The much-awaited annual event saw some regulars such as a Chacha Chaudhary cosplayers trying to keep the spirit of old Indian Comic books alive, and Wonder Woman dresses in Diana's garb from before she comes to this dimension, in the DC movie.
Comic Con Mumbai kicked off in a flurry of cosplayers, book launches, games and talks by comic artists at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC) in Goregaon on Saturday. The much-awaited annual event saw some regulars such as a Chacha Chaudhary cosplayers trying to keep the spirit of old Indian Comic books alive, and Wonder Woman dresses in Diana's garb from before she comes to this dimension, in the DC movie.
"I started working on this costume right from last year's Comic Con," says Trisha Devadiga, 26, who spent the entire year ensuring that her costume turned out perfectly. "I made the shield from cardboard boxes and most of the elements are from EVA foam." The foam is also the main element that went into an Iron Man costume for 26-year-old Jeet Molankar, whose suit came with lights at the chest and arms made with LED bulbs.
"The Comic Con audience know the Indian comics as well. This gives new participants a lot of confidence to showcase their art," says Angry Maushi comic artist Abhijeet Kini, who introduced his own series Rhymefighters, Shanskarshala and The Dabbawala Comic at the event. Among other launches were Penguin Random House's Magic in Musoorie, The Epic Journey of Dara Singh by his son Vindu Dara Singh and Blame It On Rahil by independent Bangalore-based comic artist, Rahil Mohsin. "The independent comic books scene in India has been growing only in the last ten years," says Mohsin.
"Right now there are around 30-35 people who are trying to push the scene forward and trying to push their work at Comic Cons and similar events. In order to grow as an industry, we need to grow as a community," he elaborates, adding that he has started his own initiative — Comics over Coffee — where he shares his knowledge of the industry with budding artists. And events like Comic Con certainly add to the encouragement that any artist gets.
Besides the bustling art counters, with artists giving live demos of sketches and interacting with enthusiasts, large crowds also gathered around the Marvel, Fast and the Furious and The Mummy gaming stations among others. Answers to obscure moments from The Avengers movies were shouted out from the enthusiastic crowd while others tried to dig out mummies from dirt to win memorabilia. The electric atmosphere found Iron Man posing with Loki and Gamora and The Nun bowing to Jon Snow — a feat that can only happen at Comic Con!
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