Experiencing STGCC 2010 With TOYSREVIL
I don't know if it was my alternating eye-patched eyes, but the hall lighting for STGCC seemed a tad dark? Regardless, my virgin wheelchair appearance at last year's Singapore Toy, Games and Comic Convention was a fabulous and enriching one, even if everything seemed a bit on the dark side, and would be hardly surprised if there were stripper-poles peppered throughout the hall (yes I exaggerate … sorta). Lulled into parting our cash in exchange for geekery-goods, are we? LOL
Missing quite a few booths at the end of the Saturday day-out on a faithful December 11th, 2010 (a planned four hours turned double till hall-doors close), my primary aim was the Artist Alley, where quite a few friends and readers reside, while a smattering of friends lay await at general booth areas. My planned trip took a quick round about the main hall until I finally descended on A/A. The free guidebook given out would have been more helpful to me if the text was of a bigger font, but no one can be faulted for needing to cater to this visual and physical impaired guy, innate? And so I wheeled along with my sister-chaperone, and "bodyguard" parents LOL
[CLICK THRU for more words and pics]
And instead of expounding the virtues or spreading the poison of toys (for which this here blog has been known to do judiciously), I became a novice "Stroke Ambassador" - regaling all who asked about my personal malady, as well as being the ONLY dude in the Con in a wheelchair! (One dude even asked to snap a pic of me, and he doesn't even know of the existence of my blog lol). And while I will not bore you folks with the actuality of the day out (I'm not supposed to and no one from the hospital knew, that's all I'm saying'…) ~ I will instead state that I shoulda entered the Cosplay Competition / Contest as "Stroke-Surviving Toy-Blogger In-Wheelchair" LOL) and perhaps even win a consolation prize for my efforts, innit?
[GailSimone / Simone Legno]
This year was no doubt a "Comicbook"-emphasized convention (Although surprisingly there were hardly any comic books in acid-free boxes for pete's sake, beyond GnB Comics and Indie-booths). What the event hyped was the existence of a whole laundry-list if "Celebrity Creators" - and instead got spotted a corner obligatory Walk of Fame exhibit, printouts posted on panels and a long signing desk with revolving artists (somewhat cool feature tho, this, appealing to the queue-up mentality of Singaporeans). And the only "celebs" I managed to catch a glimpse of was the lovely Gail Simone (loving still my early Sinister Six, yo) signing stuff, and Simone Legno of Tokidoki (this would be the third year I've seen him at STGCC, but had never been introduced nor introduced myself, ironically).
But I reckon (without a hint of cheesiness or cliches), the "celebs" were truly my old and new-found friends, and blog-readers who actually took the time to say "Hi" and shook my hands! (I am a humble and simple man like that.)
Starting zonally off for this post, folks in the hall-side Artist Alley section of festivities encompassed local, Malaysian, Indonesian and Thailand folks. The variety was both encouraging for most, and utterly surprising for some. I did not have the chance to meet all of the exhibitors, but the sheer lack of local representation was a tad disappointing though, and sadly may not be addressed by the powers that be, setting up convention-shop in their country of origin, IMHO. But for sure there were local artists setting up booth, but they were new to me and I hardly had the opportunity to delve deeper, unfortunately.
[RocketRayGun Booth @ STGCC 2010]
But not all is completely "lost" in Singapore! I was jazzed to finally meet Sheena Aw and witness her Caramelaw setting up shop to the world, as well surprisingly meet uber-old friend Kelvin Chan of RocketRayGun (along with artist-ngenue Celine Choo) showcasing his art book (FYI: It had been over a decades' wait for me since we were classmates in Design school!).
[Page Snaps from Kelvin's ROCKETRAYGUN Art book]
From our toy-bruddahs from Indonesia, Thunderpanda and the ever awesome Plastic Culture crew debuted their 3 huge Wanderers sculpts, as did Johanes of Saltnpaper with his papercraft and plush, as well as soliciting pre-orders for his upcoming resin Solid Boy. A/A was hardly the venue for toys, IMHO - but we score our little triumphs and scores as much as we are able to. Then of course there was the 17-man visiting crew from Jakarta to contend with - not that they were there for me anyways and were away at Universal Studios instead LOL. Cheers to David and Nanobenji for da lurve tho!
And my toy-bruddahs from Bandung, you had been missed tho.
