Comics splash in Capital

Dilli Haat is a daily haunt of visitors of various ethnicities and nationalities. Friday, however, saw a unique breed of revellers — some with fancy capes, some others with coloured faces and a few others in full-fledged costumes of superheroes and villains, Ritam Halder reports.

Dilli Haat is a daily haunt of visitors of various ethnicities and nationalities. Friday, however, saw a unique breed of revellers — some with fancy capes, some others with coloured faces and a few others in full-fledged costumes of superheroes and villains.

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They and thousands others made a beeline at the popular shopping-cum-eating hang-out as it played host to the three-day third Annual Indian Comics Convention on the pleasant Friday morning.

And those dressed to kill were for a reason. The comics convention has organised a daily costume contest, being dubbed as cosplay, in which there will be five winners in separate categories. “Participants will dress up and compete in whichever category they choose out of comic book/graphic novel, animated series/movie, manga/anime, sci-fi/fantasy and gaming. And one winner of the five daily ones in various categories will get the opportunity to travel to the Middle East Film & Comic Con in Dubai this April,” Ekta Kapoor, a 21-year-old volunteer decked up as Cruella de Vil from The Hundred and One Dalmatians, said.

Visitors of different age groups were seen ambling around the venue to take home collectibles and get exposed to the form of art, where India’s own Superkudi is grabbing the limelight from the amazing Superman.

“We have grown up with Chacha Chowdhury and Sabu, who were India’s answer to western superheroes. Now it has evolved to the next level with characters like Wolver Anna, Wonder Bai, Superkudi and Supermommy coming in the fray,” Nitin Shah, a 45-year-old businessman who had come with his teenage children, said.

New releases at the three-day event will include Mother Teresa: Angel of the Slums, The Soothsayer of Sealdah, Kuru Genius, Pandavas 5 and Dasha Avatar (Vol. 2). However, the big international brands like Top Cow, Drawn & Quarterly, Fantagraphics, First Second, Self Made Hero and Vertical Inc. are present for their brand faithful.