The Philippine TOYCON, from its modest beginnings, has evolved into a highly anticipated annual extravaganza in the Philippine events scene. It has earned the distinction of being the largest pop culture convention in the country. This year, TOYCON PH proudly commemorates its impressive two-decade milestone as a premier destination event, solidifying its position as one of the most enduring pop culture gatherings in the Asian region.

 

Every childhood memory comes with toys. No matter what kind of size, shape, and texture, we all play ay least once in our life. We only stop playing not because we grew old, but because of our obligations and necessities.

A NOTE TO ALL DAD'S, YUPPIES, TEENS, and KIDS! Plus your MOMS! Who loves to collect toys and an avid fan of the pop culture. It's another year for the Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention or commonly TOYCON PH. In just few more days the doors of SMX will be open to all TOYCON fans, attendees, enthusiasts and visitors. This will be the 18th year of TOYCON and as they hold the convention every year the more they grow bigger. Perhaps, Asia's longest running pop culture convention in Asia.

So what's interesting and what's new with this year's TOYCON PH? Well there are plenty and let me just give you the most interesting features of this year's event. I'm giving the TOP 6 for me that is really something to look forward to.

• Berlin Manalaysay: Creator of the well-loved cyborg, ‘Combatron’, one of the most well received characters in Funny Komics in 1992.

• Ed Tadeo: A prolific Filipino comic book artist, colorist and inker for Marvel, DC, and Image Comics. Titles of his works in coloring and inking include: Wolverine, Silver Surfer, High Roads and District X; 

• Heubert Khan Michael: Former guidance councilor turned legendary comic book artist. Judged by Neil Gaiman himself, Hubert won 3rd place in the Philippine Graphic Fiction Awards back in 2010 and has been inking since then! Some of his awesome works include: Vampirella, Unstoppable, and The Owl

• Miguel Mercado: Miguel is a Cosplayer and Illustrator. Miguel has is known within the Comic Book community for his epic cover art for Back to the Future (2015), Buffy The Vampire Slayer (2019) and Over The Garden Wall (2017)

• Harvey Tolibao: Harvey first got involved in the comics industry in late 2006 when he penciled and inked the twelfth issue of Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. He also did the art for Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Psylocke, the Avengers and has also done some work for Top Cow and for DC.

• Pol Medina Jr: Pol is a Filipino cartoonist best known for creating Pugad Baboy, a comic strip about a community of fatsos and a dog named Polgas, highlighting domestic life and the characters’ commentary on relevant societal issues and pop culture. Pol is the 2018 recipient of the TOYCON Pinoy Pop Culture Icon Award

• Raymund Bermudez: Filipino Comic Book Artist, Penciler and Cover Artist for DC Comics. Some of his notable works include: Justice League, Pathfinders and Lex Luthor. Raymund Lee: Professional Digital Comic Book Colorist who is known for his painterly style and classic renditions of superheroes

• And finally, Steve Gan: One of the most accomplished Chinese-Filipino Comic Book Artists to date. Best known for co-creating the legendary comic book “Ang Panday” as well as Marvel’s “Star-Lord” and “Skull the Slayer”.

Other TOYCON 2019 Highlights.

Exhibits from epic movies coming soon will make the TOYCON scene more engaging. Headlined by movies from Sony Pictures, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and Warner Brothers’ line-up of movie icons from the horror genre, the Annabelle doll from Warner Brothers upcoming Anabelle Comes Home, Pennywise the Clown from IT: Chapter 2 and Chucky from Reality Pictures’ 2019 adaptation of Child’s Play. Meet them up close, but don’t blink!

This year’s TOYCON will also feature a new fun zone, the Play Hub!

This is where fans of comics and gaming will find the young and upstart artists in the design, graphic and digital spheres come together to exhibit their craft and talents! The Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) will host TOYCON’s Gaming Conference, while the Animation Council of the Philippines will showcase more than 50 short films in the Theater Room.

TOYCON POPLIFE FANXPERIENCE will also be the stage for the unveiling of the biggest Batman statue in Asia, the 22-foot tall Imperial Palace Batman which is a likeness of the Dark Knight never seen before until now. Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Batman, DC Collectibles has announced a collaboration with Pop Life Global and China’s Imperial Palace for a special series of figures featuring DC Comics characters in costumes themed after ancient Chinese warriors and soldier armors. This Batman statue is going to be one for the history books! This year’s World Cosplay Summit Philippines (WCSPH) National Finals will also be held at TOYCON 2019, with Japanese Cosplayer Reika and WCSPH Alumni Ming Miho and 2018 Philippine Representative Team Sekai (Sergio Sta. Ana and Kai Raito) headlining this activity. Five cosplay pairs selected from parts of the country will compete for the right to represent the Philippines at the 2019 World Cosplay Summit in Japan.

