International names appearing at Dubai’s new pop culture festival PopCon have been revealed for the first time. Comic book artists Whilce Portacio, Agnes Garbowska, Jason Palmer and David Yardin will all appear as part of the event’s Hall of Fame.
Hosted by television personality Giuliana Rancic, the free-entry, three-day festival will take place at Dubai Outlet Mall on the weekend of October 27-29.
The middle evening will also see the neighbouring Autism Rocks Arena host the Halloween/Mexican-themed, all-ages music festival Fiesta De Los Muertos, headlined by Major Lazer, All Saints and DNCE. PopCon was launched in Manila last year, and recently hosted a second event in the Philippines’ capital.
Also confirmed for the first time is details of a huge cosplay contest — with a Dh25,000 top prize — plus tabletop and model kit competitions.
Specialist merchandise will be sold at pop-up shop Comicave.
The same weekend as PopCon launches in Dubai will also see the capital host Ani: Me, a brand new celebration of Japanese culture coming to Yas Island.
Meet the artists
Filipino-American comic book writer and artist Portacio is noted for his work on titles including Longshot, Heroes Reborn: Iron Man, X Force, Batman Confidential, Authority, Stormwatch and Batman/Superman.
Garbowska is an artist for comics including My Little Pony, Jem and the Holograms, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Dexter's Laboratory, and the Littlest Pet Shop series.
Palmer is best known for his illustration art for Firefly, Star Wars, Once Upon a Time and Indiana Jones, and has worked on a variety of projects for Paramount, Warner Bros, HBO, AMC, Fox and Lucasfilm.
Yardin has illustrated stories for DC Comics' Injustice: Gods Among Us and Marvel Comics' A+X, as well as covers for Thunderbolts, Storm, Magneto, Civil War II: X-Men, and Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Five, and is currently the cover artist on Extraordinary X-Men.
Geek-tastic competitions
A major pillar of the festival’s closing day will be the Cosplay Authority Global Challenge — aka CAGE — which will invite hardened geeks to dress up as their favourite fictional characters and compete for a winning haul of Dh25,000 in cash and prizes.
Also announced for the first time is Friday's Gundam Model Kit Competition, and a card game tournament, Magic The Gathering Tabletop Gaming Competition. For more information and to register for all three competitions head to www.popcon.com.
rgarratt@thenational.ae