Given my then "chaperoned condition" (aka "pushed around in a wheelchair"), as well the sheer lack of toy-goodness I had (sorta of) read about earlier - I was determined to at the very least score postcards sets and mini-comics in lieu (no, not everyone gives me free toys, yo! Where did that urban legend come from?), and Artist Alley had that in abundance! Bumped into Kenji Chai (from the CLEA days / above) which was the harbinger of new acquaintances with Najib / Art:Tech and gang from EightFourCube, as well hellos from illustrator Gunawan Lo, a welcomed return hello from Nana Roomism, and as a very surprising hello from Otto Bjornik (also one of the customizers I blogged about for Mechanical Demon earlier here!). Yes, STGCC was for me, an event about "Hellos"! Meanwhile as you ponder this non-cryptic exclamation - check out the insane illustrations below!
[Above: Postcards by Otto Bjornik
Below/Right: Artwork from mini-zine and poser by Art:Tech]
The A/A-trip continued with a rip-roaring time with Sonny Sy and his Custom-Trexi Mecha, and giant chogokin geekery and animated robots with animator andfellow lecturer Hillary Yeo. Eldred Tjie brought on the dark realms with his illustrations at his one booth (I met him at 2009's Con) and is hereby voted (by me) as "Best Dressed Exhibitor" at Artist Alley (Sorry, Sheena ;p). Didn't really have a chance to catch up with Ai of Studio Aiko from Thailand (since meeting her in CLEA as well) but her and quite few rocked the Alley-scene at the Con. Envigorating, indeed - moreso than I've experienced before in the previous two years (but of course I had more friends who said *hi* this year, innit? HAH)
One thing to note was the lack of side-panels for each of the booths at Artist Alley - quite a radical (and unspoken, so I was told) departure from the previous two years at A/A. Apparently exhibitors had only found out about the "missing" display-panels on the day of their set-up, and no doubt left quite a few plans dashed, it seems. Without stating the obvious, there is a requirement for further transparency to be in place for the next round, and it falls on both events organizers and exhibitors to triple-check and affirm conditions of rental, for a much better planned and presented event, IMHO. Believe you me, I know from a single exhibition booth I helmed from 2009 it pays to be in the know of what you have, to play with and present. I does not one good if the display is haphazard and amateurish, IMHO - not that anyone at STGCC 2010 need to worry about that, yeh? Heh.
I imagine a time when the A/A area may well double in size and even more (by which I meant exhibitors' "desire" to expand, and not necessarily the event's company's desire to "give" in the first instance), and be as vibrant as the main thoroughfare, than having it look like a random "market-place". In an event devoid of palatable booths generally, the Artist Alley stood out for it's variety experienced, and fanfare - and this I dare say without the "clouding" of friends present in the A/A.
A few delightful showcasing of toys rightened up the Con, the chief of which was the Play Imaginative arena (whom we might remember to be the organizers for the previous two years of the event before they sold it to Reed Pop>). Though a relatively conservative slate of releases (compared to the previous year's juggernaut Designer-drenched event), PI held their bay with their offerings of both new forms and updated figures - and frankly one of the very few opportunities to view and buy "art toys" collectively at a single venue, IMHO (I missed my turn at Otaku House tho).
Project Singa saw a showing of local artists' interpretations of the the Singa platform figure (quite a "first", I am comforted), while U.S.-artist Joe Ledbetter showcased his Chinese Zodiac Figures (slated for an early 2011-release). Local certified LEGO-artist Nicholas Foo of BlackBulb Creations was present to feature his DR x BB LEOG Tofu figure, and even present DEVILROBOTS with a specially-built remote-controlled Tofu-Vehicle (nope, I didn't get to witness that). Not to be left out, prnt publication PLAY TIMES made a relauch with the first issue sporting a Tokidoki-design. made available at the show.And what is an event without an exclusive toy? Check out the red+white Trexi Exclusive (limited to 800 pcs) sold at the Con.
A surprising turnout was both SHON and Mutineer Jun from Taiwan, along with their Cap Duck and Rebel Angel editions - both one of the rare examples of "art toys" to be seen at the entire convention, IMHO. Being the highlight of the Taiwan-cluster of booths, the guys were also downright sincere and cool. Hope to see you guys one day at SDCC too!
Who I totally missed out on visiting was Korea's Sticky Monster Lab (images shown here of their display panel snapped by me mum - discovered only after reaching home) - which I had once blogged about but had missed the existence of at STGCC. The reality was I most probably have wheeled past their booth without the knowledge to pop in and say hi. The same can be said for various other booths, but time and reality ruled, and my dateline had crept up on me for that sole single day to cruise leisurely, I'm afraid. Again, a huge pity, for me personally.