Aside from these, TOYCON 2019 will host a number of activities such as a Mobile Legends gaming Tournament in partnership with InFlux TV, The TOYCON Cosplay KO Competition and bestow the Pinoy Pop Culture Icon Award, which honors the icons that made our Filipino pop culture heritage truly distinct and long-lasting.

TOYCON’s line-up of vendors and exhibitors also gets bigger and better every year with more than 300 merchandise booths of toys, pop culture memorabilia, apparel, collectibles and more, with more international brands coming to town.



TOYCON Pop Life FanXperience 2019 – It’s a Whole New Playground!

TOYCON PH and Pop Life FanXperience is proving indeed that it is the leading pop culture playground in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia. There will be more sights to share for your various channels and social media, engaging activities, shows and panel discussions, interactive brand activations, collectibles and merchandise, and YOU are definitely going to be a part of what will make TOYCON great this year!

TOYCON POPLIFE FANXPERIENCE happens on June 28-30, 2019 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City.

[The event is made possible by PLDT Home Fibr, MaxiCollector, Big Boys Toy Store, Filbars, Great Toys Online, Ano Toys, Arigatoys, Hobbiestock Collectibles, De La Salle College of St. Benilde, Kramer Toy Warden and main media partner, ABS-CBN. With thanks to our official residence partner, Tryp by Wyndham Mall of Asia Manila.] So cheers for TOYCON’s 18th year and we hope you join us in this ground-breaking international event. Always check out the TOYCON website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for more updates:

www.toyconph.com
www.Facebook.com/ToyconPH
www.twitter.com/PHToycon
www.instagram.com/PHToycon
toyconph@gmail.com

Anyone in for something fun, exciting and enjoying to do with your kids? Well, here is what's new with McDonald's. Its their new DC Girls and Justice League Happy Meal toys. The set features iconic characters from the world-famous superhero franchises, including Superman, Batman, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl. Plus, gear up with exciting accessories like the Hawkman Mask, Wonder Woman Tiara, and Supergirl Headband.

Collect all eight DC Girls/Justice League toys, free with every purchase of a McDonald’s Happy Meal! Customers can choose from a Cheesy Eggdesal or 1-pc Chicken McDo during breakfast hours and 1-pc Chicken McDo, 4pc Chicken McNuggets, Burger McDo or McSpaghetti during regular hours. Happy Meals come with a choice of fries or corn and orange juice for a delicious treat!

Bring out the hero in you or your kids with the latest McDonald’s Happy Meal collection. Share your superhero bonding experience on McDonald’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/McDo.ph, or tag @McDo_PH on Twitter and Instagram. Enjoy!!!

The Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention, or TOYCON as it’s more widely-known, is Asia’s longest running convention for collectibles, toys, anime, comics, cosplay, gaming and anything and everything related to hobbies and collections. The convention has been ongoing since 2002 so it is now on its 15th year of thrilling fans and aficionados alike. It is, simply put, the biggest pop culture event in the country.

Being a milestone year, the TOYCON reaches new heights as it readies itself to be the first international multi-genre entertainment and hobbies convention based in the Philippines. Held annually in June every year, it has grown in scale and popularity since its humble beginnings and is now regarded as the one of the most anticipated and visited events in the country, with event-goers filling the venue to capacity with close to 40,000 people attending.

If you’re one of the 80’s and 90’s boys, then you’ve definitely enjoyed playing the old school toys and one of these toys is the top or “trumpo”. All you need is a string, the top and your hand to make it turn and borrow on the ground. As time goes by things get to change and develop so for the top or trumpo gets more exciting. From a small top, to beyblade and now it goes more exciting as it incorporates digital aspects with the Infinity Nado. If you’re ready to spin let’s get spinning.

Press Release
It's official. People can't get enough of superheroes. Just looking at how much money the Avengers movie has raked in at the box-office, you know without a doubt that we are in a new age of superhero love. All the caped crusaders, cosmic characters and crime fighters we grew up with have taken on new faces and forms, and they are everywhere! In movies, on TV, in video games, theme parks and countless merchandising; the best and the brightest of our childhood memories have been ushered into a new age of Hollywood, and, baby, nothings ever going to be the same again!

And as usual it's the fans that generate the excitement and the hype that make all this greatness possible. You see them, gleeful in the movie theaters, staying after the clsoing credits, knowing that the wonders of a secret extra scene come soon after. You see them converging at comic book stores talking about who would be best cast as General Zod in the new Superman movie. You bump into them at mall hallways dressed in full regalia as their favorite superhero character not in just run-of-the-mill store bought costumes, but in fully functional iron man armor. Yes, youknow them – because you are one of them!

And they all know that the one event to look forward to, the one they anticipate the whole year round is just around the corner. It is the Philippines own mecca of all things pop culture and awesome. And this year, on its 11th year, it promises to be the biggest pop-culture event of all time! It's June once again, and the Philippine TOYCON 2012 is ready tu rumble!!

