Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (PG), Pune hosted a workshop recently at its campus, in association with Comic Con India.
Comic Con is not only gaining popularity across the country, but is also providing Indian publishers and illustrators a thriving platform and fans access to some exclusive content and merchandise.
The magic of Comic Con is taking over the entire country
Recently, the Comic Con held in Delhi showed us that Comic Con has finally arrived in India, but is it only Delhi?
Nah uh, sure Comic Con India started in Delhi but the express has expanded to cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune this year.
Also Read – 6 Things That Went Wrong In Comic Con Express Pune 2016
Finally here comes a platform for Indian fans to understand how comic books are made, discover the creativity of indigenous artists, and find out that there’s more to comics than Marvel and DC.
Indie Comic Publishers now to come onboard for every Comic Con!
Say what?
Yep, Jatin Varma, the founder of Comic Con India said that Indie comic developers will have to release three (yes three!) new titles every year and they’ll get free stalls, promotion and branding at all Indian Comic Cons and it starts this year in Hyderabad!
Stall spaces are given to vintage comics like Indrajal, Champak and Diamond Comics in Hindi.
Opportunities to meet not-so-mainstream artists
With a special platform generated for graphic novels- it acts as a primary platform for sales of marginalized genres and a Church of sorts for the lovers of pop-culture.
It acts as a platform for sellers to meet and interact directly with their buyers.
A chance to celebrate your ipseity (we had to Google the meaning too)
The Alto Comic Book Celebration week, according to Jatin Varma aimed to clear the misconception that comics are only for children. He says that that isn’t true—a lot of the themes dealt with are for young adults and older readers.
It included workshops that gave artists a chance to win a free artist table through the fan art contest.
A workshop was also conducted at Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, Pune which happened to be the first Indian college to host a Comic Con event.
Free Goodies!!!
Online digital content marketplace, Readwhere,
“We started a free comic book weekend in 2013 to reach out to more people,” said Jatin Varma.
It has been already a three-year partnership between the two entities and they aim at the democratization of the publishing process.
Good news for all the gamers out there!
Over the second week of June this year, Beijing celebrated its first Comic Con with Jatin Varma present.
Varma said that the show merchandise and the indie game developers’ area in Beijing was quite good and hopes to incorporate something similar to the Indian Cons as well.
Here’s hoping!
Platform for freelance artists
Comic Cons over the country give opportunities to various freelance artists to display their talents during the cons.
The unconventional and often neglected artworks of these artists are brought out for all to see and be appreciated.
Promotions of shows/new comics
Comic Con acts as a platform for the promotion of new comics and shows that may not necessarily follow the norm and get accepted readily.
Like Holy Cow’s Ravanayan, which is the Ramayana from Ravana’s point of view.
Now that would be an interesting read!
Get your hands on… Original branded merchandise
Comic con acted as a platform to connect Indian fans with their favorite comics and their respective merchandise well before Amazon launched in India.
Fans used to and still do eagerly look forward to Comic Con every year to buy cheap merchandise and meet various prominent figures involved in the comic book world.
No need to wait for Halloween
Saving the best for last, before Comic Con, it was not normal for the Indian youth to dress up as their favorite characters unless it was for a “fancy-dress competition” or Halloween.
Cosplay in itself acts as an art form that combines a person’s individual characteristics along with the costume or avatar of their fictional alter egos.
Comic Con provides us with that opportunity to identify with our favorite characters once every year.
Did you attend Comic Con Pune? Share with us your experiences!
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Anikait is the Co-founder of Campus Times. An undercover nerd. Helps several businesses & startups amplify their online presence & reach. Beer, Puns & Game of Thrones aficionado.
