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Comic Con, one of the most prestigious and celebrated events dedicated to authors, graphic designers, cosplayers, and comic book fanatics, is back in India this year with its eleventh installment.
The convention, which will take place across three weekends in three major cities across the country, will primarily focus on comic book culture, where fans will gather to meet authors, creators, and each other.
In this article, we will not only explore the details of the upcoming event, but we will also reveal what Jatin Varma, founder of Comic Con India, had to say about the event's future in an exclusive interview with SK POP.
Comic Con India: Dates, venues, and all you need to know
Comic Con is back with a bang for its 2022 edition, with the event being spread across three weekends and three major cities across the country.
In its post-pandemic return, Comic Con this year is celebrating more than a decade since it first debuted in the country with celebrity guests, mid-blowing experiences, the country's best cosplayers, fabulous merchandise, and more.
The event's first destination will be Bangalore, Karnataka, on November 19 and 20, 2022, at KTPO Trace Center in Whitefield. It will feature an 80,000sq ft Gaming Arena in partnership with The Esports Club, giving fans unparalleled access to games, publishers, and brands with a whole host of activities and experiences.
Bengaluru will witness popular Indian and international artists who have entertained us with their insights on comics and pop culture. The list of expected guests is extensive, and they will each have their own stalls, complete with engaging activities.
We are expected to see the following artists at Comic Con, Bengaluru.
Sailesh Gopalan of @brownpaperbagcomics
Yanick Paquette, International comic book artist
Jonathan Kunz of @war.and.peas
Akshara Ashok of @happyfluffcomics
Also on the list are Gaurav Basu of @acid_toad, Bhaghya Babu of @awkwerrrd, @bakarmax, Indusverse Comic Books, Metadesi comics, Holy Cow Universe, and many more! The annual cosplay competition will be an event highlight. For those interested, they can find the guidelines here.
This year, Comic Con, powered by Meta, also organized several pre-event workshops with prestigious artists. On October 15, the Annual Cosplay Workshop was held with Nabil Khan and Rahul Karan Diwakar at Vapour, Indiranagar. First-timers to seasoned pros had the opportunity to learn the art, meet the pros, and figure out hacks for the Annual Cosplay Competition.
On October 29, Comic con fans dressed up as their favorite character for the spookiest party of the year at Bengaluru's biggest Halloween party.
On November 6, Derek Domnic D'Souza organized a Digital Art 101 workshop, also in Vapour, Indiranagar. D'Souza led a crowd of eager artists through his journey on how he became a full-time artist in India, an event SK POP had the opportunity to cover.
From the importance of comics and graphic novels to what more is in store for Comic Con: In conversation with Jatin Varma, Founder and pop culture collector
Q: What was the inspiration behind bringing to life India's very own Comic-Con (Story/ Personal anecdotes behind its inception)
Jatin: Back in 2010, as a firm, we were invested in creating content for others, be it content for websites or producing reality TV shows, which meant we did not own any of the content we created, and we were just a vendor in that process.
As a side project, we would create and publish comics as a creative outlet, which led to us discovering many artists and writers in this space. And then the idea of doing an event around comics got kicked around.
"Once I knew that it had not been done before in India, I knew that I had to do it."
So, it was a purely personal project; there was no business plan or long-term vision. But all that changed once we completed the first show in Delhi in February 2011, and the rest was history.
Q: How did you combat the effects of the pandemic/utilize the time to return this year on a grand scale?
Jatin: As with everyone else in the Live Events industry, we had to hunker down and wait it out. We did capitalize on our knowledge of the pop-culture space to create a creative consultancy vertical, which helped a bit. Plus, we tried our best to keep the engagement going with our audience digitally.
We were not big believers in virtual events as it was just not something that could replace the actual experience, and the revenue model for it was non-existent. So we waited it out, and finally, we are back this season.
Q: What is your take on the Comic book industry in India, and what does Comic Con India strive to achieve on a representation basis?
Jatin: It is more of a community rather than an industry, made up of some amazing creators and small publishers in the Indian space. Over the past several years (pre-pandemic and now as well), we have invited most of these creators and publishers to our events as guests and showcased their work on our channels.
We aim to keep highlighting the amazing work being done in India and wherever possible to help push this community forward, hopefully to a juncture where it becomes an industry.
Q: How important do you feel is the contribution of Comic Books and Graphic Novels to the spectrum of literature at large?
Jatin: Extremely important; some of the most amazing stories and/or literature being written is currently in the comic book/graphic novel format. Many people gloss over the fact that most comics produced are not based on superheroes but rather showcase a gamut of genres. The past few years have seen amazing pieces of literary work being produced in this space.
Q: What are your future aspirations for the growth of Comic Con India, and where do you see this event heading in the grand scheme of things?
Jatin: The pandemic gave us a pause and gave us the time to re-think how we wish to proceed. We plan to add more cities to our annual calendar, starting with Chennai, Kolkata & Pune. We hope to make the experience better and more curated in the coming years, and we will also be making a permanent addition of gaming to our shows.
Comic Con will feature in other cities through December 2022 and February 2023. Delhi Comic Con: 9th-10th December 2022 at NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla Mumbai Comic Con: 11th-12th February 2023 at Jio World Center, BKC.
Passes are available at comicconindia.com.
