Pop culture fans rejoice as Comic-Con returns after 4 years

After four years, pop culture extravaganza Comic Con returned to Hyderabad with a bang over the Republic Day long weekend. Fans of comics and pop culture in Hyderabad thronged the Hytex Exhibition Center on Saturday, the first day of the two-day convention.

The two-day lineup of food stalls and events saw fans packed into the arena as cosplayers. From 11 a.m. on Saturday, cosplayers could be seen wandering around the arena, taking selfies with attendees and interacting with YouTubers and social media influencers who were in attendance. The hall where the comic convention was held had 46 stalls selling merchandise, comics, collectibles, comic-themed T-shirts, posters, etc. Meanwhile, in the hall adjacent to the comic convention, there was a gaming arena with platforms for Sony’s PlayStation, Alienware and AMD.

Seventeen Indian artists and two international artists exhibited their works at Saturday’s competition. Overall, the arena had four experience zones for the public with simulations of various pop culture themes. Janhvi, who cosplayed as Mavis from Transylvania, is an art teacher who encouraged and brought seven of his students to the competition. “I have been cosplaying since I was in intermediate school and wanted to encourage my students as well. I came with a colleague who was cosplaying as Mirabel from Encanto. 3 of my students “People chose to become different versions of Spider-Man, while other students came as Mulan, Raya, another Mirabelle, and Maleficent. It was great to have the event back after a gap of 2019,” she said. said.

Shiv, who dressed up as the killer Mike Myers from the Halloween movie series, said it was strange to see people asking him to kill them. “I cosplayed as a boy seven years ago. I’m here today with his wife. It’s nice to be back and it’s interesting to see young people keep up with changes in pop culture.” he said.

Aditya and Yashmita appeared as characters in the anime Jujutsu Kaisen. Yashmita, a Bengaluru resident who cosplayed in Bengaluru in November 2023, said the crowd in Hyderabad was much better. Aditya, who cosplayed her for the first time, said, “You are welcome to take selfies with her fans.”

Priluna (also known as Twinkle), a professional cosplayer from Bangalore, appeared dressed as Cinderella. “This is to satisfy my inner child. I went to the Bangalore fans last year but the Hyderabad fans are in a different league. It’s nice to see such a diverse crowd here ” she said.

The event will feature a special session by Crunchyroll, performances by local and international artists including Rico Renzi, special performances by Proximity Crew, Geek Fruit, and Panther, and a binge by stand-up comedians Rohan Joshi and Sahil Shah. O’ Clock Live was also held. The second day was filled with excitement, including the launch of ACK’s ‘Deva’ with actor Rana Daggubati, a special session with artist Darnesh Mohiuddin, first look of Telugu feature film – Gurmi, and a music-art fusion performance by Afsar. A book is scheduled to be released. Special performances by Syed & Mooz One, MC Altaf and comedian Aakash Gupta.