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Indonesia Comic Con 2015: Wonderland of classic, latest pop culture
Animanga enthusiasts wear a variety of costumes during Indonesia Comic Con 2015 at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Saturday
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span class="inline inline-center">Animanga enthusiasts wear a variety of costumes during Indonesia Comic Con 2015 at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Saturday. The two-day event involves various activities including meet-and-greet, workshops and talkshows.
The opening day of the first Indonesia Comic Con (ICC) saw thousands of comic, movie and toy enthusiasts flock to Hall B of the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta on Saturday.
From a fan meeting with Kenji Ohba, the suit actor of 1980s Japanese superhero Gavan, to an autograph session with Daredevil comic artist David Mack, the ICC indulged visitors who had come to see the best the classic and modern comic worlds had to offer.
The two-day event is being staged by Reed Panorama Exhibitions (RPE), a joint venture of Reed Exhibitions and Indonesia's Panorama Group.
By the time the gates opened at 10 a.m, hundreds of visitors and cosplayers had already formed a long line at the entrance.
The crowd swarmed the main stage 30 minutes before the session with Japanese senior stuntman Kenji was due to start.
When the theme song of Space Sheriff Gavan was played, the visitors, many in their 20s and 30s, sang along word perfectly.
The appearance of Kenji, now 60 years of age, prompted resounding cheers. For many of the visitors, it was a trip back to their childhood, when they enjoyed the series on mostly pirated Betamax video cassettes.
'The masks and costumes are tight, but we enjoy being stunt actors because we want to make children and young people happy,' said Kenji, a veteran stuntman who has appeared in dozens of series and films.
Kenji's hair may have grayed and his skin become wrinkled, but he was energetic when demonstrating the signature Gavan moves.
'He is a legend. It's such a great experience to see him in person,' said Kholis, who came all the way from Serang, Banten.
In another corner, fans enjoyed the chance to greet and take selfies with notable American cosplayer Nicole Marie Jean, the V-Project cosplay performing group, comic artist Mack and Italian graphic designer Simone Legno, the co-founder of the tokidoki brand.
'I'm amazed at the magnitude of pop culture enthusiasts in Indonesia,' said Legno.
Karina from Pondok Indah brought her 6-month-old baby boy to the session with Legno.
'I love the cute characters in tokidoki products,' Karina, who carried her baby in a tokidoki carrier and brought a matching bag.
'The comic con is great but I think the venue is too small,' she added.
The exhibition space, filled by 160 brands and communities from six countries, offered a wide range of collectible items for toy and comic lovers.
Malaysia-based Royal Selangor offered limited-edition Star Wars figurines, including a Rp 12 million (US$880) Luke Skywalker versus Rancor diorama of which only 500 units have been made and distributed worldwide. Japan-based Sanrio brought visitors to the world of much-loved Hello Kitty in the meet- and-greet session, while shoe manufacturer Piero started taking pre-orders for Star Wars shoes.
Toy collector Sofia Budhiarti said she had enjoyed the event, but found it difficult to purchase items from the art figurine booths.
'It's a shame that in an event this big, many of the booths only accept cash for payment. The toys are not that cheap and it's a lot of cash to carry around.'
The ICC is also putting the country's creative industry in the spotlight with production house Starvision slated to present the cast of upcoming action-hero movie, Jagoan Instan, on Sunday. Frankkomik will unveil its comic book Menuju Timur, comprising 10 comic stories inspired by the cultures and landscapes of eastern Indonesia.
The event will wrap up on Sunday evening with the Cosplay Championship, where a panel of judges, will select one of 15 cosplay finalists to represent Indonesia in the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo 2016 grand finals in Chicago, US, next year.
'We will also have a very packed program [on Sunday],' RPE general manager James Boey said.
'We have a comic panel with David Mack, a session with Kenji Ohba again and a session with DJ sasakure.UK,' he added.
James said that his team had started preparing an even more extravagant ICC for 2016.
'We have already secured some celebrity guests for next year. It will be bigger,' he promised.
' Photos by JP/Wendra Ajistyatama
