Maruti Suzuki Alto named presenting sponsor of Comic Con India for the year 2016

Press Release

Maruti Suzuki Alto named presenting sponsor of Comic Con India for the year 2016

• The shows include Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore & Hyderabad Comic Con 2016
• Maruti Suzuki Alto will also be a part of the 3 key special events Comic Con India will host this year entitled “Comic Book Celebration Week, Indian Championship of Cosplay & Comic Con India Awards”

India, 22 June 2016: Comic Con India is pleased to announce Maruti Suzuki Alto as the presenting sponsor of all the Comic Con India shows this calendar year which includes Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Comic Con India is dedicated to expanding India's popular culture by creating high profile events that cater to fans of not only comics, but also, gaming, movies, television, merchandise, toys & more.

Comic Con India is part of the Reedpop family of events, which is dedicated to producing world-class celebrations of popular culture around the world with events like New York Comic Con, Oz Comic Con, Shanghai Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration among many others.

Comic Con India (CCI) shows attracted over 1,50,000 visitors across 5 cities in FY 2015-16, they are among the biggest consumer events in the country. CCI has become the the hottest platform for brands to engage with young consumers. Attracting the key demographic between 18-36 year olds and giving some of the best fan experiences in the country. The CCI visitors are not only eager consumers of the latest & the best, but they are also influencers and trendsetters for content, products & services in the country.

Tapping into this energy has become key for youth-oriented brands and therefore natural fit for a brand such as ALTO.

Mr. Jatin Varma, Founder, Comic Con India, states, “As our shows evolve and become THE places for celebrating popular culture, we looked towards finding brands who would partner with us in this endeavour as well as understand the value of our platform. With Maruti Suzuki - Alto we certainly have found the right partner and i am truly excited in having them on-board for our journey this year!”

Mr. Vinay Pant, Associate Vice President, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “Alto is a brand for the younger generation who believe in chasing their dreams and passion. Comic Con is one such platform where such youngsters meet up and share their love for comics. We found a great synergy between Comic Con India and Alto. Alto is associated with Comic Con for over a year now and the response has been very encouraging. We saw very high engagement rating with the target audience and the user generated content was exceptionally high. This year too we aim to reach out more youngsters, engage and establish connect right from the beginning.”

Besides the main events, Maruti Suzuki Alto will be a part of the 3 key special events Comic Con India will host this year entitled “Comic Book Celebration Week, Indian Championship of Cosplay & Comic Con India Awards.” These national properties will extend the reach of the main shows, specially focusing on Artists, Writers & Cosplayers.

Over and above the mentioned activities, Comic Con India plans to do over 30 Fan Meet ups and celebration Nights throughout the year to engage with the fans on a regular basis. Alto will be a prominent part of all such celebrations throughout the year and will add a lot of value to the fan experience.

FYI:

Save the dates

Alto Hyderabad Comic Con - 24-25th Sept 2016

Alto Mumbai Film & Comic Con - 22-23rd Oct 2016

Alto Bangalore Comic Con - 12-13th Nov 2016

Alto Delhi Comic Con - 9-11th Dec 2016.

About Comic Con India

Comic Con India is a unique event celebrating the illustrated medium, which brings together the whole comics industry and related fields such as Merchandise, Toys, Games, Films and Animation, along with fans of this culture from all age groups. It has now grown to multiple events across the country. The mission has now evolved to create unique pop culture events and engage with fans all across the country.

The properties include Delhi Comic Con, Mumbai Comic Con, Bangalore Comic Con & Hyderabad Comic Con. Along with a traveling property - Comic Con Express, which was last held in Pune in 2016.

Comic Con India (CCI) took a big leap as they recently (In September 2014) announced a joint venture with Reed Exhibitions; part of the FTSE listed Reed Elsevier Group, to grow the pop culture space in India and bring world class events to Indian fans. The Comic Con India team will now work closely with the ‘ReedPOP’ division of Reed Exhibitions, the largest producer of pop culture events in the world.

With this JV in place, CCI enters the burgeoning ReedPOP portfolio of pop culture events which includes New York Comic Con, PAX, the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Oz Comic-Con, Singapore Toy, Gaming & Comics Convention and Star Wars Celebration among many others.

Flying in from Sri Lanka for a taste of Tex in Tamil

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  V Subramanya lost his collection of comic books during the Lankan war  Ashwin Prasath

CHENNAI: It is not everyday that one decides to take a flight to another country to buy Tamil comic books at a book fair. Meet V Subramanya, a 65-year-old from Jaffna, Sri Lanka, who loves his comic books and has visited the Bapasi Book Fair in the city after a gap of three years.