Out of the three Hong Kong based designers of Tim Tsui, Alice Chan and Jason Siu - only Jason helmed a booth at STGCC (or rather occupied a space). I had blooged about his booth and what was available here. And while I did not manage to meet Tim (as we had "planned" to), he did have a Black Edition Da Sturm on display at the solidary and somewhat bleak Walk Of Fame display arena. And what's a convention without reveals and debuts, isn't it?
In all, the lack of attention to "toys" is a tad disconcerting, especially "new" toys and the growing scene of "art toys" - not just to see, but perhaps even purchase. No doubt there are wheelings-n-dealings we/I am not a party of - the resultant of which was STGCC last year - but there seems quite a few "could-have-beens" still lingering in the air. Conquerable and not impossible, I insist!
A frontal-cluster of local storefronts where out to challenge the representation toys had from Singapore, alongside a surprising showing of the 1/6-scale hobby (alas we are but faced with hills of toy boxes, replenished with guns and bullets). That said, Falcon's Hangar, Action City and Japanese-toys importer Toys'N'Toys had been steadfast in the presentation of their wares, from BE@RBRICKS to anime-related, to action figurines. "Lelonging" (aka massive fire-sales) was kept to the bare minimum (from where I was at), unlike the previous year's "mountain of toys" from a local departmental store - hence bringing down the prestige of the event, if I dare say.
With the major showing of Marvel Comics, a tad disappointing was also the distinct lack of presence from Hasbro - missing were their toys from the comicbook line, or even comicbook-themed movies, which I felt would have complemented the theme strongly. We had in the past, seen strong showings of Hasbro in Star Wars and Transformers toys though. Folks might have seen the prototype Thor or Iron Man action figures in SDCC, but it would have been nice to see some representation here as well, IMHO. But then of course the focus was "Celebrity Creators" rather than (Licensed) "Creations" - so we'll just get our kicks at the toyshops instead, no worries.
[Star Wars-themed booth from 501st Legion showcasing cash for photo-ops]
Another obvious M.I.A. was Japan's Bandai, and by default, Tai Sheng Toys. Not really surprising as they have had their very own Gundam Fiesta event two years in a row at Compass Point, Seng Kang, as well as at STGCC in previous years. In reality, it is about toy-fans missing out, rather than my own personal gratification, and that is a pity, IMHO.
[Liquid City booth showcasing print and publications ala comicbooks]
Fanning the flames of toy-fear, "designer" and/or "art toy" vinyls are in the looming fear of being eradicated, save for shining lights like Play Imaginative and Toy2R-distributor Otaku House, as well as a smattering of displays by sprinkling independents, and that is likened to a death-kneel for a blossoming culture. Yes I may be a tad fatalistic in this notion, but the reality is the local culture is fueled by commerce and the limited "education" of art toys, moreso the common misunderstood toy-culture we might see ourselves relishing in. I am YOU are not misunderstanding anything here (and bless you for reading this humble blog), but you have to consider folks who are outside of the culture might only have a passing interest in the hobby, much less give a flying-hoot about it. Your current buying / paying market can only go as far as they can, and you need to start (if you already have not) considering "convincing" the new ones soon, IMHO.
In three years, the event has yet again shifted focus and seems geared toward the masses, hoping to appeal to the paying geeks in Singapore and the region - which is hardly surprising as the population cannot sustain the geekery for geek-cons like this, compared to the established trend-setters like SDCC, or even NYCC. Stuck between a showcase of wares and properties, and the unrelenting market-place commerce of the region, the notion of a convention is already a hard fight in the first place, IMHO. Just hope in time it doesn't become a literal market-place (or roadside street-market "Pasar Malam", as we call it here) for product-sales and towering dreams, for the huddled masses and initiated.
Am I worried? Of course I am. Am I biased in my assumption? But of course I am. I am thinking as an attendee and a (yet again) potential exhibitor, as well a geek in the sunny island of Singapore. The walking aisles were huge and comfy (well, it sure as heck accomodated a wheelchair!) and the atmosphere casual with excitement, what's not to like? But it has to be more than creature comforts and surface amenities. The underlying intension of promoting geekery (self-assumed ere, not hard facts) is lost amidst the occupation of booths of sales of geekery items in lieu.
