Desi superheroes & New York Comic Con

We were joking that we'd probably get 10 people, but then 50-odd showed up at the 100-people capacity hall at the Javits Center in Manhattan, New York last week. They were there for our panel, Rising from the East, the first ever panel on Indian comics at the New York Comic Con (NYCC), the largest pop-culture convention in the United States. Fellow publishers and creators Akshay Dhar, Anant Sagar and I were there to highlight the Indian comics scene.

India has a long history of comics and we have tons of characters and stories to share. The crowd, a mix of Americans and Indian-Americans, was curious about our content, fascinated by the country's diversity reflecting in pop-culture, and had a lot of questions. They asked about superheroes, our mythologies, how we have a comics culture given that we are a multilingual nation and about where in the US they could access Indian comics.

Going global

We delved into how Indian comics started with political cartooning (Shankar's Weekly, Common Man) and has grown over the decades with characters from Amar Chitra Katha to now breaking away from mythology by moving into genres such as philosophy, humour and graphic novels. We also have new creators like Meta Desi Comics, Holy Cow, Yali Dreams, Graphic India – all putting out diverse content, which has potential for universal following.

And while I definitely believe that there lies an opportunity for a lot of creators in India to market themselves internationally, it is equally true that we are far from international acceptance. This requires content to be exported and made available for the international market, breaking into which isn't easy.

Consider, for instance, that it has been challenging to attract international content and creators at our Comic Con events in India throughout the last five years. If we reach out to a 100 potential guests, then perhaps one responds. We've thrown in all kinds of carrots to bring people to India, right from offering them tours of the Taj Mahal to taking care of expenses for a plus-1. Back when we were in talks with Reed Exhibitions, the largest exhibitions company in the world, three years ago, I invited myself to the 2013 edition of NYCC and participated as an exhibitor, showcasing my shows and Indian comics. The response then was not as upbeat as it was this year. The Indian pop-culture market is small and grows at a slower pace, although things have gotten easier since we've become a part of Reed Pop global family of events.

And then there is the sheer numbers game. When an international superhero movie releases in India, it makes, say about $25million while it rakes in $100-120million in China. Or let's take the case of the last Transformers sequel. It made more money in China than it did at the US box office. This prompts content creators to partner with Chinese producers or introduce Chinese characters, which ensures their global appeal. In India, pop culture franchises face stiff competition from Bollywood and other film industries.

Nevertheless, it is heartening to see cosplayers dressed as Indian comic book characters or from films, such as Baahubhali, at our events. It's been clear to me from the onset that Comic Con India (CCI) has to be inclusive and open to bringing new fans into the fold. This is something that we've picked up from the NYCC. So we do a variety of panels here. For instance, we had a session in Bangalore last year that was of interest to all sci-fi fans. We reached out to NASA and got in touch with an Indian scientist. She joined us live and spoke about how she controls and manoeuvres the Mars Rover. Similarly, for the upcoming Mumbai Comic Con, we have the Comics for Change panel, discussing the power of comics for social change and the launch of Volume 2 of Priya's Shakti, a comic book dealing with women empowerment and social injustice.

(Mumbai Comic Con is scheduled to be held on October 22-23 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon)

Stan Lee in the house

The New York Comic Con (NYCC) is a fantastic show with something for everyone. It is not intimidating even if you are not the geekiest fan or aware of everything in pop-culture. I had a unique, behind-the-scenes view of the largest pop-culture event of the year. I was lucky to have several star sightings: there was Bruce Campbell of Ash VS Evil Dead, the team from M.A.R.V.E.L. Agents of Shield and legendary Marvel comic book writer Frank Miller was just casually walking by. The highlight, though, was a one-on-one meeting with the man who started it all, Stan Lee. "I will never forget that experience."