ThatThat inkinginking feelingfeeling few decades ago, the Indian comics scene was burgeoning. The art may have been simple, and most stories and characters lifted straight from American comics, but lending libraries were A important social hubs in cities and small towns. Regional comics and Indian superheroes made reading entertaining for kids across the country. Eventually, comic books lost out to TV and movies, going underground and retreating from the metros. But for the last couple of years – fuelled in part by a crop of animation grads and social media marketing – there’s a new breed of comics creators emerging. It’s not all great yet, but it’s all happening: independent artists, boutique studios, international tie-ups, and rumours of DC entering the fray. And this time around, comics aren’t just for kids. In the next few pages, we get nostalgic about the old legends, look out for promising new publishers (most of whom will be at the second Comic Con India) and meet the fans. Indian comics are taking off. Cosplay at Comic Con India. CS-Super hero comics FINAL.indd 29 Photograph by Sushant Jain 2/10/2012 11:50:42 PM TheThe From thenew originals waveIndian of to creators, comicsthe veterans universe. this is to the the panellistspanellists Bennett Coleman decided to finally call it quits on the company in 1991. Today, Indrajal fans range from government servants to housewives to business­ men; a 2010 online campaign to reprint Indrajal saw over 400 aficionados sign a petition. While there is no sign of the publishers giving in to such demands, ToI reported in December that Bahadur may be immortalised on the silver screen in actor­filmmaker Kabir Sadanand’s Bahadur vs Bahadur. Gayathri Sreedharan Indrajal Manoj Comics Comics One of India’s big comic houses, Indrajal had In its heyday, Manoj Comics was a regular the advantage of owner Bennett Coleman’s producer of ten to 15 comic books a widespread Times of India distribution month. Founded in the early ’80s, it was network. Founded in 1964, Indrajal started originally called Manoj Chitrakatha and with syndicated Phantom comics on a was published by Rama Kant Sahay. monthly basis, then moved on to other MC specialised in stories of kings and superhero series including Mandrake, Flash queens, detectives, demons, ghosts and Gordon and, in 1976, artist Aabid Surti’s the like. Some of their most popular Bahadur – India’s very own comic superhero. original characters include Ram­Rahim, Indrajal’s titles were translated into a Hindu­Muslim crime fighting duo, and regio nal languages, including Bengali, Hawaldar Bahadur, a native version of Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Marathi, which Enid Blyton’s Mr Goon. ensured a large fan base. Still, with the Other characters were tributes to rival dwindling popularity of comics in general, figures. So suave James Bond inspired the comical Crookbond, while Diamond Comics’ more books a year until the mid ’90s. beloved Chacha Chau dhary inspired With dwindling popularity, MC finally Chatur Chaudhary. MC had over shut shop in 2000. Nevertheless, its 50 such characters and covers and illustrations live on in a successful run, cyberspace, where true faithfuls publishing continue to share, buy and sell. GS 300 or Tulsi Comics Though it was one of the big guns back in the ’80s and ’90s, Tulsi, which was spearheaded by pulp author Ved Prakash Sharma, threw in the towel in 2004. Tulsi’s original characters included Jamboo, Mr India, Angara and others. There isn’t much to distinguish Tulsi from its Hindi and regional contemporaries (Fort, Nutan, and dozens of others), but the division of Tulsi Paper Books did manage to hold on slightly longer and created a large body of comics. Eventually, Tulsi failed to compete with television and other distractions, and died a natural death. Vritti Bansal 30 www.timeoutdelhi.net February 17 – March 1 2012 CS-Super hero comics FINAL.indd 30 2/10/2012 11:51:23 PM Diamond Comics The exploits of Chacha Chaud- hary and his well-muscled sidekick Sabu, and the antics of Pinki and Billoo have delighted generations of kids. “Our characters are similar to those you find in your own family, so parents buy these for their children,” explained Gulshant Rai, Dia- ACK Media mond’s managing director. Rai ventured into In a 1989 interview with John S Hawley, Anant comics in 1974, though parent company Pun- Pai explained how a Doordarshan quiz show jabi Pustak Bhandar was founded in 1950. inspired him to create Amar Chitra Katha The publishing house began compiling anthol- 22 years earlier. “They could answer every ogies of characters that initially appeared as question about Greek mythology,” said the short features in magazines such as Lotpot. man better known as Uncle Pai, “But in Pran, the legendary