CHENNAI: Comic conventions are quite the rage in the US and have somehow reached us through references in The Big Bang Theory in which the geeks love comic books, superheroes, Star Wars, and dressing up in costumes because of the craze surrounding pop culture. But a few years back, to avoid the expense of travelling abroad to Comic Con, a group of youngsters in New Delhi decided to create one on their own in their city in 2010. Comic Con India thus became a reality headed by Jatin Varma, a 29-year-old Economics graduate. The first Comic Con was held in New Delhi in 2011 which saw a footfall of close to 10,000 people — startling for an event that was still very new in its concept for India. Since then, they’ve extended to three cities — Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad — and seen close to 50,000 people attend the event.
Jatin says that he’s had to explain Comic Con to people for the last four years. “Comic Con is an experience for the gamers, artists, writers, comic book and pop culture enthusiasts. We have movie screenings, TV specials from shows like Supernatural and Sherlock, have a lineup of artists showcasing their work and publishers exhibiting comic books. It’s a great opportunity to pick up merchandise that includes action figures, apparel and accessories.” Their two/three-day events have seen audiences aged 16 years and above, with a ratio of men and women being 60:40. They began ticketing the event only last year at Rs. 100, but plan to eventually increase that to improve the quality of content and events.
Youngsters witness a fun and energy-charged environment at Comic Con. In recent years, they’ve expanded to include the Bollywood element in Mumbai, with appearances by stars like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ali Zafar and Gulshan Grover, and has found favour with the audience. A boot-strapped venture, Jatin began his own content creation company called and published a magazine called Random right out of college (he went to University of Washington, Seattle), which he ran from 2007-10. “As we worked with artists, we realised the need for a Comic Con in India. I’ve been covering the losses so far, which are thankfully decreasing. We hope to break even this year and slowly progress to making profits. It takes time with experimental ventures like this to show results.”
Jatin is a comic book fanatic himself, having collected comic books, Legos and action figures from childhood, maintaining them in mint condition. “I think the costumes are the best part! It’s also a great place to meet like-minded people and make friends,” he says. He loves Superman, but thinks it wouldn’t be wise to roam around in that outfit — tight pants with underwear over it — while he has to work. But he has gone as the Star Trek Captain and a Jedi knight. Visit www.comicconindia.com for more.
— preethi@newindianexpress.com