Is the event worth the SGD$15 entrance fee? Considering the cost of visiting - say, SDCC or NYCC in the United States, or even Taipei Toy Festival - this is a well decent price to pay for abject geekery, isn't it? Hell, I would even say it is a steal! But the reality is probably moot for me to attest, as the show will go on regardless of what I think, and that perhaps is a future unchallengeable, it seems. Well, seems I can hardly complain much as it was basically a swell experience for me this year, even if it's only for just one day :)
[My STGCC-Loot]
So what did you think of 2010's STGCC?
Missing quite a few booths at the end of the Saturday day-out on a faithful December 11th, 2010 (a planned four hours turned double till hall-doors close), my primary aim was the Artist Alley, where quite a few friends and readers reside, while a smattering of friends lay await at general booth areas. My planned trip took a quick round about the main hall until I finally descended on A/A. The free guidebook given out would have been more helpful to me if the text was of a bigger font, but no one can be faulted for needing to cater to this visual and physical impaired guy, innate? And so I wheeled along with my sister-chaperone, and "bodyguard" parents LOL
[CLICK THRU for more words and pics]
And instead of expounding the virtues or spreading the poison of toys (for which this here blog has been known to do judiciously), I became a novice "Stroke Ambassador" - regaling all who asked about my personal malady, as well as being the ONLY dude in the Con in a wheelchair! (One dude even asked to snap a pic of me, and he doesn't even know of the existence of my blog lol). And while I will not bore you folks with the actuality of the day out (I'm not supposed to and no one from the hospital knew, that's all I'm saying'…) ~ I will instead state that I shoulda entered the Cosplay Competition / Contest as "Stroke-Surviving Toy-Blogger In-Wheelchair" LOL) and perhaps even win a consolation prize for my efforts, innit?
[GailSimone / Simone Legno]
This year was no doubt a "Comicbook"-emphasized convention (Although surprisingly there were hardly any comic books in acid-free boxes for pete's sake, beyond GnB Comics and Indie-booths). What the event hyped was the existence of a whole laundry-list if "Celebrity Creators" - and instead got spotted a corner obligatory Walk of Fame exhibit, printouts posted on panels and a long signing desk with revolving artists (somewhat cool feature tho, this, appealing to the queue-up mentality of Singaporeans). And the only "celebs" I managed to catch a glimpse of was the lovely Gail Simone (loving still my early Sinister Six, yo) signing stuff, and Simone Legno of Tokidoki (this would be the third year I've seen him at STGCC, but had never been introduced nor introduced myself, ironically).
But I reckon (without a hint of cheesiness or cliches), the "celebs" were truly my old and new-found friends, and blog-readers who actually took the time to say "Hi" and shook my hands! (I am a humble and simple man like that.)
Starting zonally off for this post, folks in the hall-side Artist Alley section of festivities encompassed local, Malaysian, Indonesian and Thailand folks. The variety was both encouraging for most, and utterly surprising for some. I did not have the chance to meet all of the exhibitors, but the sheer lack of local representation was a tad disappointing though, and sadly may not be addressed by the powers that be, setting up convention-shop in their country of origin, IMHO. But for sure there were local artists setting up booth, but they were new to me and I hardly had the opportunity to delve deeper, unfortunately.
[RocketRayGun Booth @ STGCC 2010]
But not all is completely "lost" in Singapore! I was jazzed to finally meet Sheena Aw and witness her Caramelaw setting up shop to the world, as well surprisingly meet uber-old friend Kelvin Chan of RocketRayGun (along with artist-ngenue Celine Choo) showcasing his art book (FYI: It had been over a decades' wait for me since we were classmates in Design school!).
[Page Snaps from Kelvin's ROCKETRAYGUN Art book]
From our toy-bruddahs from Indonesia, Thunderpanda and the ever awesome Plastic Culture crew debuted their 3 huge Wanderers sculpts, as did Johanes of Saltnpaper with his papercraft and plush, as well as soliciting pre-orders for his upcoming resin Solid Boy. A/A was hardly the venue for toys, IMHO - but we score our little triumphs and scores as much as we are able to. Then of course there was the 17-man visiting crew from Jakarta to contend with - not that they were there for me anyways and were away at Universal Studios instead LOL. Cheers to David and Nanobenji for da lurve tho!
And my toy-bruddahs from Bandung, you had been missed tho.
