Chennai’s first Comic Con sees 32,000 visitors interested in cosplay and comic books

As the sun sets, organisers of Comic Con India are trying to reroute cosplayers at Chennai Trade Centre to step outside for a quick group photo before they lose light. The clarion call brings at least 100 cosplayers in elaborate costumes, pink, purple and blonde wigs and armour that seem true to life, into one colourful, eccentric frame. Multiple Vecnas, Piccolos, Jokers, Harley Quinns and Darth Vadars pose in front of a temple-like structure. There is no better imagery than this of the city’s first comic con.

A cosplayer who rushes to join a group photo excitedly says, “I thought I’d be the only idiot in pink,” pointing to her wig. However, she is in the company of others who do not favour derision and critique about cotton candy hair. 

Inside the venue, it feels like nearly every attendee is now a katana-wielding (Japanese sword) warrior. Bobble heads and manga magazines dominate stalls. There is a rush to purchase posters, some shy meet-and-greets with comic book artists, and several unfortunate dents of the wallet. “I am going broke today,” is the most repeated phrase, as participants trawl through the merchandise, which includes comic books signed by Stan Lee, the Marvel comics frontman and the co-creator of several iconic characters, for a princely sum of ₹1.85 lakh.

At Chennai’s first edition of Comic Con on February 17 and 18, which drew over 32,000 participants, it is evident that everyone can be anyone they like, and indulge in fantasy that they once thought possible only in other major Indian cities. Now that the Con is finally in Chennai, judgement needs to be shredded at the entrance by the metal detectors.

Casting the transfiguration spell

Roshini Sekhar has been walking with a cosplay medic all evening and has promised to not move around too much so as to protect her costume. “I’m already done with my rounds,” she says as she carefully walks in her tiered black dress wielding a massive sword. She cosplays Saber Alter, an antagonist (rather, a dark heroine) of the Japanese visual novel Fate/stay night. “Most people think that cosplaying is like fancy dress. The thing they do not realise is that these are months in the making. Because I am in the industry (she’s a costume designer), I make many of the pieces I cosplay,” she says, adding that people spend up to ₹50,000 based on how elaborate their costumes are.

At the contest on both days, there are over 300 memorable characters from popular anime, television shows, films, manga, gaming and comics, battling it out for a cash prize of ₹35,000. While Batmans, Jokers and Marvel characters form a chunk of the cosplayers, one can also see characters from One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen and the Studio Ghibli films.

Wearing a spectacular blonde wig with chunks of spiked hair cascading down his back, a Goku (from Dragon Ball Z) cosplayer is constantly stopped for pictures and asked to pose. For these run-ins and photo-ops, there were photo walls set up across the expansive hall, where children and adults alike stop to click photos with the roving cosplayers.

“I have always known about the existence of a small (cosplay) community in the city but to see the size of participants is shocking. It feels good to know that there are as many people in Chennai indulging a hobby that could easily turn into an obsession,” Roshini says.

The size of the audience in the city seems to have stunned all the stakeholders.

Akshara Ashok, the artist behind the buzzing Happy Fluff Comics stall, says that meeting the crowd from her hometown has been gratifying. “Not many people know that I am from Chennai but it is always exciting to meet long-time followers. One of them even came by my stall and helped rearrange notebooks and posters that were on display as the several visitors had left some parts dishevelled,” she says.

Lyricist Madhan Karky who is at the event to release his Tamil translation of the first volume of Endwars, a comic by Amirtharaj Selvaraj, Congress MLA of Thoothukudi’s Srivaikundam, also expresses his shock at the crowds. “I thought I would mostly see children here. I am not incorrect. Everyone is just a grown-up child,” he says. The lyricist adds that though Tamil pop culture has been replete with comics and illustrations in the past, a translated work requires creating context and a world that is uniquely Tamil. This means that the onomatopoeic sounds ‘Bam!’ and ‘Boom!’ that often find their way in comic-speak need Tamil iterations too. “We have made use of the Tamil letter .°. for this,” he says.

Dan Parent, behind several The Archies comics, says that the Internet has made it far simpler to access information about comics, lives and customisations like the above. Comics can be set in outer space but also be Tamil. But life was different when he created the first Veronica in India comic during the 1980s. Much of the research had to be done by referencing old books on the country. Tropes were stereotypical in several comics, he says, referencing the tuk tuks and Bollywood stars in his comics.

“India looks back at Archies with a lot of fondness. The first con I attended here in India (in Bengaluru), drew the biggest crowd I had seen for my session,” he says.

Much like Parent, American comic book writer John Layman who co-created the image comic series Chew too is thrilled. “I would rather do a Chennai Con, than say, a Detroit Con. My job is to make people happy that they’ve met a comic book person and to engage with the fans, which is easy here since everyone is so excited to meet, especially given how rare these interactions are. Here, I’m going to see something different, and touch people in a different way,” he says.

Omnes pro uno

Based on the marketplace and the experiences, there is something for everyone at Comic Con. There are free gaming stations, cheap posters and stickers, as well as expensive pop-culture memorabilia for everyone to take away. However, the most crowded spaces are the stalls selling anime and manga merchandise, with children pleading with parents to be allowed one extra keepsake.

V Akshara and her sister Riddhishri are carefully perusing through the stalls with their parents and grandmother. The full battalion has arrived at Comic Con and their father is eager to take back some knick knacks from the event. Even the grandmother, Kalyani, says “Pudichirukku, (I like it),” when asked about her experience here.

“Comic Con has ended up being surprising, thrilling and comical sometimes because of the cosplay,” says Akshara. A passer-by adds that he did not expect that people in Chennai would spend ₹899 for a day at the fest but he is happy to see the uptick. He is sure that it is only the start of what could be an annual gala in the city. As we speak, one can see new friendships in the making and old ones sticking together in groups, chattering about which stall to head to next.

Six-year-old Aarav Nair is Thor today and scrunches up his nose every time he raises his hammer. He encapsulates the spirit with more brevity. “I am having so much fun” he says, stressing on the ‘ooo’s, promising he will be back every year.