invited as guests. One of them is reknown illustrator Mike Zeck, whose various definitive artwork have impressed fans' visual psyche through the many years of his career. One notable image is the shift of Spider-Man's red and blue costume to the black version in the 1984 Marvel limited comic book series, "Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars".

Mike Zeck has also worked on covers for several DC Comic books like "Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight" and in recent times, for the "Deathstroke the Terminator" series.

Speech Bubble - A Celebration of Comics in Singapore, 2 to 30 September 2016

Next month, the Red Dot Island comics scene will be given the spotlight in a special almost month-long event called Speech Bubble held at Basement 1 of the National Library, from 2 to 30 September.

Organized by media company Potato Productions and local comic book artist Sonny Liew. Sonny has also been in the spotlight in recent times, mainly due to the accolades he received for his brilliant brainchild, "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye". "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye" won the Singapore Literature Prize for fiction this year - the first graphic novel to receive such a recognition!

Speech Bubble event consists of an exhibition of original works, books and comics-related collectors items, like those by featured artists Johnny Lau, who is best known for the iconic Mr Kiasu comic series, and pioneer Malaysian artist Nora Abdullah, who published her first comic called "Cik Siti Wan Kembang" in 1955. Other creative works on display include those by Sonny Liew, Eric Khoo, Troy Chin, Otto Fong, Koh Hong Teng, Colin Goh, Gary Zhu, Cheah Sinann and many, many more!

STGCC 2016: Jacob Chabot Chats About Tsum Tsums and Hello Kitty!

Looking for a graphic novel or book that is funny, adventurous and suitable for all ages?

Do a search for the name Jacob Chabot, and a list of lively titles like "Plants vs Zombies", "Hello Kitty", "Spongebob Comics", "X-Babies" and his creator-owned New York Times best-selling book "The Might Skullboy: Garden Warfare" will crop up.

Jacob Chabot, who has been announced as an STGCC guest, is also the writer for Marvel's new "Tsum Tsum" mini series. A limited edition variant of the #1 issue will be available as an exclusive at this year's STGCC.

Before Jacob heads to the convention on 10 & 11 September 2016, Red Dot Diva had a chance to bounce a few quirky questions off the prolific cartoonist:

STGCC 2016: Toys-etc is all ready to go gaga over Tokidoki's Unicorno Metalico!

As mentioned in previous posts, the Glam Bloggers Alliance (GBA) is all poised to strut their glittery biceps at this year's STGCC.

Although, at the rate that rival Asia-Pop Comic Con is announcing their celebrity guests at the Manila convention held just 2 weeks before STGCC, the GBA might be the glitteriest biceps around on the MBS showfloor.

Right now, the GBA already has a list of geeky articles to get every one of you acquainted with the STGCC guests. So get on the GBA blog ride, and you will feel right at home at STGCC once it opens its doors on 10 & 11 September 2016!

Ed from toys-etc.com is the designer toy expert of the GBA, and with the toy segment having an exciting return in this year's show, he is all ready to go gaga over the various exclusives including those from the fan favourite brand, tokidoki.

---------------------

STGCC 2016: The Usual Drooling after Tokidoki

We are definitely seeing a record-breaking number of returning toy guests - Huck Gee, Jason Freeny, Sticky Monster Lab - and toy exhibitors - 1000Tentacles, Blackbook Toy, Cacooca, Genesis 4, Instinctoy, Mighty Jaxx, Pobber, Unbox Industries, Imaginarium, Kinetiquettes, Bandai, Tamashii Nations, XM Studios - to STGCC 2016. This is definitely a far cry from the years when I would sit and lament about the lack of a toy focus in the convention (WE SHALL NOT TALK ABOUT GAMES!). While there are new toy vendors/exhibitors, I would prefer to go back to my first love.

STGCC 2016: "LumberJanes" Creator Brooke Allen Is Intrigued by Carrot Cake!

Have you been counting down to Red Dot Island's geekiest event of the year?

Red Dot Diva has been keeping track of the countdown. And it's now 31 days to STGCC! The pop-culture event is held at Halls E and F, Basement 2 of MBS' Sands Convention Centre on 10 & 11 September.

A list of interesting and well-known guests ranging from comic book creators, concept artists and illustrators, toy designers and cosplayers have already been announced, and among them is Brooke Allen, one of the creators of award-winning graphic novel series "Lumberjanes", published by BOOM! Studios.

Red Dot Diva loves her lively quirky art style. Peek into Brooke's tumblr and you'll spot drawings of monsters, funny animation gifs, a peek into her various works in progress, and many tributes to her pet dog, Linus. Brooke not only draws, she also crafts unique resin figurines and collectibles!
 
To get more local fans acquainted with Brooke and her work, Red Dot Diva got her to answer a few nosy questions:

Ubisoft Casts Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal for "The Division" Movie

Commercially successful and given the thumbs up by gamers as well as reviewers, Ubisoft's online third-person shooter video game Tom Clancy's "The Division"™ is set to crossover to the big screen as a live action-adventure movie.

The game was released in March 2016 and sold more copies in one day than any other games in the industry. It reportedly garnered sales of over USD 330 million globally in the first 5 days of its release, and is also Ubisoft's best-selling game.

Oscar-nominated Jessica Chastain ("Crimson Peak", "The Martian", "Zero Dark Thirty") and Jake Gyllenhaal ("Everest", "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time", "Brokeback Mountain") have been attached to the project. Red Dot Diva is looking forward to seeing the two capable actors kick-ass on screen while fulfilling the mission to rebuild post-pandemic Manhattan.