Comic book conventions — events that bring together fans of comics and the culture around them — rose to global popularity largely thanks to San Diego Comic-Con, which has been held annually since 1970. Over time, the concept evolved beyond comic books to embrace a wide range of pop culture, including movies, TV shows, video games and cosplay. Kazakhstan is no exception. Comic Con Astana was first held in 2019. After a three-year hiatus, the event returned in 2023, 2024 and now in 2025, constantly expanding and becoming a truly international event with prominent guests and partners.
This year’s Comic Con Astana, which began on July 9, spans two large venues — Astana Arena and Barys Arena. The first serves as an exhibition zone, housing boutiques, gaming zones and entertainment booths. It also hosts part of the official Tekken World Tour 2025 by Bandai Namco — a fighting game esports tournament — with a prize pool of approximately $770. Today marks the play-off stage.
Meanwhile, Barys Arena is the main stage for the international cosplay contest, with a jury of prominent regional and international industry figures, including U.S.-based award-winning cosplayer Yaya Han and Cinderys from France. The contest offers a prize pool of approximately $29,000. The venue also hosts a VIP autograph session with the festival’s headliners:
- Andy Serkis, an English actor and filmmaker best known for his role as Gollum in «The Lord of the Rings» and as director of «Venom 2»
- Esai Morales, an American actor best known for his roles in «La Bamba,» «Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One» and «Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning»
- Scott Adkins, an English actor, producer, screenwriter and martial arts expert, popular for his roles in Marvel movies.
The event also celebrates local culture. Serkis recorded a promotional greeting video for the convention wearing a shapan (traditional Kazakh coat) and saying basic words in Kazakh before the event, appearing genuinely excited.
On the second day, a dubbing studio Anidybys, in collaboration with blogger DickThor, hosted a workshop on dubbing anime in Kazakh. Participants included beginner actors, anime fans and art students, who actually tried voice acting firsthand. The studio’s founder, audio engineer and dub actor Dias Balabi discussed the dubbing process, the differences between voice-over and synchronized voice-over, and nuances of translating and adapting anime into Kazakh. Organizers noted that the Kazakh-language dubbing is gaining popularity among the country’s young audience.
Comic Con Astana 2025 runs until July 13, so there is still time to immerse yourself in the geek universe. Standard tickets for today and tomorrow are priced at approximately $18.30, and $16.37 for the final day.