“I have been reading them for over 25 years, but during the war I lost most of my collection and am now trying to get them back.” Dressed in a simple lungi and shirt, Subramanya speaks in his heavily accented Sri Lankan Tamil. “I was in a refugee camp for two years. My favourites are Tex and tiger comics.

Tex is a comic book sold across Europe, the story of a crime fighting cowboy set in early 20th Century America. The Tamil translated version is sold in the State by Muthu Comics. “We have been selling comics from 1974. There is a special crowd for comics. Tex is like MGR; he has fans in France, Belgium, and England, we translate the books to Tamil,” said R Ganesh, who manages the stall at the book fair. “We first started with Irumbukai Mayavi comics but Tex comics overtook the sales.”

Chakra: The Invincible:’ an end to Bollywood’s superheroes?

Madhav Dutt

Created by the legendary Stan Lee, ‘Chakra: The Invincible’ first appeared in comic book form in 2011, and was excitedly referred to as Lee’s first “Indian superhero”.

It opens with an animated shot of a Mumbai street. It’s summer. People are sweating profusely, a lone stray dog drinking muddy water from a puddle. The next shot takes us to the skies above, where our superhero, Chakra (real name Raju Rai), flies by, surveying his city. He’s a boy dressed in a tight, blue jumpsuit, with a shiny sun symbol on his chest. The villain of this altercation is Thandai, an eccentric school teacher with the ability to control ice. Their battle ensues, with Thandai flinging snowballs at our hero, and him responding with his signature move, which involves (no points for guessing) activating hisSurya Chakra. He saves the residents of Mumbai from Thandai’s ice, leaving them in the face-melting humidity once again.

Created by the legendary Stan Lee—you know, the man who co-created Spiderman, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the X-Men, ad infinatum, and who makes a fleeting appearance in every single Marvel movie— and Graphic India’s CEO Sharad Devarajan, Chakra: The Invinciblefirst appeared in comic book form in 2011, and was excitedly referred to as Lee’s first “Indian superhero”. The comic book was followed by an animated film which aired on Cartoon Network India in 2013. The animation isn’t groundbreaking, and because they didn’t bother using Indian English speakers for dubbing, Chakra (pronounced Chalk-ruh) ends up sounding more like a Californian than a Mumbaiker. However, in addition to being a children’s character, Chakra was created by Lee with the hopes of expanding the franchise, adding a live-action Bollywood film to the existing videos and comics. Fast forward to April this year, and the companies behind Chakra (Lee’s POW! Entertainment and Devarajan’s Graphic India) have announced that they’ve found their director, Phantom Films’ Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan, Lootera). Lee, Devarajan and Motwane are currently working on the screenplay, and will begin production late 2016-2017.

Stepping out of animation and into live action broadens the target demographic from children to entire families, and to accommodate for this, they’ve tinkered with the story a little. In Lee’s version, Raju Rai, a child tech whiz, teams up with his mentor, Dr. Singh, to create a suit that activates the chakras in the body, unlocking supernatural powers. For Bollywood, the child has been replaced with a young man in his 20s, who’ll be fighting villains in Mumbai.

Lee is brave for venturing out of America, the veritable land of superheroes. This is by no means an understatement, with the character of Superman having been penned before India even gained independence, and the Marvel cinematic universe, which includesSpider Man, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and the like, raking in north of $10 billions in the global box office.

Our on-screen superheroes, both old and new, have never held the interest of the masses the American way. The first truly successful on-screen superhero was Shaktimaan, whose acts of valour were watched by many Indian households from 1997 till 2005, with a total of 400 episodes aired by Doordarshan.

Our Indian superhero equivalents to Iron Man and Superman are—it is difficult even to say this— Ra.One and Krrish. Besides ripping off characters, superpowers, and sometimes entire sequences from Hollywood films, these movies offered little besides the star value that came with Shah Rukh Khan and a chunky Hrithik Roshan. Obviously, that was more than enough for them to succeed in the box office, grossing Rs.250 and Rs.300 crores respectively. Both Ra.One, and the two Krrish films, proudly spoke of their CGI and VFX work ahead of their respective releases. After watching them, I concluded that they looked more like an early 2000s video game than anything.

