My Trip To Comic Con Dubai 2014!
By Emaan
What should one expect when you happen to be at your first ever comic book
convention for an entire weekend with a rather private manga infatuation
history and a (OMG) press pass?
Well the answer is…
ABSOLUTE MAGIC.
On 3rd of April I stepped into a surreal universe
of whose existence I was previously oblivious
to and (have since concluded) been much
deprived. My ardent love and (in the past)
rather unhealthy obsession with manga has
always been an unwelcome and awkward
extension of myself for my friends and family.
Sadly they could not comprehend my
fascination with ‘cartoons’, a baffling
contradiction to the serious persona I project,
and hence over time I learned to curb my
ravings of Tamahome and Kail, till they became
beloved memories for solitary perusal. But that
is till I entered the Geekdom, that is Comic Con.
Comic Con is a gathering to celebrate pure
‘geekiness’. Yes it is a platform to display
artists, films/television and elements of pop
culture like video games, web comics, anime
and manga but what possibly everybody can
immediately discover, as I did when I entered
past the scary bouncers and through the large
wooden entry doors at Dubai World Trade
Centre is a rather perfervid sense of nostalgia.
For me it was a rollercoaster of tender and
sometimes hilarious memories flooding my brain at the Hollywood Collectibles
exhibit. The time when as a toddler I tried to wear a set of underpants on top of
my pants because that’s what Superman did duh! Or looking at the bat mobile
and remembering the time at the theatre in around seventh grade during
Batman Begins, when Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered (oh that scene!)
and my best friend and me fought for the last Kleenex.

[At the Hollywood Collectible exhibit, Batman cast miniatures.]
Of course for me the veritable paradise at the Con and the exhibit where I can
sheepishly claim I spent predominant of my time was at the Kinokuniya, the
manga store. It was like going to a reunion party. From Bleach, to (I furiously
bush as I type this) Vampire Knight, to Anatoli Story, to Howl’s Moving Castle!
There was something surreal and soul-stirring in finding all my secret joys
sitting innocuously on the display with their glossy illustrated covers beaming
and beckoning. But perhaps the most enchanting experience at the Con was the
random conversations I would strike with people as I waited in queues or
happened to pick up the same manga as. It was an epiphany to see and talk to
people of all ages and nationalities fervently discuss manga as art (and not
cartoons) with intricate plots from epic fantasy scales to simple romances. On
Saturday I met a Russian university student, Anna with whom I had an hour-long
debate on whether One Piece was the best manga ever or Bleach? (Just to confirm
I still believe its One Piece!).
[When I found
Fushigi Yugi the
Manga I couldn’t
really go back
home without it
could I?]

As a journalist I of course got to attend the exclusive press conference and listen
to the Celebrity guests: Seth Green, Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Jai White,
Sylvester McCoy, Tony Jaa, Taylor Kitsch and Max Landis from only two feet
away! But I also got to explore the facets that made the Con. I interviewed
regional artists like the local Emirati girls, Sohra and Amna from Zabeel Institute
Of Management & Technology, behind the ‘Untitled Project’ and their amazing
art and T-shirts. They have been coming to the MEFCC since 3 years but it was
their first year as exhibitors. Another fascinating exhibit was ‘Graphicurry’, a
quirky and cool caricature tribute to pop culture icons, founded and designed by
Bengaluru based founder & designer Prasad Bhatt who has come to the Con from
India to share his art with the UAE. I also visited tons of exciting workshops
where I learned the unromantic technicalities behind cinematic magic and also
happened to make a 3D clay model of Shaun the Sheep (at least a distant cousin
maybe). It also allowed me to interact with Con guests like Shawna from New
Zealand who has been going to Comic Cons all over the world since the tender
young age of 16 and though she thinks the MEFCC is a nice experience it is
incomparable to the San Diego Comic Con! Yet for its third anniversary the
MEFCC’s surprisingly immense popularity only gives us reason to hope of its
growing. But regardless of it reaching San Diego’s potential or not you will
definitely find me at the MEFCC 2015!! (Most probably at the Kinokuniya)
[Presenting… The distant cousin of Shaun the Sheep]

[Vintage copies of Fantastic Four and Iron Man being auctioned at 2 million AED!]
[Cosplaying guest getting final touches at the Cosplay Tent]