<p>Comic Con is a celebration of all things pop culture. Bengaluru saw its eight edition over the weekend at KTPO, Whitefield. The convention centre was packed with TV, movie and comic book fans, armed with money for merchandise and fully charged phones to take photos with the cosplayers. There was a sense of community, with everyone interacting among themselves. Each attendee got a bag of goodies with their tickets.However, there were complaints about the payment options at stalls and the quality of the food. It’s a known fact that conventions can be quite heavy on your pocket. Even if you don’t spend on the merchandise, getting the tickets and buying food can drain your pocket. But it’s not just attendees, exhibitors too have to shell out quite a lot. The smallest stall at Comic Con costs Rs 50,000. A few first-time exhibitors explained their absence in earlier years.“Even if we could possibly earn back the money by putting up a stall, it’s difficult to put that much money up front,” says an artist who didn’t want to be named. Others say that they are not just paying for the stall but for the publicity that comes with it. Shruti, the creator of Artycor, a woodcraft business, says that they also get exposure which could translate into purchase at a later date. To help independent artists get exposure, collectives such as ‘Hybrid Saritire’ have come up. Ishan Shah, who founded the company with his best friend, says that the job of an artist is to create art. “We take over the marketing and distribution aspect of it and bear all the costs of that.” So far, they only have two comics on their roster but say that they have investors who are interested in backing their growth. He also mentions that a lot of streaming giants are now looking at comics as a way to produce more indegenous content. “Usually the production of a show takes way too long. When adapting a comic book, you not just have a story but also a storyboard which allows them to churn out material faster,” he adds. Experiential Zones‘Legion by Lenovo Gaming Arena’ was a paradise for gamers. Dark and filled with beanbags, they could lounge and enjoy playing their favourite video games. There were two zones that required people do a little more physical activity. The human foosball game was quite the riot, but it was the skateboarding zone by Kingfisher that drew a crowd of both young and old. Kevin, a part of India’s only skateboarding collective Holystoked, was one of the trainers. “There’s a lot of physics involved in skateboarding but once you learn how to do it, there are no restrictions,” he says, “It’s a sport that allows for so much freedom.”Family SupportAs illustrator Abhijeet Kini said, family support is an important part of making a career. This was best displayed at a stall called Navs-Art.Filled with hand-drawn posters of K-pop idols and anime characters, the artist is 18-year-old Navami who has put up a stall for the third time.Supported by her mother, aunt and grandmother, you could see these older women identifying K-pop bands and anime characters. Her mother says, ‘It’s important for me to support her in doing whatever she’s passionate about, this gives her an avenue. I’ve even started watching Naruto!” She said, referring to the popular anime series. AK WirruCosplayerBased in Sydney, Wirru, has travelled extensively as a guest and judge at conventions. He says choosing a costume takes a lot of planning, “I am always wary of excess baggage. I keep an eye on the weight when I choose the costume.”Adam EllisIllustratorThis ex-Buzzfeed illustartor is known for his comics on Instagram(@adamtots). After he landed he put up an Instagram story with a bearded man who looks a lot like him, and said that he’s found his Indian doppelganger. Only that this man was Virat Kohli, “After I put it up one of my Indian friends messaged me saying that I had just compared myself to one of India’s most famous people. That was fitting start,” says Adam.Abhijeet Kini, illustrator and author He says that family support is very important for people like him to get where he is today. “Beyond just meeting the fans, Comic-Con also opens up a feedback channel,” he says. Arguably, the busiest stall at the con was that of Alicia Souza’s. Her almost equally well known husband, George, was the one managing the stall while she posed for pictures with a never-ending line of fans. She says that it’s been wonderful seeing the audience evolve and become more accepting of comics. Sailesh Gopalan of ‘Brown Paperbag Comics’ said that people mistake him for his comic’s main character, Kabir, quite often. “Earlier I used to get a little upset but now when people call me Kabir I don’t even bother correcting them,” he says. Sufi Comics, run by Bengaluru-based brothers Mohammed Ali Vakil and Mohammed Arif Vakil, started as a way to share the stories they learned in madrasas growing up. “The stories are presented alongside verses from the Quran as we also wanted to educate people about Islam,” says Ali.They were the first Indian publishers to sell their comics at San Diego Comic Con in 2012. The comics have been translated into 11 languages.Warwick Johnson-Cadwell Comic book authorThe illustrator and comic book author is best known for his work on Samurai Jack. When asked what it was like to work on an established character he says, “I realised quite early on that I had to do it my own way. I’m a huge fan of the character, but I knew that if I tried to do it the way they did it , it wouldn’t work as well.”</p>