Given our rather fruitless and plagiarised on screen superhero past, why should we be optimistic about Chakra: The Invincible? There are two reasons. Yes, India hasn’t caught on to the global superhero craze, but I suspect that’s because we had enough superheroes before they were trendy. From the pre Vedic period (1750 BC) to the time of the early Puranas (200 BC-500 AD), India was the cradle for Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. We didn’t need heroes in spandex, because we had, and still have, fantastical gods with many avatars: deities who see all and know all, but whose tales are relatable and universal in import. This is why it’s no surprise that Shaktimaan’s character, Pandit Omkarnath Shastri, gained his superpowers through deep meditation and harnessing the power of the five elements of life (Panchabhuta), and that Chakra also channels his chakras, a similarly religious act, but through technology, a decidedly modern spin. The religious overtones of the story will attract audiences. The second cause for optimism comes from Lee and Devarajan’s decision to collaborate with Phantom Films. Co-owned by Motwane (and Anurag Kashyap, among others). Phantom Films has developed a reputation for thoughtful and unconventional cinema. Combining their unique lens with the global fame and experience brought by Lee could produce a superhero film that’ll take the genre in a new direction.

Rohit Sharma launches first superhero cricket graphic novel 'Hyper Tygers'

New Delhi: In a treat for his fans, India's star batsman Rohit Sharma will be seen in a superhero avatar in the digital comic series titled "Hyper Tygers" launched on Thursday (June 9). The explosive Indian opener said on the release of the comic book that he took the leap from the sports world to the creative field as "it marries" his concerns with his "passion". However, he doesn't feel that it marks his entry into the entertainment industry. Hyper Tygers Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit shared that he considers the comic series, launched in collaboration with Graphic India, Britain-based ISM Komix and Cornerstone Sport, as a bridge to "reach out to" his fans. Hyper Tygers is touted as the world's first superhero cricket team that plays futuristic 'Hyper Cricket' to save the environment, their village, and the world. "If you care about your future and the future of your kids, then now is the time to take action and go green - I have always believed this. This opportunity immediately appealed to me. It marries my concerns with my passion, and the fit was unbeatable," Rohit said. "I do not view it so much as me entering the entertainment industry at all, but more in the light of - I can now use this medium to reach out to my fan base and share messaging that I care about, with a positive outcome for the planet," Rohit added. The "Hyper Tygers" e-books are available on DailyHunt starting June 9 and can be accessed free of charge for the first two weeks, after which each chapter will be priced at Rs 10. A new chapter of "Hyper Tygers" will be released every week. What role do you think comics play in sending out a social message? "I think that all media has the ability to communicate messages, no matter if it's TV, cinema, theatre or books. 'Hyper Tygers' as a comic book and an animated series (on digital platforms) is uniquely positioned in a way that they reach out to an audience of all age groups and the massive world of cricket fans. If we can embed the idea of being champions for the environment in everybodyÂ's minds, then we can hope to make the world a better place for everyone," he said. "Hyper Tygers" is set in a futuristic India (in the year 2077) where technology is super-advanced. In fact, cricket has also been upgraded with a 'futuristic' twist for the series. The superheroes play 'Hyper Cricket' -- which infuses technology to the sport -- and Rohit feels that "by showing a world in which cricket idols are making a difference, we hope to create tremendous impact with the comic and show that everyone, no matter who they are, can make a difference". Calling it a "great" concoction, Rohit says it "has been a long time coming", adding that the story is at par with any "graphic novel on a global level". Xan Morgan, who was part of Prime Minister David Cameron's 2012 trade delegation to India, representing the environment and water from Britain, is the co-creator of the series. "Hyper Tygers" is also developing original storylines with British charity Elephant Family, founded by Mark Shand, brother of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. ISM Komix and Graphic India will also be planning a worldwide animation, digital video and gaming strategy around "Hyper Tygers". The cricketer feels "it is never too young to create an awareness for the preservation of the environment in a child's mind or anybody's mind. Today we need this more than we ever did." Rohit is considered to be a youth icon, and he says with the role comes responsibility to "inspire people". "I try to do that with my career and I hope to do that with the 'Hyper Tygers' comic and animated series. If people look to the example of the 'Hyper Tygers' to try to be the best at cricket while trying to be more environmentally conscious I'm confident we can make the world a better place sooner rather than later," he said. OneIndia News

Read more at: http://www.oneindia.com/sports/cricket/rohit-sharma-launches-superhero-cricket-graphic-novel-hyper-tygers-2123094.html