JEDDAH: There is a ray of light for pop culture enthusiasts amid the global health crisis, with the first eComic Con Live to take place virtually next month.

Domain Entertainment and the creators of Comic Con Arabia, Panache Middle East, have come together to create an event that will take place on July 3.

Comic Cons have become a big draw in Saudi Arabia during the past few years, a magnet for pop culture fans in the region. A number of international stars — such as Ian Somerhalder, Jason Momoa, Alexander Skarsgard, and Mads Mikkelsen — have also attended the events in Riyadh and Jeddah.

This year however, due to the global lockdown, the chances of fans enjoying their annual Comic Con fun in real life are nonexistent. So organizers have come up with ways to keep spirits up by providing fans with a virtual space so that they can attend celebrity panels, artist workshops and more.

“Not even pandemic can stop us,” read a tweet on Comic Con Arabia’s official account. 

The eComic Con Live will feature a cosplay competition and celebrity judges will include Michael “Knightmage” Wilson, one of the world’s leading cosplayers, and Cavin Lam, who is known for his spot-on Spider-Man costumes.

The event’s co-founder and Domain Entertainment’s managing director Arafaat Ali Khan said there would be no community without the creativity and passion of fans. “Top among them are the cosplayers and we thought this would be a great place to start to keep spirits high as we all adapt to deal with the current world situation.”

This event will unite Comic Con fans from around the world but, even as the news broke, some people were dismayed because it would not be the same experience.

“Honestly I am not too excited,” said 28-year-old Johara Al-Khudair, who has been into cosplay since her high school days. “I feel like it isn’t going to be the same as being there in person. One of the best things about going to conventions is to be there physically and experience everything on its own. This convention won’t feel any different than watching a vlog online. I am hoping that I do get to cosplay this year, but I don’t want to do it for a virtual convention. Maybe by the end of this year if we are physically allowed to go to a convention, I would definitely attend.”

Zaki Abdul Jabbar, 21, thought a virtual Comic Con was an interesting concept because it was a different approach to the same event. “It’ll be nice to see what ideas they come up with and how it pans out.”

He first cosplayed as Deadpool in 2018, saying that going to the convention without a costume felt incomplete and that he had planned on wearing a Spider-Man costume this year. “I got my Spider-Man costume shipped and then the convention got postponed. Hopefully I’ll get to wear it to future conventions still. Seeing other cosplayers into their favorite characters and how people reacted to them just pushed me into doing the same.”

He said he loved his first cosplay experience and was looking forward to it doing it again.

“The way people come up to you with a bright smile because you’re cosplaying a character they love is what I’m really going to miss. We already didn’t get a Comic Con last year and, unfortunately, we’ll have to miss out on it this year as well.”