Kerala Pop Con had cosplayers, creators and celebrities, making it Kerala’s biggest pop culture convention.
Organised by a team of 9 individuals with a host of volunteers, Kerala Pop Con was the brainchild of the Kerala Comics Brotherhood. (Supplied)
It’s not often that you see Deadpool strolling around Panampilly Nagar, Ernakulam while Thor and the Mandalorian pose for pictures under the blazing Kochi sun.
On 28 January, a lot many than the Avengers assembled at Rotary Bal Bhavan. They were here to celebrate Kerala’s love for pop culture.
Kerala Pop Con, a first-of-its-kind event, offered fans, cosplayers and the attendees an entire day filled with pop culture-themed events and stalls.
It earned the title of the largest pop culture convention held in the state. But, it also revealed to the world that the Kerala pop culture fandom has graduated to a league of its own.
Organised by a team of 9 individuals with a host of volunteers, Kerala Pop Con is the brainchild of the Kerala Comics Brotherhood.
Formed in 2014, they started with small events. Kerala Pop Con is the first time they tipped the scales, hosting an event of this magnitude.
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“We never expected such a response!” reveals San Ramsankar, one of the organisers of the event. He has seen Kerala’s different pop culture communities grow over the years.
Their initial intention was to bring these communities together under the banner of pop culture. But, it quickly graduated to a day-long celebration of the phenomenon, Ramsankar tells South First.
As a two-time Comic Con India cosplay finalist, Ramsankar has seen major cities like Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai host dedicated anime and comic book communities.
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Hoping to find people with similar interests in his own state, Ramsankar and a few others began the Kerala Comics Brotherhood, which soon attracted a swarm of pop culture fans.
This prompted the Brotherhood to organise small events, furthering the reach of the community. They eventually even opened Kerala’s first exclusive comic book library.
“People who are into superheroes or comic books are usually considered to be second-class citizens,” Ramsankar shares. He points out to shows like The Big Bang Theory where such fans are labelled as “nerds” or “geeks”.
But now, with the popularity of anime and superhero franchises, everyone has developed an interest, he reveals.
“For someone like me, who used to read Gotham comics and Malayalam comics growing up, it brings me a lot of happiness to see this community grow,” he shares.
As merch stalls lined the Rotary Bal Bhavan hall, Kerala Pop Con attendees were strapped in for a day of excitement. There were guest sessions, panel discussions and competitions.
Renowned cosplayer, Ajith Kumar, popularly known as “Mallu Tom Holland” took the stage performing his iconic Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland impressions.
A session with Sanjana George, the first Malayalee WWE wrestler, gave fans a glimpse into her world of wrestling.
There were also sessions with content creators Alambanz, filmmaker Jithin Laal and the team behind the upcoming Malayalam film ‘Gaganachari.
Attendees also took a trip down memory lane during a session with veteran artist M Mohandas. He is known for his legendary Malayalam comic book characters like Mayavi for the children’s comic magazine Balarama.
Attendees participated in boardgame sessions, video game competitions, quizzes and carnival games.
Kerala Pop Con also gave special attention to independent artists and creators. (Joshua Eugine/South First).
Kerala Pop Con also gave special attention to independent artists and creators, who are exploring the narratives of our own cultural landscape.
“In conventions like these, people usually obsess over Japanese or Western culture,” shares Ramsankar, revealing that independent creators often get ignored in the process.
“For this event, we’ve managed to give them a special space while catering to popular crowd interests as well,” he explains. Kerala Pop Con attempts at fusing popular culture with local culture.
“Forms of storytelling like anime are working big-time,” reveals Ramesh Menon, director at Draction Reel Productions, an independent film production house.
“Kids these days use Japanese intonation even when they speak Malayalam,” he tells South First.
Draction Reel Productions has experimented with this phenomena in their upcoming Indo-Japanese short film Whispers of the Lost, whose trailer was launched at Kerala Pop Con.
Comic book stalls were a testament that Indian comics have ventured to the edges of the narrative style. (Joshua Eugine/South First)
Kerala Pop Con’s comic book stalls were a testament that Indian comics have ventured to the edges of the narrative style.
India’s cultural riches hold a repertoire of stories that are yet to be told.
“The kind of creativity and content that these stories have is a treasure,” shares Preethi Nair from Tiger Comics.
“We believe that these stories deserve much better representation,” adds Arnav Anand from Vrindkavi comics.
Both Tiger and Vrindkavi comics are independent publishing houses that aim to tell the untold stories of Indian history and mythology.
Comics aren’t the end product, Arnav believes, “It’s the first step to sharing these stories.”
While Comic Con’s gaze towards the south remains fixated on Bengaluru, Kerala decided to take matters into its own hands.
Kerala Pop Con’s success not only lies in the obvious footfall of the event, but in the fact that its organisers and attendees decided to write their own story. It is about how a community came together to celebrate their passion for no one else but themselves.
As Kerala’s pop culture community grows each day to include new fans, it is clear that this story is just beginning.
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