(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Comic are amazing. There is no way around it. Pop culture in general is one big happy, colourful mess as we witnessed in this year's Middle East Film & Comic Con (MEFCC) held at the Dubai World Trade Centre over the weekend. It is literally a gathering of the coolest, nerds, and obsessive comic, gaming sci-fi and fantasy fans ever. Seeping into every part of our lives these days, from movies, TV shows, clothes, art and even how we invest our money and time, the deepest and darkest corners of pop culture is no longer reserved for the geeks of the world but is everywhere in the mainstream. And we love it.
It would be predictable for us to bring you the obvious highlights such as Game of Thrones star, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, world famous voice artist Veronica Taylor, acting legend Christopher Lloyd, or the godfather of comics himself, Stan Lee, who made an appearance via video for a special Q&A session, but we wanted to do something a little different.
City Times hit the ground running with zealous enthusiasm, exploring stalls, checking out workshops and talking to everyone from cosplayers, comic fanatics and gamers, to booksellers, artists and regional talent. Here are our top highlights from Dubai's biggest pop culture extravaganza.
VINCENT ZURZOLO
Did you know that the first time The Incredible Hulk appeared he was grey and not green? If you ever wanted to meet a walking encyclopedia then Vincent Zurzolo is your man. With the ability to drop insanely interesting comic book facts and give a detailed account on the history of comics from writers and the world of illustrators, Vincent has used his superpower of comic book knowledge for the greater good. Vincent is the Co-Founder and co-owner of Metropolis Collectibles, the world's largest vintage comic book dealership, with an inventory of 150,000 books. Vincent is also the owner of the online auction house, www.ComicConnect.com, which holds the Guinness World Record for the most expensive comic ever sold. So it's safe to say he knows who would really win in a fight between Batman and Superman.
On MEFCC Dubai:
It seems to have grown. I had a very interesting experience yesterday. I had a gentleman come up to me, very articulate, a very nice, very polite guy and he said 'I like Wolverine.' So I showed him some comic books and he said to me, 'I'm very new to this. Can you explain to me what a comic book is?' (laughs) I've never been asked this before and I thought it was fascinating. So I opened it up and I showed him the artwork and I said each issue is a different story. It's like a novel with a picture. It's sequential art in a storytelling format with amazing art and great imaginations coming together to create these wonderful stories.
Women in MEFCC:
I had another first experience here in 2014. When we started the show it was the first time in my 30-year history of selling comic books that my first two sales were to women. I've never had that happen before. I've never had a show where the first sale was to a woman. It really opened my eyes. Coming from the United States, sometimes we get a very biased look at what is going on in the Middle East. It's only focused on very negative things unfortunately. For me to come here and see this incredible convention and to also meet people outside of the convention that were so kind and hospitable, it just made me realise more and more that you can't really believe every thing you see on TV or read in newspapers.
The Impossible Collection:
Recently we curated a massive collection of vintage comic books in England called The Impossible Collection. It's the collection of Ayman Hariri. The thing that was very interesting about it is that it doesn't end with the presentation of the collection.
We are going to be doing a lot of social media through Hariri's app VERO, in which we will be showing different parts of The Impossible Collection and facts about comic books. Everyday there will be new things, and you can learn more about comic books by following the app.
Comics and the world:
I have a very positive outlook on all the good things that comic books can do for people. I've heard so many stories about people learning how to read and improving their vocabulary. I've heard stories about people, customers who are police officers that used to read Superman and they wanted to save people, they wanted to help people, so they became police officers, or firefighters, or doctors or lawyers. It's very interesting to see all the different ways that comic books can positively impact people's lives.
Favourite superhero:
I love Spiderman. I remember when I was a little boy and reading the words "with great power comes great responsibility" for the first time and having shivers running up and down my spine and realising how incredibly important that was.
D.M.C.
Darryl "D.M.C." Matthews McDaniels is a legend in his own right. Everyone knows him as one of the pioneers of hip- hop culture and founding members of the hip hop group Run-D.M.C. Now he's entered the comic world. But that shouldn't come as a surprise. D.M.C. was simply going back to his roots when he was creating his now mega popular comic story DMC.
On MEFCC Dubai:
The Comic Con here is just like the Comic Con in the United States! The cool thing about here is that people from Dubai, the mothers, fathers and the kids all dress up as superheroes.
The DMC comic:
The DMC universe is a universe that is exactly like the universe that Daryl MC Daniels the real person lives in. It's in an 80's like setting but the only difference is in this universe my superpower is rock 'n' roll and hip-hop, and in the comic I have real superpowers. In the comic book Darryl McDaniels grows up, goes to Saint John University but I never meet Run. I graduate and become a teacher. I'm the superhero running around, fighting the bad guys and other superheroes.
Because other superheroes in the universe have ulterior motives. We put it in the 80's universe to be reflective of the old school, cause the old school was one of the most positive, most fashionable, most musical, most creative times in history.
Creating DMC:
Me and my two editors, we come up with all the stories, with all the characters. We come up with everything that describes and defines the story and the universe, then we go out and get writers, inkers, illustrators, to put it all together.
It's good, I work with a lot of artists and writers who write and draw for Marvel and DC. We also give artists, writers, female artists who don't write for Marvel and DC an opportunity.
On stories in music and comics:
It's just like folklore, it's just like legends, it's just like fairytales, it's jut like myths. Storytelling is a big part of culture and for the young people everywhere, not just in the ghettos of New York City. Back in the early days of hip-hop we needed something that we could identify with. So the stories of people with superpowers actually empowered communities and cultures.
So when we look at a superhero, when we look at the way we were growing up, it was comic books and superheroes. Those guys empowered us to make ourselves feel worthy of something.
Favourite superhero:
My favourite superhero of all time is the Hulk. He's weak, he's scrawny, but you don't want to get him mad, cause if you get him mad, he transforms into this unstoppable force.
Check out our regional picks from MEFCC here.
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