Given my then "chaperoned condition" (aka "pushed around in a wheelchair"), as well the sheer lack of toy-goodness I had (sorta of) read about earlier - I was determined to at the very least score postcards sets and mini-comics in lieu (no, not everyone gives me free toys, yo! Where did that urban legend come from?), and Artist Alley had that in abundance! Bumped into Kenji Chai (from the CLEA days / above) which was the harbinger of new acquaintances with Najib / Art:Tech and gang from EightFourCube, as well hellos from illustrator Gunawan Lo, a welcomed return hello from Nana Roomism, and as a very surprising hello from Otto Bjornik (also one of the customizers I blogged about for Mechanical Demon earlier here!). Yes, STGCC was for me, an event about "Hellos"! Meanwhile as you ponder this non-cryptic exclamation - check out the insane illustrations below!
[Above: Postcards by Otto Bjornik
Below/Right: Artwork from mini-zine and poser by Art:Tech]
The A/A-trip continued with a rip-roaring time with Sonny Sy and his Custom-Trexi Mecha, and giant chogokin geekery and animated robots with animator and
One thing to note was the lack of side-panels for each of the booths at Artist Alley - quite a radical (and unspoken, so I was told) departure from the previous two years at A/A. Apparently exhibitors had only found out about the "missing" display-panels on the day of their set-up, and no doubt left quite a few plans dashed, it seems. Without stating the obvious, there is a requirement for further transparency to be in place for the next round, and it falls on both events organizers and exhibitors to triple-check and affirm conditions of rental, for a much better planned and presented event, IMHO. Believe you me, I know from a single exhibition booth I helmed from 2009 it pays to be in the know of what you have, to play with and present. I does not one good if the display is haphazard and amateurish, IMHO - not that anyone at STGCC 2010 need to worry about that, yeh? Heh.
I imagine a time when the A/A area may well double in size and even more (by which I meant exhibitors' "desire" to expand, and not necessarily the event's company's desire to "give" in the first instance), and be as vibrant as the main thoroughfare, than having it look like a random "market-place". In an event devoid of palatable booths generally, the Artist Alley stood out for it's variety experienced, and fanfare - and this I dare say without the "clouding" of friends present in the A/A.
A few delightful showcasing of toys rightened up the Con, the chief of which was the Play Imaginative arena (whom we might remember to be the organizers for the previous two years of the event before they sold it to Reed Pop>). Though a relatively conservative slate of releases (compared to the previous year's juggernaut Designer-drenched event), PI held their bay with their offerings of both new forms and updated figures - and frankly one of the very few opportunities to view and buy "art toys" collectively at a single venue, IMHO (I missed my turn at Otaku House tho).
Project Singa saw a showing of local artists' interpretations of the the Singa platform figure (quite a "first", I am comforted), while U.S.-artist Joe Ledbetter showcased his Chinese Zodiac Figures (slated for an early 2011-release). Local certified LEGO-artist Nicholas Foo of BlackBulb Creations was present to feature his DR x BB LEOG Tofu figure, and even present DEVILROBOTS with a specially-built remote-controlled Tofu-Vehicle (nope, I didn't get to witness that). Not to be left out, prnt publication PLAY TIMES made a relauch with the first issue sporting a Tokidoki-design. made available at the show.And what is an event without an exclusive toy? Check out the red+white Trexi Exclusive (limited to 800 pcs) sold at the Con.
A surprising turnout was both SHON and Mutineer Jun from Taiwan, along with their Cap Duck and Rebel Angel editions - both one of the rare examples of "art toys" to be seen at the entire convention, IMHO. Being the highlight of the Taiwan-cluster of booths, the guys were also downright sincere and cool. Hope to see you guys one day at SDCC too!
Who I totally missed out on visiting was Korea's Sticky Monster Lab (images shown here of their display panel snapped by me mum - discovered only after reaching home) - which I had once blogged about but had missed the existence of at STGCC. The reality was I most probably have wheeled past their booth without the knowledge to pop in and say hi. The same can be said for various other booths, but time and reality ruled, and my dateline had crept up on me for that sole single day to cruise leisurely, I'm afraid. Again, a huge pity, for me personally.
Out of the three Hong Kong based designers of Tim Tsui, Alice Chan and Jason Siu - only Jason helmed a booth at STGCC (or rather occupied a space). I had blooged about his booth and what was available here. And while I did not manage to meet Tim (as we had "planned" to), he did have a Black Edition Da Sturm on display at the solidary and somewhat bleak Walk Of Fame display arena. And what's a convention without reveals and debuts, isn't it?
