The second Metro Comic Con just wrapped up this weekend — last 21st and 22nd of August 2010, at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall. The convention featured a dealers hall, indie comics market, a cosplay competition, and many others.

Compared to last year’s event, I was happy to note that there has been an increase in the proportion of the number of comics booths versus merchandise booths. It does not mean that the toy dealers still did not outnumber the comics sellers — they still did, but at least this year there were less of them and more of the comics sellers.

The indie tables this year definitely got a a level up — they now occupied a huge space in the center of the dealers hall, whereas last year they were all crammed into a tiny corner and barely had any elbow room. The added space made browsing the booths and looking at the merchandise a breeze, resulting in a few more purchases this year compared to last year.

One of the highlights in the indie market and dealers hall for us was the exhibit and selling booth of Pinoy Komiks hero Jess Jodlomon. A self-taught artist who flourished alongside other greats like Larry Alcala (whose family also held an exhibit) and Mars Ravelo during the Golden Age of Pinoy Komiks, his works were a marvel of cross-hatching and tone — done in a time when digital brushes and paste-on tone were nonexistent.

Sir Jess also very gamely signed our copy of his folio and posed for photos — thanks so much to you and your family for being so accommodating.

We also found Memer AKA IQ40 AKA Elmer Damaso at the indie booths, where he was selling copies of a short novel based on the Cat’s Trail universe, penned by his wife Maria Cornelia Damaso. Cat’s Trail Spotlight is the story of Airee and Polaris’ chilhood, and sheds more light on their characters as well as their relationships with other people in the comic series. It’s a defiitely a collectors item, especially for fans of the late, great Culture Crash comics.

Last but not least, was the cosplay competition. The competition results are:

Best Male: Ivan Valerio (Green Lantern)
Best Female: Lee Ahoro (Kid Zeal)
Best Child: Garbie Guevarra (Nel Tu)
Best Group: Project 8 and Bulacan Cosplay Mania
Best Pinoy Komiks: Heloise Blythe Diomante (Takip Silim)
Best Western Comics: Joel delos Santos (War Machine)
Best DC Comics: Isabel Cortez (Hawkgirl)

Compared to last year — where there was a good mix of costumes, I was disappointed to find out that anime cosplayers outnumbered their comics compatriots almost three to one. Personally I have nothing against anime cosplay, but this was one of the few events that comics cosplayers could call their own, and they’ve been run out of their own turf by too many Bleach, K-on, and Vocaloid cosplayers

Thank goodness for this group of gorgeous Batgirl cosplayers, as well as the hot couple of Greeen Arrow and Black Canary, who saved the afternoon for me.

Overall, MCC was a success, and the event organizers are beginning to show some signs of maturity by differentiating themselves from the dozens of almost weekly cookie-cutter events that do nothing more than feature the same cosplay events and hawk the same merchandise and publications. There’s still plenty of room to grow, and we may yet see the best that MCC can bring.