After skipping 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic, Comic-Con returned to San Diego, California for an in-person special edition, and it brought Pinoy pride with it.
For three days, comic books, art works, toys, and superheroes invaded the city. With some powered up pandemic protocols that included vaccine checks and masking, Comic-Con was done as a scaled down convention compared to years past.
"I've been going since the 90s so it feels like a 90s show with a little bit of 2000s stuff. I kind of like that but the fact I saw a Filipino American movie at Comic-Con is amazing," Comic-Con regular Albert Vergel de Dios says.
Filipino creatives were proud to show off some of their out-of-this-realm work, like Emmy-winner Mark Nazal, most known for his special effects in the series Westworld and Gotham.
He recently launched Diwata Komiks, which focuses on Philippine folklore. "What we aim to do is not just tell stories from an American perspective, but also show the world the beauty and the amazing things in Philippine comics in general," Nazal notes.
But the biggest moment for Filipinos was when the film 'Lumpia with a Vengeance' hosted a panel, screening, and autograph signing session with hundreds of fans lining up to meet the cast and crew.
"It is the first time in the history of Comic-Con's past that a Filipino film is screening alongside a Filipino panel," publicist Winston Emano asserts. Actor Earl Baylon says he was 'really blown away by the response' to their film.
The team behind Lumpia with a Vengeance hopes their success at the scaled-down version of the pop culture phenomenon is a sign for bigger audiences to come. "This is a nerd's dream to be coming to Comic-Con all these years and to finally screen the movie, we're not just screening the movie, we have a panel, we have a booth we're doing signings. It's the ultimate experience. I thank Comic-Con really for believing in our project," director Patricio Ginelsa says.