Top picks: 5 must-attend events at Comic Con Mumbai
We get artist Abhijeet Kini to pick the best of the two-day festival
With an impressive line-up of new comic book releases, a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) fighting arena, a chance to click selfies with your favourite superheroes, and a cosplay tournament, picking one event over another is a tough task.
So, we get Abhijeet Kini, comic book artist and creator of indie superhero, Angry Maushi, to pick the top 5:
1) Celebrity guest panel: The artist behind DC’s Batman and Robin (issues 7-9) and Catwoman, illustrator to Assassin’s Creed video games series, and the creator of Fight Club 2 (a comic book sequel to Chuck Palahniuk’s 1996 novel), Cameron Stewart will interact with fans at a panel discussion.
When: Day 2, Sunday. October 23, 4pm
2) Black Mumba launch: London-based comic book artist Ram Iyer is set to release a collection of short crime stories illustrated as a comic strip, titled Black Mumba (not to be confused with Marvel’s Black Mamba). The crowd-funded comic has a strong noir theme, and features the underbelly of Mumbai’s petty crime industry. The launch will see Iyer share some BTS (behind-the-scene) anecdotes.
When: Day 2, Sunday. October 23, 12pm
Also read: Creator of Cyanide & Happiness on all things offensive and funny
3) Priya’s Mirror launch: India’s first feminist superhero, Priya’s Shakti – a rape-victim-turned-superhero, is now out on a new adventure. The comic book sees Priya join forces with Indian acid attack survivors to fight against patriarchy. Writers Ram Devnini and Paromita Vohra will take the audience through their research process and share anecdotes from their interviews with the victims of these crimes.
When: Day 1, Saturday, October 22, 2pm
Also read: All about Priya’s Shakti: India’s first feminist superhero comic
4) Puppet Master Launch: Comic company Thought Bubble Studio (TBS) is known for its two original Indian superhero characters: Ved, a detective hero, who uses simple logic and facts to save the day; and Varuna, a mythical character born and brought up in the drowned city of Dwarka. This year, TBS is set to release the second editions of Ved’s adventures. In Puppet Master, Ved will be pitted against a psychopath serial killer who has a strange obsession with puppets.
When: Day 1, Saturday, October 22, 12.15pm
Also read: State of Zen: Cartoonist Gavin Than on how Zen Pencil’s came to be
5) The making of a comic: Artist and illustrator Anniruddho Chakraborty, co-founder of Chariot Comics, will host an interactive session on the process of creating a comic book. From ideation methods, approaches to sketching and character designing, this session is ideal for amateur comic artists and enthusiasts. It will be followed with the launch of Damned, a new comic book featuring a vampire monk.
When: Day 1, Saturday, October 22, 1pm
