Stickers! Stickers! Stickers! An October 2017 Komiket Guide

Hey WAG Readers! Nicole here, back from the academic abyss. I’ve got a Komiket haul, and I can’t wait to show you the stuff I got. Short disclaimer though! I actually wasn’t aware it was the last Komiket of 2017 until the posts started floating up my feed on the first day of the event. So this morning, I booked an Uber and went to see what the place had waiting for me.

I wasn’t at all disappointed.

The event opened at 9AM, so I was at the door sharp and early. There was also free rubbing alcohol for the first 200 attendees, and that was actually pretty great. Keep your hands clean, friends!

I made one round of the event hall first, to see what there was to take back home. The first thing, I think, everyone is going to notice, is there’s a ton of stickers. Every booth had them, and it was so hard to stop getting from all the booths! They were just so damn adorable, if not clever.

Also, I found the abundance of local komik artists featuring their work and prints a real change from when I stepped in my first Komiket. Every other table had a komik printed for everyone to read. And I was so happy there’s so much more now. It’s shown the community has grown, and I really I hope it keeps it up. This is art, people! It’s more than a commodity. It’s a way of life.

I also had a great time talking to the artists about their work. For some, it was their first time set up shop in Komiket. Others have been here for a while. They’re all really talented artists, and all worth seeing at the event.

And without further ado, here’s where my first sweldo went!

First of the haul is from macabebeprints by Bea De Borja:

I’ve always been a sucker for these ‘lucky’ stickers for some reason. The last Komikon I hit up, I got a Lucky Tilapia sticker stuck on the back of my work clipboard from the artist Bernard Gatus. It always made my day when work was particularly gloomy. I figured my sister could use the same pick me up for her board exam coming up.

The Rowlet was also among her products on sale. She handpainted it, which I highly appreciate. It’s adorable and should be able to make anyone who sees it have a better day.

The missing image stickers were free for me, since I was her first customer of the day. The artist joked that I could use them for my next resume.

Next up are stickers from Fandom Feels PH by Kaila Mira:

I am absolutely sold on her stickers! There. Are. So. MANY. I got five stickers from her really big portfolio up for Grabs at Komiket. It was so hard to choose! I picked these in the end, with a promo for P100 for five, I didn’t hold back. Click her link profile for more of her work – it’s an absolute treat.

You’re going to notice a trend now, but I got more stickers, because this event is loaded with them.

Lumi Skullgurl by Timi Nins Dajac is exactly what you’re looking for if you need a Pokemon fix.

She had the entire Eeveelution line on sale, plus an array of colourful words to display on the back of your laptop. I had to stay PG 13 though, so Charmander FTW it was. She also had ones of celebrity memes, to which I failed to get the ones she had made of Our Lord and Saviour Beyonce. I kid not, her stuff is gold.

The largest collection I got by the time I left was the So Asian Comics sticker set by Cedric C. Cheng and Kimberly Mas.

It’s their fault I went to Komiket, really, because a lot of my Chinese-Filipino friends kept posting their stickers yesterday. I was so jelly because anyone who can relate is bound to have a chuckle with these:

From left to right by row, it’s: Have you eaten; Spank your butt; Shopkeeping is lyf; Shopkeeping 24/7; Very Lit; Don’t you have a boyfriend/girlfriend yet; roughly – dateable, but in that arranged marriage sort of way but not; Don’t Forget Your Culture; I’m Shookt; Approved by parents; Go do it.

They’re really one of those in-jokey stickers for Tsinoys who grew up in the Philippines. It’s not unique humor for us in our daily lives, but it’s the first I’ve encountered of representation from our side of the story. Which, I believe, is really great. Cedric Cheng said the bald Chinese father in his komiks is actually his dad, who found the single strand of hair on his head really inaccurate. Come to think of it, the guy actually does look like my grandfather minus the pot belly.

I also got the eponymous Komiks in Komiket.

Mervin Malonzo’s Tabi Po 3 and Paolo Herras and Jerico Marte’s Strange Things. It’s been a really long time since I read long form komiks, so I’m really excited to dive into these soon.

Aaaand that’s all I got! It was nice going again after so long, and I really hope to go again next time!

Were you at Komiket? What cool stuff is in your haul? Let us know in the comments!