First Edition, Near Mint Condition

Written by Emily C Reubush, Digital, DFI

Recently in Dubai, the first Middle East Film & Comic Con took place. DFI covered it, of course, and part of the assignment was to write a piece about just what Comic Con is. On the surface, it’s not much of a loaded question, but looks can be deceiving.

The Comic Con is an event that has taken place annually since 1970 in San Diego, at first pulling in just a few hundred people. It was founded by four guys, who were dedicated to comic books—before big studio CGI and the billion-dollar world of immersive video games, comics were the most accessible way to get lost in a world of fantasy. These days, The Con is a behemoth that draws over 120,000 self-described geeks from all over the world. It’s become a pilgrimage, of sorts. For a glimpse into this phenomenon, I highly recommend Comic Con Episode IV, A Fan’s Hope, Morgan Spurlock’s documentary.

But a Middle Eastern version, the first Middle Eastern version, could be anything, and I could not honestly write about the concept before I had seen how it would play out. This event had been in the works for some time, but only finally came to pass this year. There were many questions—just how much of an audience would there be for a Con, here?

Of course, the world of comics is based, in its essence, in the world of mythology, and the region has a vibrant history in that area, with works such as the Shahnameh by the Persian poet Ferdowsi having a huge impact on the mythology and folklore of the wider world, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” These days The 99, heroes based on the tenets of Islam captures an older audience and Freej, a CGI cartoon starring traditionally dressed women is popular with youths. Grendizer, the first locally popular anime cartoon, introduced the form to the Gulf decades ago. But still, it’s hardly a booming business here. Even the San Diego original has changed (to the dismay of some) from a purist’s comic con into a celebration of all things pop culture, and the MEFCC aimed to follow that model. Their stars were Jihad Al-Atrash, Max Landis— the man who wrote Chronicle, John Rhys-Davies— the man who played Gimli, the woman known as the Cosplay Queen from Philippines, and others—both the far East and the West were well-represented. Would it only appeal to those groups? There are certainly enough expats in the region to fill a convention, but would the locals come?

When I arrived at the Dubai International Marine Club before noon on the first day of two, the crowd was small but encouraging. The venue, a two-story temporary structure, was not gigantic by any means but seemed to be well-filled. There were several booksellers, a costume retailer, purveyors of anime figures and local publishers on the ground floor, with the upper level filled with aspiring artists and writers selling their wares, as well as a gaming area and the obligatory space for fans of World of Warcraft to paint their tiny figures whilst reveling with other geeks.

Early on, the cosplayers mainly consisted of those yet too young to drive, wearing rather random bits of costume simply because they could. Cosplay (costume-play) is a sort of pastime wherein people dress up like their favorite characters, often spending much time and money creating perfect costume replicas, and reenact or extend their protagonist’s fictional world. It is something that is more often than not taken very seriously, and it had been previously decided that it would be the cosplay quality and quantity that would be a marker of success or failure. I had a few hours-worth of a hold-your-breath moment, wondering if the slightly underwhelming crowd and half-costumed sprinkling would be the best Dubai could do. We came hoping to be part of a successful start, the beginning of something fantastic, an event and underlying market for local artists and enthusiasts. It is not a matter of importing the ideas and format of someone else, but creating a platform for the Gulf’s own voices.

Throughout the day there were small events like a theme-tune karaoke competition (which drew a grand total of four entrants, one of them an organizer), a zombie walk contest—during which The Walking Dead’s Laurie Holden pretended to send each of the contestants to a moaning zombie death, Jason Momoa of Game of Thrones and Conan the Barbarian fame making a surprise stage appearance that left female population blushing, and several performances by a troop of costumed break-dancers that got the crowd involved—you haven’t seen anything until you have seen Captain Jack Sparrow do a proper windmill.

We left for a late lunch, and by the time we returned at four, the place was very nearly packed! We passed a large group of serious Star Wars fans getting ready for the cosplay competition, the first one in the region. We ducked around a guy with a four-meter wing-span, and found a spot on the grass in front of the stage, between a girl with her abaya opened just enough for the Superman S on her shirt to show through the gap and a group of fully-outfitted ninjas.

The cosplay competition had more than 60 entries, and after getting off to a fairly confused start, during which judge Max Landis wrote somewhat snarky comments on his notepad and held them above his head to show the crowd, the contest seemed to hit its stride. Some brought their own music and danced or sang their various theme songs, some strut across the stage and menaced the crowd with their homemade weaponry, and some froze up under the lights. Very soon the surrounding outdoor space was completely filled with fans who cheered wildly for characters such as Naruto and the Undertaker, no matter what their quality. I have to admit I had at best a passing knowledge of the vast majority of characters, but was impressed with the guts it took to get on stage in costume. In the end it was the Demon Djinn (with the aforementioned four-meter wing-span) that got the crowd onto their feet and captured the win.

There were panels, workshops, and screening of films such as Star Trek and the Matrix. There is certainly much growth to be done to make this an event that will bring in people from the West and the East, but the response proved that there is more than enough interest from the region to support the cause. Certainly, the first Comic Con in the Middle East dwarfed San Diego’s early numbers. So keep an eye on Dubai, for this saga is certain to be continued.