In all, the lack of attention to "toys" is a tad disconcerting, especially "new" toys and the growing scene of "art toys" - not just to see, but perhaps even purchase. No doubt there are wheelings-n-dealings we/I am not a party of - the resultant of which was STGCC last year - but there seems quite a few "could-have-beens" still lingering in the air. Conquerable and not impossible, I insist!
A frontal-cluster of local storefronts where out to challenge the representation toys had from Singapore, alongside a surprising showing of the 1/6-scale hobby (alas we are but faced with hills of toy boxes, replenished with guns and bullets). That said, Falcon's Hangar, Action City and Japanese-toys importer Toys'N'Toys had been steadfast in the presentation of their wares, from BE@RBRICKS to anime-related, to action figurines. "Lelonging" (aka massive fire-sales) was kept to the bare minimum (from where I was at), unlike the previous year's "mountain of toys" from a local departmental store - hence bringing down the prestige of the event, if I dare say.
With the major showing of Marvel Comics, a tad disappointing was also the distinct lack of presence from Hasbro - missing were their toys from the comicbook line, or even comicbook-themed movies, which I felt would have complemented the theme strongly. We had in the past, seen strong showings of Hasbro in Star Wars and Transformers toys though. Folks might have seen the prototype Thor or Iron Man action figures in SDCC, but it would have been nice to see some representation here as well, IMHO. But then of course the focus was "Celebrity Creators" rather than (Licensed) "Creations" - so we'll just get our kicks at the toyshops instead, no worries.
[Star Wars-themed booth from 501st Legion showcasing cash for photo-ops]
Another obvious M.I.A. was Japan's Bandai, and by default, Tai Sheng Toys. Not really surprising as they have had their very own Gundam Fiesta event two years in a row at Compass Point, Seng Kang, as well as at STGCC in previous years. In reality, it is about toy-fans missing out, rather than my own personal gratification, and that is a pity, IMHO.
[Liquid City booth showcasing print and publications ala comicbooks]
Fanning the flames of toy-fear, "designer" and/or "art toy" vinyls are in the looming fear of being eradicated, save for shining lights like Play Imaginative and Toy2R-distributor Otaku House, as well as a smattering of displays by sprinkling independents, and that is likened to a death-kneel for a blossoming culture. Yes I may be a tad fatalistic in this notion, but the reality is the local culture is fueled by commerce and the limited "education" of art toys, moreso the common misunderstood toy-culture we might see ourselves relishing in. I am YOU are not misunderstanding anything here (and bless you for reading this humble blog), but you have to consider folks who are outside of the culture might only have a passing interest in the hobby, much less give a flying-hoot about it. Your current buying / paying market can only go as far as they can, and you need to start (if you already have not) considering "convincing" the new ones soon, IMHO.
In three years, the event has yet again shifted focus and seems geared toward the masses, hoping to appeal to the paying geeks in Singapore and the region - which is hardly surprising as the population cannot sustain the geekery for geek-cons like this, compared to the established trend-setters like SDCC, or even NYCC. Stuck between a showcase of wares and properties, and the unrelenting market-place commerce of the region, the notion of a convention is already a hard fight in the first place, IMHO. Just hope in time it doesn't become a literal market-place (or roadside street-market "Pasar Malam", as we call it here) for product-sales and towering dreams, for the huddled masses and initiated.
Am I worried? Of course I am. Am I biased in my assumption? But of course I am. I am thinking as an attendee and a (yet again) potential exhibitor, as well a geek in the sunny island of Singapore. The walking aisles were huge and comfy (well, it sure as heck accomodated a wheelchair!) and the atmosphere casual with excitement, what's not to like? But it has to be more than creature comforts and surface amenities. The underlying intension of promoting geekery (self-assumed ere, not hard facts) is lost amidst the occupation of booths of sales of geekery items in lieu.
Is the event worth the SGD$15 entrance fee? Considering the cost of visiting - say, SDCC or NYCC in the United States, or even Taipei Toy Festival - this is a well decent price to pay for abject geekery, isn't it? Hell, I would even say it is a steal! But the reality is probably moot for me to attest, as the show will go on regardless of what I think, and that perhaps is a future unchallengeable, it seems. Well, seems I can hardly complain much as it was basically a swell experience for me this year, even if it's only for just one day :)
[My STGCC-Loot]
So what did you think of 2010's STGCC?
