Comic Con in JV with ReedPOP to grow pop culture in India

Comic Con India (CCI) Thursday announced a joint venture (JV) with FTSE-listed Reed Elsevier subsidiary Reed Exhibitions to grow the pop culture space in India and bring global level events to Indian fans.

"With this JV in place, CCI enters the burgeoning ReedPOP portfolio of international pop culture events, which includes New York Comic Con, PAX, the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Oz Comic-Con, Singapore Toy, Gaming & Comics Convention and Star Wars Celebration among others," the pop culture events company said in a statement here.

The joint venture will capitalize on the expertise and investment brought in by Reed Exhibitions, CCI said.

"With this JV, I hope to have our events counted among the top events in the world, within this sphere, in the coming years," said Comic Con founder Jatin Varma.

Launched three years ago, CCI has held several well attended events, or "conventions", that feature workshops, interactive sessions, interviews and speeches by various comic book artists and writers, animators and multi-media productions. It has showcased stalls by several Indian publishers like Amar Chitra Katha, Vimanika, Diamond Comics, Manta Ray and Level 10.

While the Indian comics scene has been growing rapidly, with an emerging middle class and the spread of pop culture, the comics market is alsobeing supplemented by imports from the US and other English language companies.