Tuesday, February 26, 2013

GARBAGE BIN.

साइबर वर्ल्ड के लाफ्टर किंग 

किसी के चेहरे पर मुस्कान लाना ऊपर वाले की सबसे बड़ी इबादत है, इसे ये लोग बखूबी समझते हैं। इंटरनेट की दुनिया के ये दिग्गज लोगों को ह्यूमर की डेली डोज दे रहे हैं। इन्हें पर्दे के पीछे से काम करना ज्यादा पसंद है, शायद तभी विकिपीडिया भी इनकी शान में कसीदे पढ़ने में खुद को नाकाम पाता है। कार्टून, पोस्ट और ट्वीट के जरिये लोगों को गुदगुदाने के साथ-साथ समसामयिक मुद्दों पर बेबाक राय जाहिर करने वाले इन खास किस्म के सिलेब्रिटीज से रूबरू करा रहे हैं अभिषेक भट्टाचार्य:
(फैसल मुहम्मद अपने दो फ़न्स के साथ )

नाम: फैसल मुहम्मद
कार्टून बैनर: गार्बेज बिन
किरदार: गुड्डू ऐंड गैंग
फेसबुक पेज: facebook.com/garbagebin
पेज लाइक्स: 2.5 लाख
कोट: बाप को, दादा को, भाई को, सबको हंसाएगा अपना ये फैसल।

क्या है खास: स्कूल में सीट के लिए झगड़ना, टीवी पर हीमैन, मोगली जैसे शो देखना, सब्जी खरीदने के लिए मिले पैसों में घालमेल करके विडियो गेम खेलना, बारिश में छत पर जमा पानी से मस्ती, पतंग के पेंच लड़ाना और लड़कियों को इंप्रेस करने के लिए हंक बनने की कोशिश करना। गार्बेज बिन के बैनर तले फैसल मुहम्मद के हर कार्टून में बचपन का कतरा-कतरा समाया है। फैसल के कार्टून की सबसे बड़ी खासियत यह है कि ये हमें जिंदगी की सबसे खूबसूरत यादों से जोड़ते हैं। शायद तभी फेसबुक पर इनके पेज के लाखों फैन में से ज्यादातर 18 से 25 साल के बीच के हैं।
शुरुआत: गार्बेज बिन का सफर 8 दिसंबर 2011 को शुरू हुआ। फैसल ने इसे पार्ट टाइम शौक के तौर पर शुरू किया था, लेकिन आज उनके कार्टून इंटरनेट पर वायरल हो चुके हैं। एंटरटेनमेंट की डेली डोज के तौर पर अपलोड किए गए इन कार्टून को उन्होंने 'गैंग' नाम दिया है। इन कार्टूनों के किरदारों को भी फैसल ने अपनी असल जिंदगी से चुना है। मुख्य किरदार गुड्डू तो बहुत हद तक फैसल जैसा ही दिखता है। फैसल को सोशल मुद्दे काफी कचोटते हैं, इसलिए दिल्ली गैंगरेप कांड के बाद उन्होंने पीड़ित लड़की की तकलीफ को अपने स्केच से जाहिर करने की कोशिश की।


पर्सनल लाइफ: फिलहाल एनसीआर में एक गेमिंग स्टूडियो चलाने वाले फैसल ने करियर की शुरुआत कॉमिक्स बुक में स्केचिंग से की थी। पिछले साल काफी मशहूर हुआ गेम ऐंग्री अन्ना भी फैसल की कंपनी ने ही बनाया है। गार्बेज बीन नाम पर फैसल कहते हैं कि उन्हें मशहूर अमेरिकी ह्यूमर मैगजीन मैड बहुत पसंद है।


 इसमें काम करने वाले दुनिया के बेहतरीन कार्टूनिस्ट भी खुद को 'द यूजुअल गैंग ऑफ इडियट्स कहलाना पसंद करते हैं। इससे मिली प्रेरणा और जमीन से जुड़े रहने की चाहत ने जन्म दिया गार्बेज बिन को। कुछ दिन पहले फैसल को फेसबुक पेज बेचने का ऑफर मिला था, लेकिन उन्होंने इनकार कर दिया। हाल में ही गार्बेज बिन के कार्टून्स की एक किताब भी बाजार में आई है। उनकी तमन्ना है कि गार्बेज बिन को नेक्स्ट लेवल पर पहुंचाया जाए। यानी आने वाले दिनों में हम गुड्डू ऐंड गैंग को मोबाइल ऐप्लिकेशन और ऐनिमेशन में भी देख सकते हैं।







