Delhi Comic Con 2023: A weekend-long celebration of pop-culture

Bringing together the community of comic books, manga, anime lovers and superhero film buffs and all things fun, the 11th edition of the Delhi Comic Con event was a grand success. Attendees channelised their inner fandom to cosplay and put up their geekdom on display while others interacted and participated in tournaments, games, among other exciting activities.

The performance line-up included artists like RAGA, MC Altaf, The 9TEEN and Hashtag who rocked the stage with their performances across the three days. Comedians Rohan Joshi, Akash Gupta and Gaurav Kapoor left everyone in splits.

On day 1, Vizag-based group The 9TEEN presented a tribute to the late Matthew Perry by singing I'll Be There For You, the title track of FRIENDS. From Noddy to Popoye, they took the audience on a nostalgia trip with a medley of songs from cartoon series of the yore.

The event showcased comics in a grand way with a slew of comic book creators and artists present, as well as special sessions. Prasad Bhat, Indusverse, Holy Cow Entertainment, Acid Toad, Amrit Pal Singh, Garbage Bin, Corporate comics, Bullseye Press, Bakarmaxx, Art of SAVIO, and Abhijeet Kini and many more along with International artists such as DOALY, Dustin Nguyen and Spiderman India’s writer Nikesh Shukla were present at the event.

Numerous manga merchandise featuring Naruto, Death Note, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece and other popular series' characters were on sale as well as Indian comics like Amar Chitra Katha, Raj Comics, Kunzum Comics were also some key attractions for thousands of pop culture enthusiasts. The experiential zones gathered fans in huge numbers.

From 8th to 10th December, the event housed a gaming arena, featuring racing simulators, virtual reality games, playstation consoles which had daily tournaments, Esports and popular streamers and gaming experiences for the attendees.

On the success of Delhi Comic Con, Jatin Varma, founder, Comic Con India said, “It's surreal for me to see how we have come such a long way with Comic Con in India growing each year. We started our first convention in Delhi back in 2011 and it all comes full circle here with one of our biggest shows yet again. We saw a total of 46k attendees across the three days here in the capital city. It only goes to show the might and strength of our community and it is going to grow only bigger from heron, especially for our next event in Hyderabad and Chennai”

Delhi boy Comedian Aakash Gupta, said, “It was my first time performing at Comic Con, and that too in my hometown Delhi, it was a great experience! The crowd was amazing! I took masks and props to the stage to make it fun, and the young crowd was going berserk with fun and energy.” Hip-hop artist MC Altaf, said, “It was an amazing experience performing here at Comic Con! The crowd was so excited that it got me jumping around the stage with energy. For me, Comic Con is a vibe, and a feeling, to see all your favourite characters around you and then to perform for such a crowd."