We all love things for different reasons. Some things can change our lives fundamentally, and sometimes in unique and even crazy ways. Moreover, you can say the same about geekdom, and there appears to be more than meets the eye for a lot of AsiaPOP Comicon Manila 2018 (APCC 2018) attendees. If there’s anything the convention proves, it’s that APCC – and other conventions – can be a good place to find people with similar interests, hobbies, and passions in life.

Moreover, here’s our What’s A Geek! team has discovered some of these interesting stories. If you have other stories to share, feel free to give us a beep!

APCC 2018: The People And Their Tales

Geeks at AsiaPOP Comicon Manila 2018 spared no time after getting in the convention halls. Moreover, booths, stalls, and exhibits had their spaces flocked by fans from all across the country. Interestingly, all of these fans appear to have stories of their own to share. Here are some of those tales:

Ben Watanabe

If you’ve ever wanted to elevate your reading experience, you might want to try out Everyst from Ben Watanabe and his peers. Watanabe brought the application to APCC 2018 straight from their Tokyo office. Interestingly, this effectively innovates the field of manga reading for literature enthusiasts.

However, while folks might think the new software is just another manga reader, Everyst elevates the craft and adds a new spin. What if you can actually experience the stories in real time?

Everyst pegs itself as a real-time manga reading software, although dialogue and images have effectively separated itself in a social media interface. There are no speech bubbles, and there are no pages. Fans will instead be able to “interact” with a news feed interface which “updates” in real time. This means characters interact with each other depending on events happening in the story, right when the readers need them.

Effectively, this also means the platform “updates” the app as though you’re actually interacting with Twitter.

“These are real accounts,” Watanabe said, reminiscing the software’s conception. “I love reading stories as a kid. But when we’re adults and we have responsibilities, we don’t have time to read anymore. However, we do have time to check social media accounts. What if we combine the two together?”

Everyst launched just last year in 2017. However, the software features quite a wide variety of stories across different genres. Morever, genres such as comedy, love stories, science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories present themselves to folks right for their reading enjoyment.

Nicholai Bagani Card Game

Defending the world of Sansinukob from Sarimaw has been placed on your hands. However, you’re not without help. Balangay Entertainment is slated to release a card game version of ABS-CBN series Bagani.
In the card game, revealed in APCC 2018, players need to work together in order to earn enough points to defeat monsters.

Each “halimaw” activates a special ability once it’s summoned from the deck. Moreover, these abilities can have detrimental effects to the player characters, often involving exchanging cards or discarding them.

Players have to combine cards to earn “points” to attack monsters, all of which have come from the series. However, “halimaw” can only be killed if these “points” match their life indicator. Meanwhile, series baddie Sarimaw will be the last “halimaw” the players will face, but the dark lord himself has special abilities.

Nicholai from Games Workshop presented the game to players in the Mars Ravelo booth. He revealed the game has yet to have a release until sometime this year. As an avid board game player, he said the game in itself is interesting from a gamer’s perspective.

“The game is easy to pick up,” he said. “I think a lot of people can get into the game because it’s easy to understand.” Moreover, Nicholai showed the manual which had both a mixture of pictures and Filipino English text. Nicholai, who volunteers from Games Workshop, praised the manual in its versatility. It appears easy to understand and comprehensible.

Bagani began airing this year to much fanfare and criticism. Interestingly, folks commended its use of special effects and stunning sets to achieve quite the authentic Filipino look. Meanwhile, criticstook to social media the casting of rather foreign-looking leads for a story supposedly based on Filipino folklore.

Others also took note of the series’ similarities to Super Sentai, in its usage of five heroes with special superpowers. Some eagle-eyed fans also compared the series to Encantadia, a popular fantasy series from network rival GMA 7. Interestingly, Encantadia featured its own slate of heroes with powers based on the four elements.

Meanwhile, Balangay Entertainment also previously released a card game last year, which was Darna At Ang Puting Bato.

PocketsFullaPillz

Frederick Corder and his team strike back yet again with new offerings with Pockets Fulla Pillz. Corder has an awesome booth in APCC 2018, all with new offerings for both fans and newcomers to his amazing world.
New in the Pockets Fulla Pillz universe is Nuks, a character who apparently

In the vein of Corder’s slate of characters, Nuks got created in the image of his cousin. Moreover, it can be remembered that their characters were based on his exes and his mother, and his cousin, respectively.

In a previous What’s A Geek! article, Corder shared that much of his stories’ inspirations have come from both his personal experiences and beliefs. Moreover, he explained that much of his “crazy” ideas have come from a personal philosophy that there’s no such thing as “good” and “evil” in the real world.

However, Pockets Fulla Pillz has no shortage of mayhem, either. The story, in its essence, revolves around an imaginary friend, a junk cyborg, and a demented CIA agent. Meanwhile, things start getting crazy with PFP, a neuro-enhancing drug, and the revelation that hell does exist.

Corder got much of his principles as a psychology graduate that worked within the prison system in the United States. For him, we are all the main characters in our stories. As such, his characters reflect this “neutrality” in his stories. Interestingly, PFP stories first appear to be self-contained multi-genre tales. While some stories dwell in science fiction, there are instances where they transition to horror in the next. Additionally, Corder said this helps introduce the complexities of the human mind.

Corder works with artists Carlo Sabino and Jerk Flores to create the series. According to Corder, folks who want to catch up with him can also expect him and his team n some conventions abroad.

The Bottomline: Celebrate Geekdom In Unique Ways

Fans and enthusiasts from all over the country (even the world!) flock to Manila to celebrate geekdom in this three-day spectacle. However, fans surprised even us from the media with their interesting tales and stories to share. While some appear to be #APCCManila2018 #APCC2018mainstays, others have attended the convention for the first time. Regardless of the circumstances, it proves that geeks have their own tales and stories to share.

AsiaPOP Comicon Manila 2018 took fans together to celebrate geekdom at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay. Fans, hobbyists, and enthusiasts took to Manila their love for geekdom last July 27 to 29, 2018.