STGCC 2015: Creative Strokes From Global Beards (Gene Whitlock/ Wayne Rée) at Artist Alley

Beards have made a come back. They are getting a lot more attention lately. They even get themselves into all kinds of hairy situations - like travelling around the world, fostering international geek-lationships and even publishing books!

Two sets of Red Dot Island-based beards will be making a combined appearance at the coming STGCC 2015 at Marina Bay Sands next month. Under the banner of GLOBAL BEARDS, they are very eager to show off their dark and handsome hirsuteness by peddling their books, artwork.. and other stuff at Artist Alley Booth AA98.

Showing great restraint from stroking these hardworking beards, Red Dot Diva spoke to the two dudes - Gene Whitlock and Wayne Rée - whose faces the beards call home for several years.

Last year, the beards of both Gene Whitlock and Wayne Rée were part of a cohort of writers based at Book Actually's The Comic Strip. Gene-beard had produced a mischievous noir-style detective story called "The Unsavoury Alphabet", and Wayne-beard had written "Tales From A Tiny Room", an absorbing anthology of unique stories.

It will be most interesting to see what kind of the crazy creative synergy the pair will come up with in this year's STGCC!

Want to find out what's in store at GLOBAL BEARDS? Here are some details to tickle your curiousity!

STGCC 2014: A Much-Needed Catch-up with Guest, Comic Artist Harvey Tolibao!

After a two-year hiatus from attending STGCC, Filipino comic artist Harvey Tolibao will be back on the island this year, with a few homies from the HMT Studios.

Harvey used to visit the Red Dot Island from time to time for book store appearances. The animated and talkative artist would usually spend time chatting and drawing (not just quick sketching, mind you!) insanely detailed art for fans that would always bring huge smiles on their faces. He was one of those people who gave a lot of heart together with a piece of his art, no matter where he was or how much time he had. When he was a guest at STGCC 2010 and 2011, Harvey would be the last guest to close his booth and leave the showfloor!

During his absence from the island's local comics scene, Harvey has kept himself very busy back in the Philippines. He started HMT Studios in 2011, got married and has a lively two-year-old son. He has also worked on several projects, like Marvel's "Silver Surfer" series and DC's "New Guardians" Green Lantern as well as with Zenescope and Valiant. Currently, he is drawing a short arc of "X-Men" Vol. 4 for Marvel, starting from issue #18 to #22. The female-centric story written by Marc Guggenheim has received mostly positive reviews so far.

The Glam Bloggers' Alliance took the chance to catch up with Harvey about what else he has been up to and his aspirations for the future:

STGCC 2014: Bicepstuous Booths #4 - Introducing Alan Bay And His SmallGuy Doodles

There's one thing that Red Dot Diva absolutely loves about STGCC. It is a special event that lures local and regional artists out of the cubi-holes which they tend to hide in.

During the two-day convention (and sometimes a few weeks prior), Red Dot Diva will get to know a few more talented people that she has not met before. Whenever she walks down Artist Alley at STGCC, it feels like it's one huge happy block party! So much fun!

This year, she noticed an adorable and relatable cartoon character called "Small Guy" :) (That's mainly because Red Dot Diva is small too!?) The local artist who created "Small Guy" is Alan Bay, who has worked in the gaming industry previously where he employed his skills in 2D concept boarding and 3D modelling. 

Alan is currently working on his next comic book within his own Smallguydoodle imprint. His first published comic book called "Atlas" was a collaboration with Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and ChuangYi Publishing. (BTW peeps, one can purchase "Atlas" over this portal - http://fantasticfox.org/ebookdetail/188).

Together with booth buddy and fellow artist Muhammad Firman, Alan can be found flexing his small but imaginative artistic biceps at Booth #AA36 during STGCC.

Here's a quickie Q&A with Alan Bay:

Diva Catches Up With David Mack About "Captain America" and His Kickstarter Project!

Marvel superhero action movie "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (currently showing in theatres) has been getting two thumbs up from a majority of comic book and pop-culture lovers internationally. Its engaging story-telling, energetic action sequences, sheer screen presence of its actors and that bromance (So.Much.Feels!) made the cinematic experience thoroughly enjoyable, even for comic book noobs.

Once the end title credits began to roll, the eye-catching animation and artwork caught many by surprise. Most of you are already aware of the identity of the artistic talent of the drawings used for the very snazzy credit sequence. But for those who may have been curious about the personality behind the striking images, wonder no more.

The artist involved in those few delightful minutes is none other than David Mack - creator of a comic book series called "Kabuki", who is also a New York Times #1 best-selling author/ artist ("Daredevil: End of Days" with Brian Michael Bendis, Klaus Janson, Bill Sienkiewicz and Alex Maleev), and whose innovative artwork have graced many comic covers including his run on Marvel's "Daredevil", Archaia's "Immortals: Gods And Heroes", Dark Horse's Buffy series "Willow" and Black Mask Studios' "Occupy Comics", to be released later this year.

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.