Thursday, February 21, 2013

Chacha set to go filmi


Chacha set to go filmi

Pran, the creator of famous Indian comic strip icons, at the 3rd Comic Con in the city
Pran, the creator of famous Indian comic strip icons, at the 3rd Comic Con in the city
He is one of the most famous comic artists of India, and his iconic characters like Chacha Chaudhary, Sabu, Billoo, Pinki and Raman are still quite popular among children. Pran, the creator of all the Indian comic characters, mentioned recently that his all-time favourite Chacha Chaudhary will soon be immortalised on the silver screen.
He informs, “I have recently signed an agreement with the filmmakers about the copyright of Chacha Chaudhary for a feature film plot. A few year ago, we even completed 600 episodes of Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu series on television.”
Speaking about the origin and creation of Chacha Chaudhary, Pran says, “When I was growing up there were no Indian comics. That was the time when all the comic books were imported from the West. We read about the superheroes with their superpowers. So when I decided to enter this industry I wanted to do something very original and different. I thought the feeble old wise man could be my hero because he has no superpowers but uses his wit and knowledge to solve problems.”
The cartoonist also mentions how he sees a positive change in today’s Indian comic book industry. He says, “There was a decline in the Indian comic book industry sometime back, but now it is picking up again. By collaborating comic series with television and other mainstream media like movies and Internet, we can bring the cartoon characters back to life.”
Source:-http://www.asianage.com/

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Sufi Comics:-Photos & Press Coverage at Comic Con India Delhi 2013


Thank you Comic Con India & Delhiites for making the event a success. All our books got sold out by 5pm Sunday, now I’m wishing we had brought more books!



The lucky ones got their books sketched by the Artist Rahil Mohsin. Have a look at the photographs & Press Coverage below.
Source:-http://www.suficomics.com/

Friday, February 15, 2013

3rd Annual Indian Comics Convention : A Huge Success


3rd Annual Indian Comics Convention gave away a magical and fun filled weekend to all Comics Fans People came dressed in their favorite comic characters and superhero costumes; World Renowned Guests took Special Sessions; there were nearly 10 book launches; tons of merchandise & Lots of activities.
At the 3 day fest, footfalls were recorded as close to 50,000 and sales crossed over 1 crore.
The Third Annual Indian Comics Convention organized by Comic Con India saw a grand response from fans from across all age groups. The 3 day fest took place at Capital’s Dilli Haat (INA) from Feb 8-10′ 2013.
Some of the best International comics’ publishers came especially for this 3 day convention. There was Top Cow, Drawn & Quarterly, Fantagraphics, First Second, Self Made Hero & Vertical Inc., exclusively at the 3rd Annual Indian Comic Con. Also, there was anArtists’ Alley, which gave fans, an opportunity to interact with awesome artists, illustrators, designers working for comics and related fields.
Fans who come dressed as their favorite comics characters always steal the show. This year, COSPLAY, the costumes play contest, one of the major attractions at Comic Con India had 5 categories to increase one’s chances of winning gifts. Each day, one winner was chosen from each of five categories -
1. Comic book/Graphic novel
2. Animated Series/ Movie
3. Manga/Anime
4. Sci-Fi/ Fantasy
5. Gaming
And, One lucky winner out of the chosen 5 each day WON a TRIP to the Middle East Film & Comic Con to be held in Dubai in April!
“We are overwhelmed by the response we have been getting at all Indian Comics Cons. We try to bring Retailers, Publishers, Merchandisers, Writers, Artists, Illustrators etc. from within the Comic, Animation, Gaming, Movies/studios and related communities together and give them a common platform. At the 3rd annual Indian Comics Convention, we saw fans having a wonderful time taking part in the variety of interactive sessions. Fans eagerly flocked at the different Comics/Graphic Novels’ stalls with merchandise including Apparel, Toys-Action Figures, Mugs, Posters, Superhero USB drives etc. Kids were super excited and enjoying the delectable Superhero cupcakes. The Cosplay(costume contest) ensured that excitement levels remained at an all time high”, shared Jatin Varma,Founder, Comic Con India.
There were workshops and sessions with Famous International personalities like Matt Hawkins, President and COO of Top Cow Productions; Peggy Burns, Associate Publisher of the renowned graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly; Emma Hayley, Managing Director & Publisher, Self Made Hero and Calista Brill, Senior Editor at First Second Books.
One of the major attractions this year, were the launches of nearly 10 different titles exclusively at the event.
Also, Comic Con India announced the launch of its very own online retail store ‘Pop Cracker’, an e- store to pick up the latest Indian and International comics, graphic novels, merchandise, toys and more.
Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) conducted fun activities such as songs & games, arts & crafts, making comics, live sketching and many more throughout the 3 days for children of all ages as well as for adults.
Now, after years, the comics’ community in India has a platform where they can meet and interact. Comic Con India is a unique event celebrating the illustrated medium, which brings together the whole comics industry and related fields such as Merchandise, Toys, Games, Films and Animation, along with fans of this culture from all age groups.
Sales & Footfall Figures – FYI –
1. At the 1st Comic Con India in Feb’11, the turnout was approx. 15000 and Sales touched 25 Lakhs in 2 days.
2. At the Comic Con Express Mumbai, the travelling version of Annual Indian Comics Convention that took place in October ’11, the turnout was approx 12000 and Sales touched 35 Lakhs in 2 days.
3. AT the 2nd Comic Con India that took place in Feb’12, the response was amazing, footfall touched 35 thousand and sales touched 50 lakhs in 3 days.
4. Last year the traveling version of Comic Con India went to a new city – the Technology capital of India – Bangalore in Sept ’12, the turnout was approx 30000 and the sales crossed over 45 Lakhs in 2 days.
5. At the 1st ever “Mumbai Film and Comic Con” that took place last year in Mumbai in Oct’12, the turnout was approx 20000 and the sales crossed over 50 Lakhs in 2 days

