Slamcon at SDCC 2015 - Still Cool, Still Happening!!

After a long day of walking, standing, or just merely even waiting for panels or autographs at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), it is nice to finally have a party to go to at the end of the day to chill out, or to catch up with the friends you have not managed to meet yet!

And for all these purposes, Slamcon is one of the best parties at SDCC to hang out in! For those who are uninitiated to what Slamcon is, it is a free, all-inclusive party open to everyone, and the brainchild of a bunch of actors and comic creators - Todd Stashwick, Brea Grant, Dennis Calero and Deric A. Hughes.

#slamcon is on Hilton Bayfront pool club. Now!

A photo posted by Todd Stashwick (@tstashwick) on Jul 11, 2015 at 8:12pm PDT

Slamcon started in 2011 at the Hyatt Mezzanine with some of Red Dot Diva's good friends attending the party. (For a more detailed story, refer to the blog post here!) It was the year Red Dot Diva was not able to head to SDCC because she had just lost her day job.

She managed to attend SDCC and Slamcon for the next 3 years together with her convention buddies. During those times they attended the party, they have met all the Slamcon founders, actress/ writer Amber Benson, and last year, both Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins hung out at the shingdig too!

Zombies Galore! South-East Asian Premiere Dates for "The Walking Dead" and "Fear The Walking Dead"!

Been dreamin' about zombies invading your own safe haven ever since the last episode of Season 5 of "The Walking Dead"? Or wonder how the reunion would be for bromance-buddies Rick Grimes and Morgan Jones?

Well, it is about 3 months away from now, but Fox International Channels has already set the Season 6 international premiere date!

The same day and date release of the extended 90-minute season opener will be available in this region on Fox cable channel (Singtel TV Ch. 330; StarHub TV Ch. 505, Monday, October 12th.

Break Out Your Tridents, Jason Momoa Announced as Guest for AsiaPop Comic Con Manila 2015!

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for more exciting news for AsiaPop Comicon Manila 2015!

Red Dot Diva has just received news that the very bicepstuous Jason Momoa of "Game of Thrones" and who will be a very sexy Aquaman in the upcoming movie "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", will be heading to AsiaPop Comicon Manila (APCC Manila) 2015! Let's just say Red Dot Diva is very eager to check out the size of his biceps - up close and personal!

What is this convention you ask? If you have missed the first official press release of what this new comic convention is about, click here for Red Dot Diva's previous blog article.

Jeremy Shada, the teen talent behind the voice of Flint on Cartoon Network's "Adventure Time" is also set to make his way to Manila for APCC Manila! His band mates from Makeout Monday - brother Zack Shada (vocals), Logan Charles (vocals and rhythm guitar), John Spicer (lead guitar), and Seth Renken (drums) - will be coming along too.

And Red Dot Diva is pretty sure there are more celeb guest announcements on the way!

There will be photo op and autograph sessions. As in other similar conventions, Red Dot Diva anticipates that this might be chargeable and priced at different rates for different celebrities. Sometime to save up and look out, for sure.

Geeks in Manila! Get Set For AsiaPop Comicon (17-20 Sep 2015)!

Some months back, Red Dot Diva broke the news about a brand new pop-culture convention that is set to wow Manila pop-culture fans in a big way. (Read the article in this link.)

Well, AsiaPop Comicon Manila (APCC Manila) has now set their dates! The pop extravaganza is set to happen from 17 to 20 September 2015 at the World Trade Center Metro Manila.

The announced dates may not be feasible for Red Dot Island folks who will already have invested money and time at STGCC on 11 to 12 September, but this news should make Pinoy fans very very happy indeed!

APCC Manila aims to be more than just a comic convention. It will also have shades of what some other more TV/ movie-centric convention organizers are doing, by combining entertainment with comics, gaming, toys, cosplay and more.

