Comic Con India
For the first time in India comics festival is taking place in New Delhi, the place being Delhi Haat. The two day comics festival will be taking place from February 19 to 20, 2011. The aim is to bring all the comics fans,brands and publishers under one roof. The event is being organised by Twenty Onwards Media — also behind the Annual Golden Kela Awards.
Ticket Details:
Ticket Charges: Adults: Rs.15, Kids: Rs10
Venue: Dilli Haat, INA
Timings: 19th and 20th February i.e. Saturday 10.00am and Sunday 11.00am
According to Jatin Verma of Twenty Onwards Media, “Comics is big business in India right now and we felt this was the perfect moment to host our own Comic Con”.
“There is a lot of raw talent in India that needs to be honed. Artists and writers often don’t get the access to publishers and distributors that they want. We hope we can provide a platform for this.”
It will be a great platform for local comics publishers to showcase their work along with the international brands like Marvel and DC. Some of the new Indian publishers showing their work will be Vimanika, Level 10 and Campfire. Readers will also be able to find latest graphic novels from publishers like Penguin, Harper Collins and Random House
Besides book launches, other activities include workshops with artists and writers, panel discussions and an awards night. The scale and numbers, of course, are not comparable to the San Diego convention that sees a congregation of hundreds of thousands of fans from all over the world (around 130,000 in 2010) and exclusive previews by major Hollywood studios. But the idea is to take comics to a larger audience.
Sanjay Gupta, studio head of Raj Comics, told IANS: “The Indian comic industry today is worth not less than Rs.100 crore.”
Added Samir Patil, chief executive officer and founder of ACK Media: “The growth of the comic industry is touted to be around 30-40 percent annually.”
Raj Comics is one of the biggest comics publishers in India, and has more than 3,000 titles in the market launched during the last 25 years and currently publishes a minimum of 80,000 copies every month for four titles. Some of the popular superstars from Raj comics include “Nagraj”, “Super Commando Dhruv”, “Doga”, “Bankelal”, “Bhedia” and “Bhokal”.
While Amar Chitra Katha has sold more than 100 million copies over a span of 40 years and has over 500 titles uncer ACK alone. Some of India’s most-loved brands, including “Tinkle”, “Karadi Tales” and well-known characters like “Suppandi”, are part of the group.