Comic Con India (CCI) is a series of annual comic-based conventions held in India. The first edition was held in New Delhi in 2011 and over the years has expanded to other major cities in India such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmadabad. There are annual comic cons now in all these cities. Cumulatively these five cities attract over 200,000 visitors with over 1200 exhibitors. Jatin Varma, the founder & managing director of Comic Con India, launched the first comic con in India in Delhi in 2011.[1][2] Since 2014, Comic Con India has been conducted in collaboration with ReedPop, the organisers of the New York Comic Con and the MCM London Comic Con.[3][4]
Cosplay of the Amul girl at the Mumbai Film and Comic Con 2014.
Cosplay has been a major part of the events. During the first Comic Con in 2011, there were only 13 cosplay participants. By 2017 the number of cosplayers crossed 2000.[5] Comic Con India also hosts the Indian Championship of Cosplay.[6]
Indian Championship of Cosplay
Comic Con India hosts the Indian Championship of Cosplay. Winners from each of the cosplay events held at the Comic Cons in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune directly enter into the competition as finalists, and accordingly a final winner is chosen. The winner of the Indian Championship of Cosplay then represents India at the Crown World Championships of Cosplay, Chicago Comic Con.[7]
In 2018, a Mumbai cosplayer won the Indian championship. Jeet Molankar won for cosplaying Reinhardt from Overwatch.[8]
The eighth edition of the Maruti Suzuki Delhi Comic Con 2018 was held from 7 to 9 December 2018 at NSIC Exhibition Ground in Okhla, New Delhi.[15] Notable guests includes actor Vladimir Furdik, (who plays the Night King in Game of Thrones), John Layman and Declan Shalvey.[16] The three day event also has a daily cosplay prize pool of over Rs 50,000. Grand Prize winners also qualify for the National Indian Championships of Cosplay.[17][18]
The seventh season of Delhi Comic Con, Maruti Suzuki Delhi Comic Con 2017, was held between 15 December and 17 December 2017 at NSIC Exhibition Ground in Okhla, New Delhi. The international guest line-up included Dan Parent, an artist of Archie Comics; Ryan North, creator of webcomics series Dinosaur Comics and Sonny Liew, multiple Eisner award-winning artist. Special sessions took place with Indian artists such as Abhijeet Kini, illustrator for Tinkle, Aniruddho Chakraborty of Chariot, Sailesh Gopalan of Brown Paperbag, Akshay Dhar of Meta Desi, among others.[20][21] Apart from launching the 'Delhi edition' of Archie Comics, the event saw other attractions including six experiential and gaming zones and exclusive merchandise. The ESL Indian Premiership Final was also held which had prize money of 15 lakhs.[22][23][24][25]
Entrance of New Delhi Comic Con 2017
Bengaluru Comic Con 2017
The sixth annual Bengaluru Comic Con was held from 2 December 2017 at the KTPO Convention Centre in Whitefield, Bengaluru. Scott Hampton, illustrator of Batman and Star Trek, was part of the event.[26][27]
Mumbai Comic Con 2017
The Mumbai Comic Con 2017 took place on 11–12 November at Bombay Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai. Internationally renowned artists and illustrators Nick Seluk, Yishan Li, David Lloyd were part of the event.[28][29]
Hyderabad Comic Con 2017
The fifth annual Hyderabad Comic Con took place on 14–15 October, Hitex Exhibition Centre, Izzat Nagar, Hyderabad. The event saw some amazing cosplay.[30][31]
Comic Con 2016
Delhi Comic 2016
Bimal ji sharing his experience at Comic Fan Fest 5. In background cover of a comic written by Mr. Bimal Chatterjee which broke all records that time.
Delhi Comic Con 2016 took place on 9, 10 December and 11, 2016 between 11 am to 8 pm at NSIC Grounds, Okhla. Celebrities present included Mr. Bimal Chatterjee (writer), Tom Richmond, Joe Harris, DJ Elliot, Gaurav Gera.[32][33]
Hyderabad Comic Con 2016
The Hyderabad Comic Con 2016 took place at the Hitex Exhibition Centre on 24–25 September. International celebrities at the event included Dan Parent, David Lloyd and Afshan Azad.[34]
Comic Con 2015
Delhi Comic Con 2015
This Comic Con was held at NSIC Exhibition Grounds in Delhi on 4 to 6 December.
