In Pics: Meet the Humans (and Their Alter Egos) of Delhi Comic Con

From Superheroes to Game Avatars, meet the humans who sported their alter-egos at the 2019 Delhi Comic Con.

An unexpected guest at the Central Perk Cafe set, on display at the Delhi Comic Con.

(Photo: Debayan Dutta/The Quint)

Comic Conventions, or Comic Cons for short, are to a pop-culture nerd what Tomorrowland is to a music lover. It is also a haven for cosplayers, who are often found in large numbers at such gatherings, where they interact, participate in competitions and often pose for photos.

Cos-play, or costume play, is the act of dressing up and pretending to be a fictional character or a pop-culture icon.

One of Harley Quinn’s henchmen lost his way and had to call his colleagues to find out where they were. 

The ninth edition of the Delhi Comic Con saw scores of cosplayers add colour to the NSIC ground with their vibrant costumes, some of which took weeks or months to prepare.

The skirt is made up of 109 individual lace pieces sewn together, while the gems are handmade and 3D printed.

Aorin Shariyari dressed up as an original character inspired by works of Japanese artist Sakizo, sporting a Maschera ball (mask ball) theme with purple tones and gemstones.

Shariyari said that Saziko’s works are heavily inspired by Victorian designs, from which she took inspiration for this cosplay. 

While others sported more action-packed outfits made out of special foam.

Notice the LED lights on this cosplayer’s exoskeleton.

Ashish Meena, who dressed up as Sam Gideon from the SEGA game Vanquish, told The Quint that it took him “two months and countless sleepless nights” to assemble his outfit. Meena, who is otherwise a personal trainer, did however have problems wjile sitting down in the exoskeleton.

One would be surprised to find out about the different lives these cosplayers lead, when their alter ego hasn’t taken over.

Not the kind of guest you might expect at the Central Perk set at Delhi’s Comic Con.

Subham, who dressed up as Samurai Onimaru from the game Mobile Legends, works as a psychologist.

Mormon from Overwatch.

Satnam Singh, who dressed up as Mormon from Overwatch, runs a cell phone repair and servicing shop.

Navita, who dressed up as Misa/Navisa from Diablo, works as a graphic designer when she isn’t on her cosplaying crusade.

While most of the cosplayers lead very different lives when they aren’t cosplaying, some do it professionally as well.

A professional cosplayer sporting the abyss armour from Monster Hunter 3.

Comic Con isn’t complete without superheroes, and despite the Avengers not assembling at NSIC because they were probably busy, our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man paid a visit. Oh, and he bought pizza!

Spider-Man, accompanied by Kylo Ren and Ash Ketchum, seen buying pizza. 

Hailing from the eastern side of the world were Goku and Master Roshi, who politely obliged to sport one of Dragon Ball Z’s iconic moves for the camera.

Goku showing off the Kamehameha.

A specially-abled cosplayer who might be looking grumpy in the picture but was more than happy to be at the event.

A cross-player dressed as Naruto. He is a TikTok cross-player on his first visit to Comic Con.

There were a few cross-players at the event as well. One of them told The Quint that such events give them the platform to crossplay and that it was his first-time cross-playing at a comic con. He usually crossplays on Tik Tok. “People here made me feel very comfortable. Some even called me ma’am,” he said.

And then there were many thieves from ‘Money Heist’ or ‘La Casa De Papel’ who, instead of pulling off a heist at the Royal Mint of Spain, were founding pulling off a ‘heist’ at the nearby kitchen.

Caught in the act.

The cosplay acts weren’t just restricted to adults. There were many kiddo cosplayers running around the campus in their superhero suits, targeting people with their blasters.

He tried to blast us with his weapon. 

But then he got tired and retreated.