TCC


TCC to launchec first comics.
Established primarily to address the need for quality content in India, The Content Company (TCC) took its first steps towards it with the launched teaser of their first four comic books ‘Exposed’, promising to offer a lot more.
In an exclusive interview withAnimationxpress.com’s Ishpreet Chandock, Aruna Balkrishna Singh – Owner of The Content Company talks about her new company, its visions and missions, 4 upcoming comic books and the current scenario in the comic book industry.
Meanwhile here are the excerpts
First and foremost, many congratulations to your new venture- ‘The Content Company’. Can you tell us the purpose behind establishing ‘TCC’?Thanks so very much and it does feel good starting something like this. The purpose behind setting up TCC was mainly to challenge and revolutionize the way domestic and global audiences view Indian content, especially from a graphic novel / comic’s perspective. For quite long, we have been awestruck with mythology so we felt it was time to diversify a little.
As we know, TCC is broadly divided into two arms – Isai and Oviyam. Tell us more about it? What is the sole agenda of each of them?Isai and Oviyam mean Content and Pictures respectively.
Isai deals with content creation for Indian companies, managing conversations, brand loyalty and curating themes that encourage conversations and recall for companies across India and global markets.
As content marketers, we believe that competitive edge for brand from now on will come from engaged and aware audiences. They want to talk to you and that’s just what content marketing does – it involves your stake holders, engages their interest and ensures their loyalty. Therefore Isai focuses on ensuring these conversations happen and are sustained over a period of time to influence customers into staying loyal, experience and consume more products and as a result, ensure profitability of business, time after time!
Oviyam, our graphic publishing arm, will focus on comics, animation and graphics – creating and encouraging creative writing and subsequent reading habits in children, young adults and adults, similar to what we see in the West. With a talented team of storytellers and artists, we hope to take comic branding away from brands that publish to the artists who create, thereby ensuring more creative ideation and interesting content. Oviyam would also be working closely with technology companies, education institutions and local folk artistes to achieve a thus far unheard of synergy that has mass global appeal with a largely Indian context and heart.
We also hope to promote and sustain traditional Indian artists and art forms thereby creating a small scale industry in itself for content generation and also rural employment, in tune with what is required today in terms of corporate social responsibility and community growth.
In a bullet form, can you tell us the things you would like to achieve with ‘TCC’?With TCC, we would like to achieve the following –
•           Create an ecosystem that encourages creativity and originality in writers and artists thereby allowing them to focus on creating literary legacies
•           Challenge traditional concepts while introducing new ones and increasing readership across all age categories
•           Use comics or graphic interpretations to reach out to wider audiences that have not yet been reached out
•           Integrate new age technologies in order to create new reading experiences
•           Revive and sustain old folk art of storytelling by creating opportunities and employment
As a company, which are the grey areas you would like to work on?
•           New age content that steers clear of clichéd local heroes and mythology
•           Introducing new age technology thereby enriching the experience of reading
•           Explore newer ways of increasing audiences either by inspiring a love for reading through interesting content or adapting to methodologies that will help us include more people into reading what we write
Do u feel there is a need to address quality content in India – both from original readership and from a marketing perspective?Definitely yes. We still look up to the West for quality content especially from Marvel, DC etc. We need to create local heroes that inspire the wit of a Calvin and Hobbes to the dry humor of Dilbert and something that enjoys longevity like Tintin and Asterix. We need to challenge our writers manifold to create such works that surpass generations and shelf life.
In today’s times, do you feel it’s difficult to be noticed?That honestly, is the one thing we don’t have a problem with. Although we are newbies in the Indian graphic market, our work has been noticed and appreciated by artists and readers alike.
I believe that if you have a strong differentiation USP, conviction to stand by it, courage to put it into action and strong communication to convince your target audience, you will stand out…easily.
Coming to ‘Exposed’ which is the teaser of the 4 new comics for the Indian dispora launched by The Content Company (TCC) India. Can you tell us more about it?Exposed was primarily a first look experiment with teasers of four of our upcoming titles. Since we were looking at introducing new age content to the Indian audiences, we first wanted to gauge their reaction and better understand their inclinations and choices. Their response to Exposed has made us feel extremely motivated as we realize that we are on the right track.