<p>Comic Con is a celebration of all things pop culture. Bengaluru saw its eight edition over the weekend at KTPO, Whitefield. The convention centre was packed with TV, movie and comic book fans, armed with money for merchandise and fully charged phones to take photos with the cosplayers. There was a sense of community, with everyone interacting among themselves. Each attendee got a bag of goodies with their tickets.However, there were complaints about the payment options at stalls and the quality of the food. It’s a known fact that conventions can be quite heavy on your pocket. Even if you don’t spend on the merchandise, getting the tickets and buying food can drain your pocket. But it’s not just attendees, exhibitors too have to shell out quite a lot. The smallest stall at Comic Con costs Rs 50,000. A few first-time exhibitors explained their absence in earlier years.“Even if we could possibly earn back the money by putting up a stall, it’s difficult to put that much money up front,” says an artist who didn’t want to be named. Others say that they are not just paying for the stall but for the publicity that comes with it. Shruti, the creator of Artycor, a woodcraft business, says that they also get exposure which could translate into purchase at a later date. To help independent artists get exposure, collectives such as ‘Hybrid Saritire’ have come up. Ishan Shah, who founded the company with his best friend, says that the job of an artist is to create art. “We take over the marketing and distribution aspect of it and bear all the costs of that.” So far, they only have two comics on their roster but say that they have investors who are interested in backing their growth. He also mentions that a lot of streaming giants are now looking at comics as a way to produce more indegenous content. “Usually the production of a show takes way too long. When adapting a comic book, you not just have a story but also a storyboard which allows them to churn out material faster,” he adds. Experiential Zones‘Legion by Lenovo Gaming Arena’ was a paradise for gamers. Dark and filled with beanbags, they could lounge and enjoy playing their favourite video games. There were two zones that required people do a little more physical activity. The human foosball game was quite the riot, but it was the skateboarding zone by Kingfisher that drew a crowd of both young and old. Kevin, a part of India’s only skateboarding collective Holystoked, was one of the trainers. “There’s a lot of physics involved in skateboarding but once you learn how to do it, there are no restrictions,” he says, “It’s a sport that allows for so much freedom.”Family SupportAs illustrator Abhijeet Kini said, family support is an important part of making a career. This was best displayed at a stall called Navs-Art.Filled with hand-drawn posters of K-pop idols and anime characters, the artist is 18-year-old Navami who has put up a stall for the third time.Supported by her mother, aunt and grandmother, you could see these older women identifying K-pop bands and anime characters. Her mother says, ‘It’s important for me to support her in doing whatever she’s passionate about, this gives her an avenue. I’ve even started watching Naruto!” She said, referring to the popular anime series. AK WirruCosplayerBased in Sydney, Wirru, has travelled extensively as a guest and judge at conventions. He says choosing a costume takes a lot of planning, “I am always wary of excess baggage. I keep an eye on the weight when I choose the costume.”Adam EllisIllustratorThis ex-Buzzfeed illustartor is known for his comics on Instagram(@adamtots). After he landed he put up an Instagram story with a bearded man who looks a lot like him, and said that he’s found his Indian doppelganger. Only that this man was Virat Kohli, “After I put it up one of my Indian friends messaged me saying that I had just compared myself to one of India’s most famous people. That was fitting start,” says Adam.Abhijeet Kini, illustrator and author He says that family support is very important for people like him to get where he is today. “Beyond just meeting the fans, Comic-Con also opens up a feedback channel,” he says. Arguably, the busiest stall at the con was that of Alicia Souza’s. Her almost equally well known husband, George, was the one managing the stall while she posed for pictures with a never-ending line of fans. She says that it’s been wonderful seeing the audience evolve and become more accepting of comics. Sailesh Gopalan of ‘Brown Paperbag Comics’ said that people mistake him for his comic’s main character, Kabir, quite often. “Earlier I used to get a little upset but now when people call me Kabir I don’t even bother correcting them,” he says. Sufi Comics, run by Bengaluru-based brothers Mohammed Ali Vakil and Mohammed Arif Vakil, started as a way to share the stories they learned in madrasas growing up. “The stories are presented alongside verses from the Quran as we also wanted to educate people about Islam,” says Ali.They were the first Indian publishers to sell their comics at San Diego Comic Con in 2012. The comics have been translated into 11 languages.Warwick Johnson-Cadwell Comic book authorThe illustrator and comic book author is best known for his work on Samurai Jack. When asked what it was like to work on an established character he says, “I realised quite early on that I had to do it my own way. I’m a huge fan of the character, but I knew that if I tried to do it the way they did it , it wouldn’t work as well.”</p>
