Local comic-book writers and artists Zaid Adham and Yasser Alireza return to Dubai with the second issue of their comic Wayl.
It marks the latest stage in a long MEFCC journey, which began when writer Adham’s early prototype for the book won the convention’s best artwork award in 2012.
He subsequently teamed up with Alireza and finally unveiled the first issue of their comic at the convention last year.
Adham says that the event has been a vital resource in helping to develop the book and spread the word far beyond the region.
"Wayl would not have been here without Comic Con," he says. "After last year, I knew you guys [at The National] covered us, and so did some other local media – but after that we had the LA Times contacting us.
"We were also interviewed by a professor who runs the International Journal of Comic Art. Copies of Wayl actually now sit in the Middle Eastern Library of Studies at UCLA, because one of the librarians heard of us through that – and that's testament to how strong MEFCC is."
After the success of issue one of Wayl last year, the pair will again be selling an exclusive variant edition of the latest issue at Comic Con, with a cover available only at the convention.
“Because it was successful last year, we are launching our second MEFCC-exclusive variant cover,” says Alireza.
“We completely sold out last year. Again, this cover will not be sold outside the convention and is available in limited numbers, which makes it highly collectible.”
Karim and Noor star in groundbreaking VR ‘Holotoon’
Blink Studios, the UAE animation and production house best known for its work on Iftah Ya Simsim, its Arabic adaptation of Sesame Street, promises visitors a global exclusive.
Blink will be debuting a virtual-reality “Holotoon” featuring its popular animated characters Karim and Noor.
Producer Nathalie Habib promises it will be more than the standard VR experience.
“Virtual reality is evolving much more quickly than we realise,” she says.
“Much faster than the stuff you might see in stores from the likes of Samsung.
“One of the very latest technologies is Google Tango, the other is Microsoft’s Hololens. They’ve evolved to create mixed reality, which is our reality mixed with the virtual one.”
Karim and Noor is said to be the first story-based content designed anywhere in the world specifically for the new technology, and Habib admits it is hard to describe this latest in VR entertainment to people.
The best way to understand exactly what it offers, she says, is to visit Blink’s stand at Comic Con to check out the latest innovation for themselves.
By way of introduction, however, she says the latest incarnation of Karim and his magic lantern friend, Noor, is akin to a mixed real-world/VR experience similar to the popular phone game Pokemon Go!, but with a storyline.
“It’ll take one second to show it to you, but I can keep explaining it and you just won’t get it,” Habib adds with a laugh.
cnewbould@thenational.ae
