Comic geeks, ahoy! Here's all you need to know about Comic-con Hyderabad 2018

Catch your favourite comic superheroes and stock up on official merchandise at the pop culture event, this weekend.
Cosplayers
Cosplayers

Comic-Con has grown to become one of the most influential pop culture events in the calendar. An opportunity for fans to meet their heroes, score autographs, dress up and interact with fellow aficionados — Comic-Con Hyderabad is now in its sixth year and is certainly going from strength to strength.

Deadpool meets Pikachu!
Deadpool meets Pikachu!


With more than two lakh visitors in 2017 alone, the two-day event is all set to cater to every geek’s wildest dreams — with numerous gaming and experiential zones, cosplay contests, six comic book launches and an impressive line-up of guest speakers. “This year, we have quite a few first-time exhibitors, along with over 200 regular participants. They will be offering a mix of comics, toys, licensed merchandise, artwork, accessories and a lot more,” says Jatin Varma, founder of Comic-Con India. Ahead of the event, we caught up with two Indian artistes visiting Hyderabad to chat with the comic geeks.

Abhijeet Kini
Known for his comic series Angry Maushi and Fanboys, Abhijeet Kini is a Mumbai-based illustrator, animator and independent comics publisher. Started off as a cartoonist in 2000, Abhijeet is a regular illustrator with Tinkle comics since 2004.


Excerpts:
What is the most challenging part of illustrating comics for kids? 

You need to draw a particular line, while drawing for kids (pun intended). You can’t get too cheeky with jokes. It needs to be clean, and easy to understand. Having said that, it’s a lot of fun drawing for kids, since it takes you back to your childhood and the comics you loved reading back then. 

With the advent of technology, has the demand for comics decreased? 
Not at all. I think Indian comics have some strong names that are synonymous with comic culture in the country… and Tinkle is definitely one of them. Technology probably has made things even better now, since one can read them online. I think the readership is healthier today, and that is evident at the comic cons where fans come over and express their views about their favourite stories from Tinkle. Technology probably has made things even better now, since one can read these comics online too.  

Saumin Suresh Patel
Mumbai-based Saumin Suresh Patel loves to tell stories through illustrated images in comics. Some of his works include original graphic novel Agent Vinod – The Jungfrau Encounter (Westland, Illuminate Films), The Mumbai Macguffin (Virgin Comics, Graphic India), Blazing Bajirao (Sanjay Leela Bhansali Films, Eros International). He has also self-published Kaamotsav –Volume 1, a collection of his erotic artworks.


Excerpts:
Growing up, what were the kinds of comics you read and how did they shape you as an illustrator?
I stumbled upon comic art during my art college years, and it was some of the most dynamic illustration work I had seen till then. I was a hoarder of DC and Marvel books. There was one day when I had found three single issues of Daredevil — Man Without Fear and that was like finding some treasure. As a child, I also read some odd Hindi comics like Daaku Paan Singh, Pinki, Billu and Chacha Chowdhary. Most recently, I worked with director Sriram Raghavan’s Andhadhundh, for which I have storyboarded a few key sequences.

Do you think the importance of comic books in pop culture has grown, in the last few years?
After American superhero movies, the impact and influence has certainly deepened. Comics is still a more unrestricted medium to tell any story, as it just requires some zany creators wanting to make comics and some readers to support the project by reading and spreading a word about that comic. People are buying and reading books. But we will need a lot of local material, and we also need fans to back the local projects.

Batman
Batman

Cosplay contests
Thanks to Comic-Con, cosplay has grown to become one of the most celebrated contests, today. At Comic-con Hyderabad, contestants will have to register on-ground, get their photograph clicked and then battle it out on the main stage for first place in their respective categories (comic book/graphic novel, animated series/movie, Manga/anime, sci-fi/fantasy and gaming). Each day, one participant will get a chance to appear at the finals of the National Indian Championships of Cosplay.


Experiential zones
From Marvel and DC to Fantastic Beasts and Creed 2, geeks can experience the world of comics through the special gaming zones set up at the event. The line-up includes AXN, Sony Pix, ESL Premiership and AMD Game On.

Other artistes to look forward to:
Matthew Rosenberg 
(New York-based illustrator and creator of Uncanny X-Men, The Punisher, New Mutants, 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank and We Can Never Go Home.)

Ty Templeton
(Canadian comics artist who has worked on Stig’s Inferno, Batman and The Simpsons.)


At Hitex Exhibition Center on 
October 13 & 14.

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