Saudi Comic Con from a Teen POV
By all accounts, the first ever Saudi Comic Con was a roaring success. The event was held over 3 days as part of an entertainment initiative by the Saudi General Authority for Entertainment, and according to the Arab News the event received a total of 20,000 visitors.
For some background and reviews of the Comic Convention, you can always do a quick web search. However Jeddah Blog decided to give you a different perspective. A teenage one.
Jeddah Blog spoke to 4 young teenagers, Musab Ali (13 years), Omar Dada (14 years), Ramis Faisal (14 years) and Hassan Khatri (14 years) who attended Saudi Comic Con on Day 1 and we asked them what they thought of the event.
From the left: Musab, Darth Vader, Ramis and Hassan.
According to Musab: “This was the best thing to happen in Saudi Arabia. The queue was long, but it was fast-moving. It looked small from the outside, but it was very big once we entered. There were lots of hi-tech gaming consoles, XBox One, computers and PS4s on every corner for people to play on. There was also a comedy show in the evening in Arabic.”
Musab went on to say, “Lots of people were dressed up in costumes. The Joker was clearly the most popular choice. Although we were given free drinks, which was great, there wasn’t a lot of variety of food to purchase, only snacks. Also, there wasn’t enough place to sit if we wanted to take a break. However, there was a VIP lounge for people who had VIP bands.”
When asked about his favourite part of Comic Con Musab said, “The best part was the fighting scene on stage between Thor, Loki, Iron Man, Ant Man and Captain America. The life size Transformer was amazing too.”
Ramis summarised the show saying, “I think it was a great experience, a large crowd, and very organised with a variety of stuff to do from trying out new games to buying exclusive merchandise. There were a lot of stalls and a show outside.”
The Boys: [L to R] Hassan, Ramis, Musab and Omar.
Hassan getting some sage advice from Yoda.
Hassan was pleasantly surprised by the event. “The long-awaited Comic Con finally arrived in Jeddah. People were a little apprehensive and didn’t expect much for a first time in Saudi Arabia, but that wasn’t the case. There were lots of international companies selling merchandise that is pretty hard to find in Saudi Arabia or even in the Middle East.”
However, Hassan was disappointed not being able to attend the meet and greet with celebrities: “Unfortunately, not everyone had the chance to meet the guests as it was very expensive”.
Overall, it seems that the show was a great hit with teens as well as older attendees. The show, games and merchandise were of particular interest to this young group. Definitely a step in the right direction for Saudi entertainment and we can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
Photo Credits: Hassan Khatri and Ramis Faisal
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