Long before anime became a theatrical event in India, before cosplay turned into a competition, and before fandom became a legitimate cultural currency, Comic Con India was a radical idea. When Jatin Varma brought the format to India in 2011, the assumption was simple – this wouldn’t work here. Comics were thought to be strictly for kids, conventions were niche, and fandom was something you eventually outgrew.
More than a decade later, Comic Con India has rewritten every one of those assumptions. Now spanning multiple cities and fandoms, from comics and anime to gaming, K-pop and beyond, it mirrors how Indian pop culture itself has evolved. In this exclusive interview, Varma looks back at finding “lightning in a bottle,” breaking long-standing myths, and why fandom in India was never just a phase to begin with.
Excerpts from the interview:
Every Comic Con fan loves an origin story. What’s yours? What was the moment you thought, “India needs Comic Con”?
My origin story is essentially stumbling into it and finding lightning in a bottle. This was supposed to be a side project, a fun one that even if I failed, I’d still get a Wikipedia entry as the person who organised India’s first-ever Comic Con. But as luck would have it, it was a success from the start and got the ball rolling. A few years later, we were in different cities, and, cut to 2025, there are going to be 11 cities this season.
Be honest, when you first pitched Comic Con India, did anyone think you were completely crazy?
I found most people to be bemused and not entirely sure what this was rather than assuming I was crazy. Luckily the same people were used to me taking up ‘quirky’ projects, so this wasn’t a shock to them.
But the struggle of explaining what the event was and why it would be relevant was there initially. Unfortunately, a lot of people assumed comics were for kids, which is not really true, and did not initially realise the potential of the event and the platform we were creating.
What was the biggest “India mein yeh nahi chalega” myth you had to break?
The biggest myth we had to break was that comics were just something kids read and then outgrew. We had literally shown that comics live with you forever, and you evolve as a fan. And most importantly, everyone is a fan of something. The concept of fandoms seemed completely alien back then, and thus ‘yeh nahi chalega’ comments were there quite often.
You’ve seen thousands of cosplays over the years. Which ones still live rent-free in your head?
I love cosplay, and over the years, there have been some really amazing costumes. The professional cosplayers also take things up a notch. But for me, fans having fun and doing mashups really stand out, be it the Delhi ‘Baraati’ Spiderman and Deadpool, so the Bengali groom Spidey. The classics, such as a really convincing Chacha Chaudhary, also live rent-free in my head.
When you started, Indian fandom was very comic-book focused. Today it’s anime, K-pop, gaming, and K-dramas. Did you see this shift coming?
Yes, this was something that was happening around the world and was meant to happen in India as well. It also came at a time when people had a bit more time to consume content owing to the pandemic, add to that the slow demise of superhero content, the entry of anime-only streaming services in India, etc. So everything altogether really helped generate interest. But what’s been unique is the staying power and the massive spread of this fandom amongst various groups, classes, and regions. It feels way more of a mass phenomenon than the Superhero craze earlier.
As an anime fan myself, I’ve seen the boom up close. With fandoms evolving so fast, what do you think the future of anime in India looks like?
It’s here to stay forever, we are looking at generation fans, and with the spread into local languages, the connect will only get deeper. I hope it also has a positive rub off on manga, as I feel it’s equally important to read as it is watch.
What’s one pop-culture trend you think is about to really take over Indian Comic Con next?
It’s a bit of a challenge and trend both – the upcoming onslaught of AI-generated content. Not the AI slop we see on social media, but legitimate AI generated content be it live action or animated. Navigating this space and at the same time standing up for creator rights is going to be the biggest challenge.
As India’s unofficial Chief Pop Culture Officer, name five comics, shows, movies, and anime that you think have shaped India’s pop-culture landscape.
I can suggest a mix of these things in the past year that have really dominated the pop-culture landscape in India and globally as well.
Superman by James Gunn
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba the movie
K-Pop Demon Hunters
Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder
Dan Da Dan by Yukinobu Tatsu (Both Manga and 2nd season of its anime)
These are just a few titles and names. There are obviously tons more to suggest and recommend. These days, it’s very difficult for anything to dominate en masse; everything has its own following and fandom.
If you could bring any global pop-culture icon to Indian Comic Con, who do you think would break the internet?
Without a doubt, Robert Downey Jr. He is timeless, and his popularity still persists and has only risen ever since he’s been cast as Dr Doom.
Finally, what would you say to someone who still believes fandom is “just a phase”?
I don’t think that person exists anymore. At best, I’ll come across someone who is trying to understand the word Fandom and the various worlds that exist within it.
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