Saturday, December 22, 2018

COMIC ENTHUSIASTS WITNESS A GALA UNFURL AS THE 8th MARUTI SUZUKI ARENA MUMBAI COMIC MADE ITS COMEBACK!


·         Noted Brazilian comic artist Will Conrad, renowned for his association with DC, held an interactive session with comic book enthusiasts
·         Sahil Shah, renowned comedian and co-founder of ‘East India Comedy’ performed an exclusive act; Jasmeet Singh Bhatia and Talha Siddiqui followed suit
·         Exclusive book launches including ‘The Epic Journey of Dara Singh’ by the legendary wrestler’s son Vindu Dara Singh and the team behind the comic book
·         Rahil Mohsin and Abhijeet Kini, Comic book artists launched their new book- “Blame It on Rahil, a collection of his work so far” and “Rhyme Fighters: The Collected Odes to our Unsung Heroes” respectively
·         Special sessions by The Timeliners from TVF, Games The Shop, We Bare Bears, Sony Pix, Doritos, AXN Live R.E.D., Radio One and XP Pen
·         An iconic Cosplay Contest for Day 1 which amassed a pool prize amount of INR 1 Lakh, including the whopping first prize of INR 50,000.
Comic Con is back in town, and it is more epic than it has ever been! Fondly referred to as #TheBestWeekendOfTheYearMaruti Suzuki Arena Mumbai Comic Con is back with its eighth edition, treating pop culture fans to sheer awesomeness. Comic Con Mumbai promised the best of experiences for every avid comic fan ever and a glimpse of the same has been seen this Saturday, as enthusiasts thronged the Bombay Exhibition Center to attend the opening day of this highly anticipated pop culture extravaganza.
Among the most exciting segments of Comic Con that every comic aficionado looks forward to, book launches certainly rank first. Assuring a plethora of these to the fans, Comic Con Mumbai had a brilliant lineup of exclusive book launches! The book launch session began with ‘Magic in Mussoorie’ by renowned publisher Penguin Random India House. There was also an intriguing special session held by Lawtoons and artist Abhijeet Kini titled ‘Comics and the Law’. Abhijeet Kini also introduced his series ‘Rhyme Fighters’ along with ‘Sanskarshala’ and ‘The Dabbawala Comic’. This was followed by the launch of ‘Blame it on Rahil’, an amazing collection of artist Rahil Mohsin’s work so far. TBS Planet also debuted their brand new series ‘The Pune Haunting’. Later on, an interesting comic book based on the life of legendary wrestler and politician Dara Singh, called ‘The Epic Journey of Dara Singh,’ was released by his son Vindu Dara Singh along with the team behind the book. Decked up with such amazing launches, the first day of Comic Con Mumbai 2018 was definitely a paradise for graphic novella and comic fans in the Maximum City!
The opening day of Comic Con Mumbai also hosted some of the most wonderful interactive sessions for the attendees to enjoy. Will Conrad, Brazilian comic book artist famous for Buffy series as well as his association with Marvel and DC, held an insightful meet-and-greet session with his fans. To bring about a fun quotient to this evening, Sahil Shah of the EIC performed a special set. This was followed by a special performance by comedians Jasmeet Singh Bhatia aka Jizzi and Talha Siddiqui. Among other special sessions that were held, Radio One, We Bare Bears, extremely bold session by Doritos, XP Pen, Sony Pix, Games the Shop, AXN Live R.E.D., Pocket Box Office, and The Timeliners from TVF deserve a distinct mention each!
As the sun set, the event witnessed a vibrant sight, as the highly talented cosplay artists huddled together in the Arena to compete on Day 1 of the Cosplay Contest which amassed a pool prize amount of INR 1 Lakh , including the whopping first prize of INR 50,000. Additionally, these cosplayers battled each other to win a coveted chance of representing the city at the Indian Cosplay Championship 2019. The winners would also get an opportunity to represent the country at the Crown Championship of Cosplay to be held in Chicago.
Jatin Varma, Founder, Comic Con India remarked, “Mumbai always has the most enthusiastic bunch of pop culture fans, and this year seems to be no different! We were glad to see everyone around having a blast on the opening day of Mumbai Comic Con, and we cannot wait to see how the final day turns out to be.”
The 8th Maruti Suzuki Arena Mumbai Comic Con also had an exclusive fan experiences to offer through zones from renowned names such as Maruti Suzuki Arena Vertical Challenge, Marvel Studios, Amazon Prime, Hot Wheels, Doritos, AXN and Sony Pix, among others. Filled with the best of merchandise, interactive sessions, energetic fans and an electric vibe, Comic Con Mumbai ensured that the attendees had a gala time as they prepare themselves for the second day, which also marks the last day of this extravaganza for the year.
About Comic Con:
Comic Con India is a unique event celebrating the illustrated medium, which brings together the whole comics industry and related fields such as Merchandise, Toys, Games, Films and Animation, along with fans of this culture. It has now grown to multiple events across the country. The mission has now evolved to create unique pop culture events and engage with fans all across the country.
The properties include Delhi Comic Con, Mumbai Comic Con, Bangalore Comic Con and Hyderabad Comic Con. Along with a traveling property - Comic Con Express, which was last held in Pune in 2016.
Comic Con India (CCI) took a big leap as they recently (in September 2014) by announcing a joint venture with Reed Exhibitions; part of the FTSE listed Reed Elsevier Group, to grow the pop culture space in India and bring world class events to Indian fans. The Comic Con India team will now work closely with the ‘Reed POP’ division of Reed Exhibitions, the largest producer of pop culture events in the world.
With this JV in place, CCI enters the burgeoning Reed POP portfolio of pop culture events which includes New York Comic Con, PAX, the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Oz Comic-Con, Singapore Toy, Gaming & Comics Convention and Star Wars Celebration among many others.