What we loved about Batcon 2019

MANILA, Philippines – Batman turned 80 this year, and to celebrate this milestone, The Dark Knight Philippines, a community of local Bat-fanatics, organized Batcon 2019. Batcon 2019 was a great tribute not only to Batman, but to all the writers, artists, and fans who supported the caped crusader through these 8 decades. 

The convention was held at the Movie Stars Cafe in Centris on Saturday, October 19, and was one of the first character-focused conventions in the Philippines.

While there is no shortage of comic and geek conventions in the country, Batcon 2019 showed that events focused on specific characters could draw crowds – which honestly isn’t that surprising, since Batman has one of the most committed fanbases around. 

Batcon 2019 had lots of awesome things to see and do for both casual and entrenched bat-fans. Here were the things we loved: 

Celebrating history

Batman has been around for 8 decades – to say the character has lots of history would be an understatement. Browsing the various displays and merch tables in the convention was like a history lesson in all things Batman. 

Participants celebrated the long, storied history of the character by putting up toy displays and dioramas, creating fan art, or getting in costume. Geekdom isn’t a passive thing; it encourages participation and inspires creativity. It was cool to see fans playing an active part in celebrating Batman’s history.

Loads of merch

No geek convention would be complete without merch booths, and Batcon 2019 was no exception. Tables and cases full of toys, comics, and assorted memorabilia filled the venue. If you were looking for a rare Batman figure or an elusive back-issue, chances are you would have found it here. 

Most fans were hyped for the exclusive Batcon figure made by Quiccs. People lined up early for a chance to snag the Batcon version of Quiccs’ TEQ63 toy. The popular graffiti artist and toy designer also gave a talk later that afternoon about his career and the toy industry in general. 

Cosplayers in full effect

Batman has worn a ton of suits over the years. This means cosplayers had no shortage of designs to draw inspiration from. When it came to costume diversity, the cosplayers in Batcon 2019 did not disappoint.

There were cosplayers dressed as Adam West’s campy Batman from the 1960s, as well as the more modern counterparts, like the version from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Members of Batman’s rogues gallery were also represented here – more than a few Jokers, Poison Ivys, and Harley Quinns were there to lend an air of menace to the event. 

The VIP guests

This is the first Batman convention to be held in the country, but the organizers managed to bring in some heavy-hitter guests. Filipino comic book artists Carlo Pagulayan (Batman and Robin Eternal), Mico Suayan (Batman: The Dark Knight, Vol. 2: Cycle of Violence), and Toto Madayag (Libreng Comics) were in attendance to give talks and mingle with fans. 

Perhaps the most notable guest was American actor Kevin Porter (famous for portraying Batman in the popular Super Power Beat Down short films). Kevin gamely posed for photos with fans, and later in the convention even donned the Batsuit himself.  

Community and camaraderie 

The local Batman community pulled all the stops to make Kevin feel at home – not that that was a tough thing to do, since Kevin seemed perfectly at ease hanging out with fellow Batman fanatics. 

Organizing the event was a labor of love, and wouldn’t have been possible without the collective efforts of the local Batman community.  Among the organizers were some of the most devoted Bat-fans in the country – and you’ve got to be totally devoted (and maybe a little bit crazy) to want to organize something as logistically complicated as a geek convention. 

Unique activities 

Merch booths, toy sellers, and celebrity guests are a given with any geek convention. But Batcon 2019’s program was full of cool activities and demos – one of the more interesting ones being the “How to Fight Like Batman” presentation.

The demo, held by members of Pekiti-Tirsia Kali Pilipinas, showcased some of the martial arts moves used by the Dark Knight. Unfortunately, the demo didn’t cover how to set up a base of operations in the caves beneath one’s mansion.

This, and all the other activities, were awesome because they gave fans a new way to look at the character. Batman isn’t just a caped brawler; there’s a technique to his fighting style.    

Geekery meets altruism

Event organizers distributed proceeds from the Batcave Access tickets and Quiccs merchandise  to select children’s charities. It was an laudable gesture, and proves that not all heroes wear capes – sometimes, they organize conventions. – Rappler.com