cartoonist behind this Delhi… where every year they enact the lovable cast, joined Diamond in 1978 and still Ramlila, the youngster could not answer churns out new stories every other month. the question, ‘Who is the mother of Diamond has also brought out antholo- Ram?’” Pai left the Times of India and gies of Amar Chitra Katha’s mythological started the comic that’s become as stories, and, until the 1990s, produced local immortal as the myths it has serialised. versions of foreign characters like Phantom, Pai, who died last year, was rightly revered Mandrake, Superman and Batman. But it’s (ACK is bringing out a tribute comic at Comic the charm of the Indian characters that has Con). But one can’t forget India Book House, endured and that remains the publishing which published ACK and Tinkle until 2007, house’s mainstay, boosted by increasing lev- when those titles were acquired by ACK els of literacy. Rai pointed out that his comics Media. ACK Media took over India Book are more popular in smaller towns. “Our main House itself in 2010, acquiring a market is the masses. We are available in the ready fan base and a huge slice of remotest corner of the country – and that is Indian comic history. The company plans our achievement.” Sonam Joshi to give its books a facelift with film, TV www.diamondcomic.com. See Comic Con in and web spin-offs, and is involved with Around Town. projects ranging from a Mother Teresa comic to a 3D animated feature on Tinkle’s Suppandi. The popularity of ACK is also the biggest reason that Raj Comics Indian comics are still perceived as More than two decades ago, when Indian mostly kiddy stuff. Uday Bhatia children were in desperate need of a pulp www.ack-media.com. See Comic Con in comic tradition they could call their own, a Around Town. hero was born. Established in 1985, Raj , flashes back. Origin stories Chitrakatha: Indian Comics Beyond Balloons and Panels , creator of the forthcoming documentary Alok Sharma ed hundreds of books, but still have their feet Some old players have survived. Amar firmly planted on the ground… most of the I have grown up amidst comic books. I ran one Chitra Katha is the only title that parents of the biggest comic book lending libraries in boisterous new-generation Facebookish crea- don’t mind buying for their children; schools tors are yet to prove themselves as artists. my city, Bhilai, as a teenager. All I wanted to keep them in their libraries. A large chunk is do was draw comics. I had been in touch with And yes, the newer lot is facing tough compe- ordered by NRIs who want to introduce tition from DC and Marvel.As told to a lot of comic book creators since that age. As Indian culture to their kids. Diamond survives Gayathri Sreedharan. an individual trying to learn it all in a small because of its wider reach and translations. Visit www.chitrakathaonline.com to preview a town, I was lucky to start my career with Raj is still surviving on their dedicated rough cut ofChitrakatha . Gotham Comics. fan base. When I started collecting, Indrajal was one There could be new avenues to publish and of the most noteworthy publications, thanks sources for funding. But in the end, you need to its wide circulation and great translations. great content. We don’t lack readership or the Its grand success inspired several publishers hunger for good comic books, but we are still and comic book creators to come up with their lagging behind in terms of content. Comics own titles. DC and Marvel were never compe- are still not a profitable business for many. tition. They could never compete because It took me almost five years to save for they weren’t widely available. The stories Chitrakatha. It’s self-funded, so it’s an ongo- were too American for an Indian who wasn’t ing cycle: work, earn, save, work. I don’t want exposed to American pop culture the way it to look amateur. While conducting inter- teenagers are today. Instead, Indian comic views, what struck me is the humbleness of books faced tough competition from cable the Indian comics stalwarts: they have creat- TV, Internet and video games. February 17 – March 1 2012 www.timeoutdelhi.net 31 CS-Super hero comics FINAL.indd 31 2/10/2012 11:51:37 PM Comics was not the first Hindi publishing house to introduce indigenous super­ Blaft heroes – Indrajal’s Bahadur beat them by a decade and a half – but constant reinvention has ensured that RC’s Publications Kryptonite is yet to be found. This idiosyncratic Chennai publishing The Raj comic­verse is populated by house created a splash in 2010 with vigilantes like Nagraj, the snake­sprouting Kumari Loves a Monster, a pulpy picture martial arts expert; Doga, the reformed book that paired attractive, buxom women criminal who hides behind a dog mask; with grotesque ghouls.