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.
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.
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.
While others sported more action-packed outfits made out of special foam.
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.
Subham, who dressed up as Samurai Onimaru from the game Mobile Legends, works as a psychologist.
Satnam Singh, who dressed up as Mormon from Overwatch, runs a cell phone repair and servicing shop.
While most of the cosplayers lead very different lives when they aren’t cosplaying, some do it professionally as well.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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