The Filipino komiks art market and organizer for the Philippine International Comics Online Festival (PICOF), Komiket, has been tabling different independent artists throughout the years ever since they first started in 2015. Now an established event for the local art community, Komiket returned to Centris Elements, Quezon City, and looks forward to more events in the upcoming months.
Upon entering the convention center, sheltered from the stormy weather, Komiket 2022 has over 360 creators selling art prints, stickers, komiks, and different merchandise like charms and crochet plushies.
For only ₱100 a ticket, the first 1,000 attendees were also given a Kommunity 2022 freebie, which features a collection of works from some of the most loved creators like Carlo Vergara for Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, Bob Ong for Bakit Baligtad Magbasa ang mga Pilipino, and the duo Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo for their komik series Trese.
Artists galore
While overwhelming at first, the place was easy to navigate and the diverse collection of merchandise was a feast for the eyes. Many notable artists were also present for this particular event, including KevinKalbo, Aeonix, and Anushbanush, who all shared their own different merchandise.
ID 120 Multimedia Arts student Irijah De Leon, was one of four people tabled under the collective “Crammours” who enthused about how much the event meant to him. He says, “Komiket is a celebration of local artists and their stories! [...] it’s absolutely wonderful we get to have a place where we can see our local artists shine with their original ideas!”
Comic artist and freelancer Henrick Dulin, shared his experience as one of the tabling artists with his collection of friends called “Anima.” “It was amazing! You get to meet and connect to the other artists, which is also an important thing to do while you're [at] the event!” he said, and as someone who lives far away in Tuguegarao with a 12-hour ride to Manila, he was even able to buy goodies to bring back home for family and friends.
However, it’s important to note that the convention was forced to continue despite heavy rainfall and floods. While Dulin only saw issues with transportation, according to some social media posts, some artists were left stranded in certain places and couldn’t stay in the comfort of their homes. Some were unfortunately unable to continue for Komiket’s second day but were at least safe by the end of everything.
A personal experience
To add a personal experience to the convention, I can personally account for how friendly and community-centered the organizers and the artists were. A friend of mine lost his phone and in a moment of panic, we had to talk to the organizers, who went on the microphone to call this out.
After a few more minutes, the phone was given back to the organizer as they joyfully announced, “And the count of missing phones is now… zero!” prompting the entire place to cheer and applaud. Something that got us shy but incredibly thankful for what community the event had.
Prepare to table or catch up on Komiket and their upcoming events for the rest of the year and beyond on their Twitter and Facebook pages.
