PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DC’s ‘Cyborg’ Smashes His Way into AsiaPOP Comicon Manila 2017 Second batch of Guest Artists Revealed Hold on to your plasma cannons as DC’s newest fighter makes his way to the Philippine stage! Today, AsiaPOP Comicon Manila 2017 (APCC Manila) unveils American actor Ray Fisher, aka Cyborg, from Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and the highly anticipated film Justice League. Fisher will be the first Hollywood celebrity headliner to take on the biggest pop culture event in the country. APCC Manila 2017 is slated from August 25 to 27 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Victor Stone, aka Cyborg, is a former college athlete turned cybernetic warrior through the mysterious power of an otherworldly living machine known as a Mother Box. Cyborg is the latest addition to DC's Justice League, an organization of Earth's greatest superheroes dedicated to protecting the world from its greatest threats. “We have always believed in bringing unique talent and content to AsiaPOP Comicon Manila and this year is no different as we are bringing one of the brightest talents and potential future superstar, Ray Fisher who is reprising the role of Cyborg in the forthcoming blockbuster Justice League and will continue to be key superhero character within DC Universe” said Abdulla Mahmood, Director, Marketing and International Business, Al Ahli Holding Group. “Die-hard DC fans who were craving for a superhero talent have their wishes fulfilled as they will get an opportunity to interact with Ray Fisher as Cyborg”. In 2020, Warner Bros. is said to release a solo Cyborg film, where Fisher will reprise his role as Victor Stone/Cyborg. Fisher’s performance as Cyborg marks the actor’s big screen debut. His past performances include a brief appearance in the period television drama, The Astronaut Wives Club, and various theater productions across the United States, including his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the New York Theatre Workshop's Off-Broadway production of Fetch Clay, Make Man. Art Invasion APCC Manila also released the second batch of globally-recognized artists who will showcase their works and share their talents to their fans. These include Whilce Portacio, Carl Potts, Shoji Kawamori, and Serena Kozuki. Returning to APCC Manila is Filipino-American comic book artist and writer Whilce Portacio, who has done notable works, including the titles Uncanny X-men, X-Factor, The Punisher, Heroes Reborn: Iron Another Awesome Event by Proud Partner of The CAGE UNIVERSAL EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT | A subsidiary of Al Ahli Holding Group e: [email protected] | w: www.asiapopcomicon.com Man, Wetworks, and Spawn, among others. The talented inker and penciller was also a co-founder of the Image Comics and he has currently returned working independently for Image, DC and Marvel. For his part, Carl Potts, who has worked as an Executive Editor in Marvel Comics for 13 years, is well- known for being the mentor of some of the top comic artists including Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Scott Williams, Art Adams, Lary Stroman, Jon Bogdanove, and Terry Shoemaker. He created Alien Legion and the graphic novel Last of the Dragons. His book, The DC Comics Guide to Creating Comics: Inside the Art of Visual Storytelling was also published by DC/Watson-Guptill. He is currently working on a graphic novel project called, The Flying Column. Under the title of “Vision Creator,” Shoji Kawamori acts as a creator of original works, an animation director, a scriptwriter, a mecha designer and many other roles. Being one of the original creators of the animated TV hit Macross–which became part of a series known as Robotech outside Japan—he played a major part in developing one of the important factors that popularized the Japanese anime phenomenon worldwide. He was also one of the designers of the Diaclone line of toys, which later became known as the Transformers, including now ubiquitous “Optimus Prime.” His designs can be found in a wide range of media, from animation, and video games to live-action movies and commercial products. Pop Music Adding rhythm and beat to the fun that is APCC is solo Japanese idol Serena Kozuki, who will serve as the event’s musical guest. Serena is widely known for the song Shake the DiCE, which is the ending song of a popular Japanese Anime, light novel and Manga franchise titled, TenchiMuyo! Ryo Ohki. She is known as “Live Monster” onstage and is admired for her performing styles, which vary from sweet and girly to rock-hard livewire. Serena performs for over 200 live shows yearly. APCC Manila 2017 tickets are now available via SM Tickets website, https://smtickets.com/, or at all SM Tickets outlets, with ticket prices a t PhP600 (one-day pass), PhP900 (two-day pass), and PhP1,100 (three-day pass). All these will give the ticketholder access to stage activities, performances, and the main show floor. The event is free for children aged five years and below for all days, but a valid identification is required for verification purposes before entering the show floor. A limited edition Collector’s Pack is available at a discounted price of PhP 3,500. This special offer is available for purchase at SM Tickets online (https://smtickets.com/events/view/5868) and SM Tickets outlets while supplies last. Collector's Pack includes 1/12 Scale Iron Man “Shotgun” Collectible Figure, 1x APCC 3-Day Pass, 1x Special Edition Captain America Comic Book from Comicave Studios, and 1x APCC 2016 Tote Bag. Another Awesome Event by Proud Partner of The CAGE UNIVERSAL EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT | A subsidiary of Al Ahli Holding Group e: [email protected] | w: www.asiapopcomicon.com Also available is the Ultimate Merch Bundle, priced at PhP 1,600. The bundle includes 1x APCC 3- Day Pass, 1x Special Edition Captain America Comic Book from Comicave Studios, 1x APCC 2016 Tote Bag, 1x Sticker Set, 1x APCC 2017 Cotton T-Shirt (S-XL), 2x APCC Lanyards, and 1x Star Wars Lanyard. This bundle is limited to 100 sets only, and is available at SM Tickets online, and at all SM Ticket outlets near you! For more information and event updates, visit www.asiapopcomicon.com/manila, or follow their official Facebook Page www.facebook.com/apccmanila, Twitter account @AsiaPOPComicon, and Instagram account @asiapopcomicon. _______________________________________________________________________________________ For media inquiries, contact: Mikey de Quiros or Abi Matsuzawa Full Circle Communications, Inc. (637-1116) ABOUT ASIAPOP COMICON AsiaPOP Comicon (APCC) is an international pop culture convention themed around comics, film, toys and collectibles, animation, games, cosplay, superheroes and everything pop culture. The event will attract several internationally renowned artists, celebrities and pop-culture icons to various pockets of Asia, starting with Manila in the Philippines, and draw the attention of ardent fans. APCC will feature exhibitors from genres of pop culture and top studios from the across the globe, to bring popular brands and exclusive content for the show. Focusing on delivering the ultimate fan experience, APCC aspires to bring geek culture mainstream and stand tall as a perfect launch pad to unveil new products and first look of movies for the Asia Pacific region providing a galore of potential opportunities for SMEs in the entertainment business to reach out to big brands and the vibrant creative talent pool from APAC. While the event will serve as a mega licensing avenue for studios to establish a direct access to potential clients through B2B networking, the larger purpose of the event will remain the outreach and communication for celebrities and brands with their fans and engage with them on a one-on-one basis. ABOUT UNIVERSAL EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT Universal Events & Entertainment (UEE), a subsidiary of Al Ahli Holding Group is a premier and dynamic international events management company, headquartered in Singapore committed to be the forefront of pop culture/comic con events globally. The passionate and dedicated team combined has over 4 decades of event management experience in the area of pop culture. Universal Events & Entertainment prides itself in bringing world class celebrations of pop culture globally that delivers the ultimate fan experience whilst assisting brands to tap into the pulse of pop culture; and aims to build and engage communities and fans at its pop culture cons worldwide. Another Awesome Event by Proud Partner of The CAGE UNIVERSAL EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT | A subsidiary of Al Ahli Holding Group e: [email protected] | w: www.asiapopcomicon.com .