The first edition of Comic Con in Visakhapatnam concluded at the Kalam Convention Centre on the AMTZ campus on Sunday, with the organisers reporting a footfall of over 12,000 across the two days.
The event drew followers of comics, anime, gaming and cosplay. The programme included an Artist Alley, a Creators’ Jam, virtual reality zones and a main stage featuring music and stand-up comedy. Telugu hip-hop artist Roll Rida performed alongside C-SHOR, The 9TEEN and Fluteboxers, besides stand-up acts by Gokul Kumar, Kumar Varun and Vivek Muralidharan.
“India is huge, and every part of the country deserves its own place in what we are trying to build,” said Shefali Johnson, CEO of Comic Con India. She said the company chose Visakhapatnam after repeated queries in Hyderabad. “Many people from Andhra Pradesh would ask us why we did not bring Comic Con to their State.”
Ms. Johnson said that although the venue is far from the city and the format is new to many, the response was “encouraging enough for us to start planning our presence in Andhra Pradesh over the next five years”. Local artistes were featured, she added, to give the event “a cultural touch”.
Among the visitors were N. Bhoomika, J. Aditya, N. Jeevit and D. Rohit, Class XI and XII students from Visakhapatnam. “The stalls were pretty nice, and my friends and I bought katanas, which was very cool,” they said. “It is worth experiencing at least once.”
Cosplayers were a major draw. Sai Krishna N., who appeared as HUNK from the “Resident Evil” video game series, said he had taken part in events in Hyderabad and Delhi. “I did not expect much, but it exceeded my expectations,” he said.
Kundhan Kondempudi, who came from Nuzvid in Eluru district, wore a Spider-Man: Brand New Day suit that he said he had spent three years making by hand. “I did not buy anything from the market; I made everything from scratch,” he said.
Sumanth Behara, a Visakhapatnam resident dressed as John Constantine, came with his sister, Sucharita, who cosplayed as Witch. He said he had attended the Hyderabad edition for 10 years. “We nerds are everywhere, and we want more of this in Vizag,” he said.
