Put on the moulded gauntlets, the body armour, the bandolier and the darkly intimidating cape, you look in the mirror and emulate the famous gravelly baritone voice— you’re Batman.
The world of cosplaying is a surreal one filled with character mystique and literally infinite possibilities; and it’s yours. With about a short while to go for Comic Con India, the next couple of months call for cosplayers to get their gear together for one of popular culture’s biggest events.
Hyderabad Comic Con has been largely successful in its cosplay scene, empowering the local crowds to partake. Comic Con India Founder Jatin Varma explains India’s conscious crowds have been encouraging for the cosplay scene, explaining that for the first Comic Con he and other organisers also dressed up to elevate the surrealism, saying, “By the third year, it had picked up really well and now seven years into it, we have professional cosplayers who are known internationally coming to our conventions. In the cities where we do Comic Con, we have plenty of people immersed in this culture and very aware of cosplaying as a industry.”
Jatin adds that in the beginning, the idea of wearing a costume for many involved an idea of competition which will be present for a long time, but he points out, “People are realising that cosplaying is like an art. We have people who have spent months developing their costumes and getting better at it.”
Cosplayers, both professional and amateur, have embodied the vibrant spirit, filling convention halls with the spectrum of personalities such as the popular, and frankly mainstream, Marvel and DC characters such as Deadpool and Harley Quinn, but many have taken to video game characters such as the visually terrifying ones from the Silent Hill franchise. People are becoming more empowered to take on characters that not only have shock value and impressive special effects makeup, but also ones that reflect an expression of being they haven’t yet explored.
Hyderabad-based cosplayer MahiMomo makes a case for anime and indie characters, such as Sailor Moon and Miku Hatsune. She first delved into the universe when Hyderabad’s first Comic Con came about, which proved a success. She’s then taken it out of the convention scene too, explaining, “Although cosplay photoshoots ensure that your output is well showcased, at the conventions, everything is live. So, you get into the character and meet so many people who love you for how you are portraying these characters. Cosplaying with a partner is fun as long as you've got each other's backs when it comes to touch-ups and adjusting costume and props.”
It’s worth noting that India is far more accepting of cosplayers’ efforts than in the West.
In most Comic Cons, there’s a certain rivalry that manifests over the preparation of costumes and gear; whereas in India, there’s a warmer reception to those trying it out for the first time. MahiMomo condemns any contention within cosplaying, “It shouldn't exist; even if it does, since it is part of learning and growing up, rivalry itself shouldn't grow up to fester unhealthy competition.”
Cosplay is not consent
Comic culture and cosplay unfortunately has an unhealthy, and thankfully dying, stigma attached, and the resulting movement that is prevalent in every Comic Con is the Cosplay Is Not Consent scheme, an anti-harassment policy.
Jatin is firm on this global initiative, “As event organisers in India, we have to take many precautions to handle thousands of people in a single location. You do have situations where we need volunteers to keep cosplayers and their costumes safe. And you’ll see costumes which are very elaborate and expensive. So, yes, there are one-off incidents — which are rare — where boundaries are crossed and we take action immediately. But most of these outfits actually invite a lot of positive engagement and curiosity, which is what we love to see.”
In the last couple of years, according to Jatin, the crowds at India’s Comic Cons have been very upbeat and relaxed; progressive discourses have helped people push the envelope and embrace a culture that has the world over enraptured.
So get your options lined up, whether you’re a first-timer or a vetted participant — the world of cosplay awaits.