International celebrities included, Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor in the popular TV series Game of Thrones, Ty Templeton, 3 time Eisner award-winning artist of Batman, Rob Denbleyker, creator of Cyanide and Happiness and Dinesh Shamdasani CEO of Valiant Comics.
A female cosplayer, Niha Novcaine, dressed as Ahri from the League of Legends, poses with fans in Mumbai
The Mumbai Film and Comic Convention took place at The Bombay Exhibition Center, Goregaon on 19, 20 and 21 December.[43] There was a long line up of International and Indian artists, writers which included guests Nick Spencer, Nicholas Wild and Dan Goldman among many others. The highlight of Mumbai Comic Con 2014 was Mark Gatiss writer and actor, co-creator and executive producer of Sherlock (BBC). This was for the first time ever that Comic Con India had brought an international actor as a special guest.[44] All the three days saw fans dressed up as various film, television and comic characters for Cosplay.
Comic Con 2013
Delhi Comic Con 2013
The third Annual Indian Comic Con was held from 8 to 10 February 2013, with the location remaining the same i.e. New Delhi.
Free Comic Book Weekend 2013
Online digital content marketplace Readwhere partnered with Comic Con India to launch a new initiative called Free Comic Book Weekend, to allow Readwhere users to download Indian comics for free on 4–5 May 2013.[45][46]
Bangalore Comic Con 2013
After the tremendous response at Comic Con Express in 2012, Comic Con India, the event organisers, held a two-day annual Comic Convention in Bangalore. Bangalore's first annual Comic Con India was held on 1 & 2 June 2013 at Koramangala Indoor Stadium, National Games Village.[47][48][49]
Bangalore Comic Con 2013 had lot of attractions with the presence of celebrities, stalls of Vintage Comics, Madhuvanthi Mohan's sketches, Hysteria Store selling official merchandise and book launches from popular Publishers like Holy Cow, Campfire Graphic Novels and Manta Ray.[50]
Comic Con 2012
Delhi Comic Con 2012
The second Annual Indian Comic Con was held from 17 to 19 February 2012 at the same location i.e. New Delhi.
Bangalore Comic Con 2012
Express Edition of Comic Con was held in Bangalore on 8 and 9 September 2012. On 28 July Comic Con India in association with Mocha (Coffees & Conversations) organised a "Special Session With Sufi Comics" was organized as a setting-stage event for Comic Con Express Bengaluru[51][52]
Mumbai film and Comic Convention 2012
Express Edition of Comic Con was held in Mumbai on 20 and 21 October 2012.[53]
Comic Con 2011
Delhi Comic Con 2011
The first ever convention was hosted by Twenty Onwards Media between 19 and 20 February 2011 at Dilli Haat, New Delhi, India.[54][55][56] It showcased stalls by several Indian publishing houses, including, but not restricted to, Amar Chitra Katha, Vimanika Comics, Diamond Comics, Kshiraj Telang, Manta Ray, Level 10 Comics, Campfire and many other new and upcoming publishers.
The Comic Con lasted for 2 days, and included several workshops, interactive sessions, interviews and speeches by various comic book artists and writers. Around 15,000 people attended.[57] A few animation and multi-media productions had set up their stalls as well, and also conducted seminars about animation design and future of animation industry in India. The convention was inaugurated by chairman of National Book Trust, Dr. Bipin Chandra.[54][58]
As traditionally associated with Comic Cons, several fans, both adults and children, participated in the cosplay which was one of India's first event of this type.[59] On the last day of the event, Uncle Pai, a renowned educationalist and creator of Indian comics, in particular the Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award by Cartoonist Pran, one of the most successful Indian cartoonists, best known as the creator of Chacha Chaudhary.
Mumbai Comic Con 2011
The first Comic Con Express was held in Mumbai during weekend of 22 and 23 October 2011. The Comic Con Express is the travelling version of the Annual Indian Comics Convention. The two-day event had 60 participants, 45 exhibits and many interactive sessions, contests and fun events for comic lovers.[60]
Comic Con India Awards
The first Comic Con India awards were awarded on 16 February 2012, at India International Centre, New Delhi. The awards were awarded to provide impetus to the publishers and artists of the comic book industry of the country.[61]
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