The Philippine TOYCON has been the benchmark of all fan gatherings for the past 10 years, exceeding attendance records each year and highlighting the best of all things pop-culture including movies, anime, comics, gaming and of coruse pop-culture collectibles and memorabilia.

Waiting in the wings of greatness is the final installment of the Batman saga, with Christopher Nolan's ultimate chapter in the Dark Knight trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. Warner Brothers launches excitement for the movie with an exhibit of original movie props and costumes and DC Comics launches its new line of Dark Knight-related merchandise, apparel and toys. Other movies like The Bourne Legacy, Rise of the Guardians and The Hobbit will also be featured. Also in anticipation of the upcoming GI Joe: Retaliation movie and the 30th anniversary of GI Joe action figures, members of the Philippine Toy Soldiers 118 will put together the biggest GI Jose action figure diorama playset in the Megatrade Hall 2.

ABS CBN Interactive also brings on the biggest gaming event of the year, Amped Fest 2012. Amped Fest in ToyCon 2012 will serve as the venue for the launch of the most awaited Relic of Mystra and Version 4 releases of online gaming flagship brands, Shaiya and WarRock. The new gaming roster for 2012 as well as an Android and java mobile gaming portal will also be unveiled. GM Barbie Lee and a host of other models will also cosplay favourite Amped characters. Kapamilya (ABS CBN Channel 2) celebritiees will also make special appearances for the Kapamilya gamers, Amped Fest will also serve both the culmination of Netopia Cafe Wars and the opening of Jblaze Cup 2012, where winners are sent to Korea to compete with other international online gaming champions.

The convention also brings together the best assembly of local and international artists to exhibit much anticipated work. Seattle-base Hawaiian designer Arron “Angry Woebots” Martine shows off his brand of pop graffiti and design in an exhibit of his world famous panda art which has graced museum walls, skateboards, vinyl figures and books. Friends from Komikon will also bring in the best of our very own roster of artists: Heubert Khan Michael, Lui Antonio, Gilbert Monsanto, Lyndon Gregorio, Ariel Atienza, Lei Muncal, Jon Zamar & Sherry Zamar. The artist panel will be on hand to sign comics, do skeches and fan art and sample the best local indie and mainstream titles.

The biggest crowd drawer for the convention is cosplay, and this year all costumed heroes revolve around the Cosplay Universe. The Philippine Toycon features a huge space where cosplay fans can enjoy photo-ops in six huge themed exhibit space: The Anime Planet, Superhero stars, Movie Nebula, Toy Supernova, Gaming Galaxy and Kids Constellation, all of which make up the Cosplay Univers. Aside from being photo backdrops, the Cosplay Univers will also be the biggest Cosplay competition in the country which will feature celebrity guest judges from the international Cosplay circuit and where contestants vie for big prizes in six cosplay categories.

The TOYCON would not be complete without the biggest gallery of toy collections from all over the Philippines which will highlight the best and latest action figure releases and the most amazing customized toys, statues, dolls and high end collectibles. The TOYCON Gallery will be held inside the Megatrade function rooms which will serve as the museum of the event.

The event's main draw is the huge dealers' floor where anything and everything pop-culture can be found and purchased at bargain prices. Almost 180 booths will be open to sell pop apparel, cosplay accessories , superhero merchandise, fantasy and sci-fi collectibles, comics, cards, and of course, all sorts of toys overflowing from action figures, transformers, diecast cars, robots and high-end statues and 1/6 scale Hot Toys.

Get ready for loads of prizes to be given away on various competitions, games and contests. There will also be hourly raffles and exclusive giveaways for lucky TOYCON attendees. Aside from those, the convention will feature suprise guest celebrities from ABS CBN, band performances, live auctions, film showings and panel discussions from the best toy collectiors from the local toy groups and customizers.

The 11th Philippine TOYCON 2012 opens its gate on Friday, June 15, with a special Retailers Day were collectors can already start buying their favorite toy collection pieces, and continues on through Father's Day weekend on June 16 and 17 from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm at the Megatrade Halls 1 to 3, 5th level of the SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. The 11th Philippine TOYCON is presented by Collectibles Unlimited and co-presented by the Megatrade Hall, Smart, DC Comics, HERO and AMPed. Major sponsors are Maxi Collector, Toy Kingdom, ABS-CBN Licensing and Publishing, Warner Brothers, and Solar-UIP. Minor sponsors are Comic Odyssey, Sugar Free and Blue, CIIT, Buhawi Studios, Big Boys Toystore, Great Toys and Freshgear. Media partners are ABS CBN, Studio 23, 99.5 RT, Magic 89.9 and Flipgeeks. Event partners are Anime Alliance and Komikon.