Comic Con India 2026 comes to Visakhapatnam for the first time

For fans who have long travelled to other cities for their dose of comics, cosplay and pop culture, there is finally a reason to stay back home. Comic Con India is coming to Visakhapatnam for the first time, opening its 2026-27 season at the Kalam Convention Centre in October. .

The Vizag edition will also mark Comic Con India’s first event in Andhra Pradesh, as the popular pop culture celebration continues its expansion beyond traditional metropolitan centres. The organisers say the move reflects the growing fandom communities emerging in tier-2 cities across the country.

A new fandom hub

Visakhapatnam may have a long-standing association with Telugu cinema, but its pop culture landscape is increasingly extending into anime, comics, gaming and cosplay. According to Comic Con India CEO Shefali Johnson, that growing interest was one of the reasons why Vizag was chosen to launch the new season.

Shefali adds that the organisers also hope to bring local influences into the Comic Con experience. “We want to bring local stories and cultural influences on the same platform alongside new-age formats and celebrate them together,” she says, adding that the idea is to give Vizag’s own fandom community a chance to shape its first edition, rather than replicating the Comic Con experience seen in other cities.

Two days of pop culture

Fans can expect a packed weekend spanning comics, anime, gaming and cosplay, along with celebrity and international guests, interactive sessions, live music, stand-up comedy, exclusive launches, merchandise and immersive fan zones.

Cosplayers dressed as characters from popular fantasy and pop culture universes at the Hyderabad Comic Con held in 2025. Comic Con India makes its Visakhapatnam debut on October 10-11, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Siddhant Thakur

Cosplay is expected to be one of the major attractions, with fans getting an opportunity to dress up as their favourite characters and showcase their creativity. For comic and anime enthusiasts, the event will also offer opportunities to discover merchandise, meet fellow fans and explore new fandoms.

And for those who don’t consider themselves hardcore geeks, Comic Con’s appeal could lie in its community atmosphere, a space where gaming, comics, films, anime and internet culture converge under one roof.

Taking fandom beyond metros

The Vizag debut is part of Comic Con India’s wider push to take pop culture experiences to more cities. The previous season travelled across 11 cities and drew more than 3.5 lakh attendees, according to the organisers.

NODWIN Gaming co-founder and managing director Akshat Rathee says the expansion is driven by the belief that fandom should not be restricted to the country’s biggest cities.

Cosplayers dressed as characters from popular fantasy and pop culture universes at the Hyderabad Comic Con held at Hitex in Hyderabad in 2025. Comic Con India makes its Visakhapatnam debut on October 10-11, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Siddhant Thakur

“We’ve always believed that pop culture should be accessible to fans wherever they are, and bringing Comic Con to new cities is a natural extension of that vision,” he says.

“Vizag felt like the perfect place to begin our 2026–27 journey. It’s a vibrant city with an increasingly engaged pop culture community,” Akshat says.

The move also taps into a larger shift in India’s entertainment culture, where dedicated communities around anime, gaming, comics and cosplay are increasingly finding their own spaces and audiences.

The first-edition buzz

There is an added sense of novelty to Vizag’s Comic Con. Unlike cities that have hosted the event repeatedly, this will be the city’s first chance to build its own Comic Con identity.

As Akshat puts it, “There’s nothing quite like the energy of a first edition,” with organisers looking forward to seeing Vizag fans “put their own stamp on Comic Con”.

The event is scheduled for October 10 and 11, from 11am onwards, at Kalam Convention Centre (Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone Campus). Tickets currently start at ₹2,999, with the official Superfan early-bird pass offering entry for both days along with exclusive merchandise and collectibles. Tickets can be booked through the official Comic Con India ticketing page.