Other than the usual convention fare like panels, product launches, portfolio reviews and cosplay, appearances by TV/ movie celebrities as well as exclusive screenings have been hinted. Who these famous people are have not been announced yet. Red Dot Diva thinks the organizers, Universal Events and Entertainment, must be holding some big secrets in that area. She can't wait for the convention guest reveal!

STGCC 2015 Causes Local Geekdom To Squee By Announcing Adam Hughes As Guest

STGCC 2015 finally announces their first round of guest announcement, and they certainly did not skimp on the surprise factor.

ADAM HUGHES

This year, internationally reknown and Eisner award-winning comic cover artist Adam Hughes will make his way to the convention! Red Dot Diva could almost hear the local geekdom squee with delight upon knowing that Adam Hughes will be here. She was aware that the fans have been hoping and requesting for Adam to attend STGCC for many years. 2015 is the year that this wish is set to come true.

For those who are not familiar with Adam Hughes he is well-known for drawing women figures beautifully in a pin-up art style, and has worked for the biggies like DC and Marvel, as well as Dark Horse, Archie and Lucasfilm. His variant art covers are highly sought after. A few years ago, he returned to sequential art and was the artist for mini-series "Before Watchmen: Dr Manhattan", written by J. Michael Straczynski.

At Kinokuniya: So How Notorious Are "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye"and Its Writer-Artist Sonny Liew?

Red Dot Diva loves it whenever her favourite book store Kinokuniya, holds a comic-related Meet the Author session. The book store has always been very supportive of overseas and local creators as well as artists of graphic novels. 

Last Saturday (30 May), the main store at Ngee Ann City, hosted the official book launch of Eisner-nominated artist Sonny Liew's latest graphic novel, "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye", published by local company Epigram Books.

"The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is written (or rather written and drawn) as a biography of sorts. It documents the life of "the greatest Singapore artist of all time", Charlie Chan, from the age of 10 when he discovered his love for Osamu Tezuka's mangas, in addition to an account of his own life's journey as a Red Dot Island native and a struggling comic artist. Strung alongside Charlie's personal narrative are the historical and political aspects of Red Dot Island and her own unique stories.

Red Dot Diva remembers gathering a few preview booklets released by Epigram when she attended STGCC 2012 a few years ago. Amongst the booklets was one of "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye". Already then, the preview had sparked a fair bit of interest amongst local geeks and geek bloggers, but alas, the book took a very long time in the making.

"The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye" was originally funded by National Arts Council (NAC) for a sum of SGD 8,000. However, this was withdrawn a day before the book's official launch, in a move that Red Dot Diva hardly considered as fair. The de-funding was reported in the local newspapers and social media, including some overseas blogs, with NAC stating that the book contained "sensitive content". (What this "sensitive content" consists of had not been specified by NAC at that time, although Sonny Liew and locals can definitely hazard a good guess what these points were.) NAC later clarified their reasons for their action (see TODAY's original article in this link) and said that the book carried themes which “undermines the authority or legitimacy” of the Government, and hence the funding guidelines.

In their decision to withdraw the funding, NAC had renewed questions on whether funding for homegrown creative efforts should be made more separate from political inclinations in order for the arts scene to grow and thrive. As expected, what do Red Dot Islanders do when the gahmen marks something as "not approved"? Buy the book of course!

Diva's Illuminating Experience at Alliance Francais' "The Little Prince In the Dark" Exhibition

Out of the three "The Little Prince"-centric exhibitions held during Voila! French Festival, Red Dot Diva thinks the one held at Alliance Francais called "The Little Prince in the Dark" is the most special. It was designed to bring "The Little Prince" to life for the visually impaired in a sensory as well as auditory manner. But that does not mean that the sighted are not able to enjoy it as well.

(Click here to read Red Dot Diva's "The Little Prince" exhibit encounters at the Fullerton Hotel.)

Upon entering the premises and foyer of the building, there are already several of the iconic bright yellow planets and stars dotting the area. At the far end of the ground level, another statue of The Little Prince greets the visitors.