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Popcon Asia set to rely on star power
Leading the lineup of guest stars is another actor from the Power Rangers franchise, with Austin St. John, the original Red Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, making an appearance.
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Star power: Austin St. John, the original Red Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, is leading the lineup at this year’s Popcon Asia festival. The event will take place on Sept. 22-23 at the Indonesia Convention and Exhibition Centre (ICE) in BSD, South Tangerang, Banten. (Courtesy of Popcon Asia/-)
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ocal creative industry convention Popcon Asia returns this year, with a “Clash of Pop” theme that promises a repeat of the fun events of previous editions and more unexpected surprises as it gains prominence among Indonesian creators.
This year’s Popcon Asia, which will take place on Sept. 22-23 at its new home at the Indonesia Convention and Exhibition Centre (ICE) in BSD, South Tangerang, Banten, is set to feature the usual fare of competitions, games, animation showcases and cosplay celebrations, as well as film and music stars to liven up its dozens of creator booths.
Returning events include the Doodlebattle, Popconnect and the new Tabletopia section, where many Indonesian-made video games can be sampled for public use.
The abundance of local creations in this event, according to Popcon INC CEO Yenny Wangsawidjaja, is exactly why the event chose the “Clash of Pop” theme, as it provides a healthy competitive battlefield for all participating creators for the sake of their collective development.
“With the ‘Clash of Pop’ theme, every medium is accommodated. There is no barrier to creation, as creations of all types are welcome and encouraged here at Popcon Asia,” Yenny said.
Leading the lineup of guest stars is another actor from the Power Rangers franchise, with Austin St. John, the original Red Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, making an appearance.
St. John’s Red Ranger Jason Lee Scott is considered one of the most notable characters from the original Mighty Morphin series, and he himself became a teen icon because of it.
Aside from Morphin, St. John, whose real name is Jason Geiger, also reprised his character in the subsequent series Power Rangers Zeo.
Popcon has featured cast members of the Power Rangers franchise in their events before, with previous guests being original black Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Walter Jones in 2017 as well as the Indonesian-born Peter and Yoshi Sudarso brothers, who played the blue rangers in Power Rangers Dino Charge and Power Rangers Ninja Steel.
Other actor appearances include Wil Traval of the Marvel-based TV series Jessica Jones and Arrow. His appearances also include stints in Dexter and CSI.
Renowned writer/comic artist guest stars making appearances include Malaysian illustrator Kael Ngu, Filipino artist Mico Suayan and internationally known Indonesian animators such as Monez Gusmang and Ronny Gani. Gani is noted mainly for his work in big-scale productions such as Pacific Rim, The Avengers and Ant-Man.
Yenny said films and music would also be given a bigger spotlight this year.
For one, Popcon Asia 2018 will also feature debut appearances of several Indonesian film trailers — from the hotly anticipated films Dreadout (based on the Indonesian-made video game of the same name popular in 2014) and the new Joko Anwar flick Gundala alongside other local films like Foxtrot Six and Hello Salma.
To honor the film industry further, the Popcon Film Awards will be given out for the first time this year, with nominees including smash hits Dilan 1990, Ayat-Ayat Cinta 2 (Verses of Love 2), Pengabdi Setan (Satan’s Slave) and Marlina: A Murder in Four Acts.
These films are competing in a variety of categories, from Best Product Placement and Best Duet to Best Horror and Most Memeable film.
The Popcon Awards will not only cover film but will also see awards in the comic book, game and board-game categories.
Music groups White Shoes and the Couples Company, Goodnight Electric and RAN will play the two-day festivities, and will all be contributing to a project that emphasizes the importance of maintaining intellectual creative property, according to the event’s musical director and MC, Franki “Pepeng” Indrasmoro Sumbodo, better known as drummer for indie band NAIF.
Pepeng, who will also be showcasing a new edition of his children’s comic book series Setan Jalanan (Street Demons) at the event, said one of Popcon’s music-related projects included one that requires participating musicians to reinterpret their music according to certain comic book series or characters of their choice, even ones that the musicians wrote themselves.
“Performing music with visual backgrounds is a relatively normal thing to do, right?” Pepeng says. “This time I want to shake it up by doing the opposite: let the visual backgrounds be accompanied and interpreted through the music. This will result in these comic series and their characters being given a more interesting take on their lives.”
