Middle East Film and Comic Con in Dubai reaches next level

'It really has been on another level. I don’t know where all these people came from, and it’s great,' says event co-founder.

People dressed up as their favourite comic book characters at Dubai's Comic Con. Satish Kumar / The National

DUBAI // With an estimated 18,000 comic and film fans having already paid a visit to this weekend’s Middle East Film and Comic Con, organisers are hopeful they will have surpassed last year total, of 21,000, by its close.

MEFCC’s co-founder, Arafaat Khan, said: “It really has been on another level. I don’t know where all these people came from, and it’s great. The reason we do this is because we’re geeks too, and we love it. It’s grown every year and I think we can take it to another level again next year. We had a massive waiting list for exhibitors this year, so I’m confident we can keep growing.

“I’m really proud of our region, the way we’ve all come together to show the world we can put something like this on to an international standard, which is what Dubai is all about.”

Visitors were treated to an array of comic and film-related treats, from celebrity appearances by the likes of actors Seth Green (Robot Chicken) and Sylvester McCoy (Dr Who), to exclusive movie previews -- including Emirati director Mo Fikree’s Girl and It.

Other events on offer included workshops, delivered by the likes of Aardman Animation, the Oscar-winning studio behind Wallace and Gromit, gaming and live music. Visitors with a competitive streak also had their pick of a number of competitions, ranging from the cosplay competition on Friday, in which people dress up in costume, to those with a more artistic appeal, where people could pocket Dh10,000 for painting a Fanta bottle.

The event isn’t all about fun and games, however, with some serious business taking place. This year, vintage comic specialist Metropolis Collectibles had copies of the very first editions of both Superman and Batman comics, for sale, with a combined value of US$1.4 million (Dh5.1m).

Although still to be sold by late Saturday afternoon, Ammar Alaradi, who was working Metropolis’ stand, wasn’t too disappointed: “Those two comics are here really as a promotional tool, although there are some pretty serious buyers in the region that could be interested. Collecting comics is still pretty new to the Middle East and a lot of people still see it as an amateur hobby, so they’re surprised when they come to the stand and see a comic with a thousands of dollars price tag.

“I think the biggest single issue we’ve sold so far here is around US$15,000. Part of our job is very much educating the public in the region about the comic world and collecting because it’s still so novel here.”

Education was a recurrent theme at this year’s event.

For the first time in MEFCC’s three-year history, teachers and students visited the site, at Dubai World Trade Centre, to learn more about the film and comic industries through special workshops and panel discussions. Mr Khan said the move was a success. “We were worried it might be quiet, but the schools kept coming throughout the day, and I’ve met a number of educational professionals at the show over the last two days who didn’t know about the school’s day, and have said they’d definitely be interested in bringing students next year, so that could grow too.”

The event could also help one budding comic creator bring his ideas to a wider audience.

Dubai Moving Image Museum’s One Page Competition winner, Yasser Alireza, was at the event with his winning comic, Dhilman, which was critiqued by Marvel’s chief talent scout, VP of creator content development, CB Cebulski. His verdict? “I was really impressed. He told a story inspired by the shadows and light he saw at the museum, on a single page, coherently – I didn’t even have to read the word balloons to understand the story. For someone with so little experience, who has a day job, and just draws comics as a passion to come up with something of such a professional standard is brilliant.”

So will Mr Alireza soon be an employee of the company that produces, among many others, Captain America and Spiderman comics?

“We’re going to be sending him some sample scripts, so we’ll see,” said Mr Cebulski.