Adrenaline coursed through my brains while I marched towards the venue of … wait for it … Bengaluru Comic Con 2017!
Joining the lineup of excited volunteers who would watch over us for two days was none other than Walter White AKA Heisenberg (it was just a Bryan Cranston poster but, boy, his tough attitude could not be caged in a two-dimensional image). Yes, I plead guilty of being a fan of Breaking Bad. What are you going to do? Arrest me? It will not change my convictions for that show.
Soon I was in the presence of Princess Leia, or rather, a Star Wars: The Last Jedi poster featuring the legendary character. I did shed a tear or two back home for the late Carrie Fisher, and now was my chance to observe a minute of silence in her honor. Realizing she would have wanted nothing but entertainment for her fans, I was determined to fulfill her wish.
Lurking around dark corners of the venue, stalking the children (well, not really), was the infamous Pennywise. No matter how much I tried to avoid him, he kept surfacing to haunt me, so I faced my fear and photographed the cos-player. I didn’t see much of him after that (thank goodness).
We got a sneak peek of LoSs4A2, whose artwork is a tribute to Japanese Manga.
Sailesh Gopalan exuded a boyish charm while explaining the nuances of his world of Brownpaper Bag.
Just as Sumit Kumar of Bakarmax spoke about comics and cartoons having less number of followers, a few sitting in the crowd got on their phones and joined his fan-base. A few strokes of encouragement go a long away.
East Meets Australia: Abhijeet Kini (Abhijeet Kini Studios) and Gavin Aung Than of Zen Pencils fame shared the stage and their thoughts on the comic-book medium.
Scott Hampton (The Upturned Stone) got candid during the Q&A, especially when it came to the significance of symbols in artwork, comic book or otherwise. He remembered having once opposed the idea of illustrating a woman being branded with the Nazi symbol, underlining the need for an artist’s belief to match a writer’s principles.
You cannot talk about the history of animation in India without mentioning Bahubali. It stands tall like a landmark, creating a turning point for many writers across the length and breadth of India.
Sharad Devarajan and Jeevan J. Kang of Graphic India are geared up to unravel the epic Bahubali in uncharted directions.
Amar Chitra Katha was the big bang that birthed the modern Indian comic book. Executive Editor Reena Puri and Art Director Savio Mascarenhas recited the company history and announced the arrival of their very own superhero - Wingstar!
Anant Pai, the face of Amar Chitra Katha, would be proud to see his creations graduating with flying colors, winning millions of hearts in the new millennium.
Eager hands shot up during a quiz contest hosted by Sanjana Kapur, Assistant Editor, Amar Chitra Katha.
It was tempting to buy these action figures, but there are so many of them! Which do I fall for first?
Ever since Wonder Woman's solo cinematic debut in 2017, she has taken her place among the lineup of action figures once dominated by Batman, Superman and Spider-Man.
This cartoon proves the relevance of Alfred Hitchcock even in this day and age. His brand of quiet yet chilling thrillers may have been murdered by the loud summer blockbuster movies of the 1970s and thereafter, but comic-book creators won't let crime fiction die that easily in their line of work.
Robots, cyborgs, synthetics and replicants ran amok in the 1980s, with the Terminator and RoboCop dominating the scene. These action figures are mementos of a great era of science fiction films.
Batgirl is the heroine we deserve, not the one we see much of, though.
Marvel and DC Comics share one showcase. Between Thor's hammer, Deadpool's swords and Batman's boomerang, criminals stand no chance of winning against the competition.
Walter White and Jesse Pinkman do all the cooking, we have all the fun!
Did you hear? Archie got a makeover.
Let's put a smile on our faces already!
From Left to Right: Brown Paperbag, TBS Planet Comics, Bakarmax, Holy Cow Entertainment, Saumin Suresh Patel, Abhijeet Kini Studios and ICBM Comics
I ran into Oswald Cobblepot. Remember him? Good old Oswald from Batman Returns? Don't tell me you still call him the Penguin. He was polite enough not to bite my nose when I asked to take his picture. This cos-player did the Danny DeVito part so well, I sometimes wonder whether it was really him under all that makeup.
While Abhijeet Kini was sketching Angry Maushi, he emphasized on the need for the new generation to consider the comic-book medium for a vocation, starting with attending such annual conventions and understanding the rewards of working towards such a platform for creative talent.
The child who received this illustration from Kini was happy to let me photograph it.
Zafar Khurshid (ICBM Comics) and Chew writer John Layman reflected on how writers are pigeonholed into churning out material in current demand as opposed to experimenting with newer ideas and growing as creators. They also discussed the danger of others taking over creative properties developed by the original writers, to which Layman says that readers can be presented with a choice between replicas and the masterpiece.
As the echoes of Comic Con India 2017 fade away, though not from the hearts of passionate comic-book subscribers, let us look forward to the Ghost of Comic Con Future.
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