Canon, Parallax, The Masterpiece and Whackopolis are the first four titles to be launched by TCC. Can you please shed more light on it? How was it conceptualized? Can you take us through the whole process?The funny part was three of the four titles had been conceptualized by Harsho, Anupam and Abhijeet quite some time back but had not been published yet, given that these were all different from traditional Indian comics have been so far.  I guess we were at the right place at the right time and I am glad that they agreed to launch these with TCC thereby adding impetus to our stand of being different.
Parallax, however, was inspired over coffee with Anupam where we both agreed that we need a vigilante concept that was Indian in essence but more global in outlook and script. What we didn’t realize then was that having a female vigilante would go on to being more than just a concept. Given the current scenario about women and security, this is more relevant now – both to deter and inspire.
With the four titles, you have managed a scoop of sorts with getting artists such as Anupam Arunachalam, Abhijeet Kini and Harsho Mohan Chattoraj to work on the comics? How did you manage that? How was it working with them?Simply put, we have been lucky to work with the likes of Abhijeet, Anupam and Harsho. While Abhijeet and I have worked together earlier and enjoyed great working and personal camaraderie, Anupam and Harsho were chance introductions and I must say that all three have been extremely gracious in agreeing to be a part of TCC, agreeing to showcase their work with us but also most importantly also considering to pushing comfort zones and boundaries. Working with them has been educative, inspiring and truly humbling.
In the field of animation, comics and graphics today, do you feel there is a need to create a brand of work?Definitely yes again especially in India. That’s what we at TCC have set out to do. We have the talent. What we need is some freedom and the urge to break through clichés and relook at stories differently.
Who is your target audience?Our target audience comprises not just current readers and audiences that love reading but we hope to expand this to people who currently don’t seem to enjoy reading and also those who are unable to read, given situations, capability, and resources etc. In short, we want everyone to be reading our comics, whether in India or abroad.
You had a special preview of sorts at Mumbai Film and Comic Con last year. How was the response?The response was absolutely stunning and the Comic Con in Mumbai which was a great platform for us to launch and meet with our artists and readers.  The response we received was simply overwhelming. What started as a modest beginning with four titles for TCC soon burgeoned into a massive production with currently 12 – 15 titles under production with newer and established artists.
What are your marketing strategies to promote the titles? Any sponsors or tie ups?We have said, we at TCC believe in doing things differently. Hence, the marketing of our titles will also be different versus the traditional route of tie ups or sponsors. We will be investing in directly in reaching out to our audiences and interacting with them at a ground level, with several interesting events and avenues . What you will see in 2013, will be innovative methods aimed at engaging audiences to revive their love for reading and comics specifically.
Tell me more about yourself, your background, and your journey into this industry?I have been working as a writer for over 14 years starting as a journalist in Businessworld. It has been 14 years of education with memorable stints in Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle, UTV, Hanmer etc before TCC happened.
The only constant in this remained my love for books, comics and stories although the methodologies changed. From writing for children, I wrote for brands and corporate honchos, from visualizing for artists, I co-produced award winning documentaries like The Rat Race. The journey has been varied, interesting and crazy but true to the spirit of the bard. Over 14 years, I realized that I not just liked reading stories, I enjoyed telling them too. With TCC, that is what we plan to do – tell stories across mediums, across industries, across varied audiences.
Do you see the current Indian market support and encourage new companies like yours for instance?Yes we do. From readers to potential investors and even the team, we have enjoyed support and encouragement from every quarter. From Abhijeet’s unstinted support from the start to the addition of his wife, Diksha to our team, from working on one title to begin with from Harsho to now working on over 4 titles with him, publishing the best of Anupam’s secret stash of stories to earning the trust of new artists and launching their series, I think we have been very lucky. The best start to our year, however came from twitter when one of our readers tweeted that his copy of TCC comics is one the things he most looks forward to in 2013. That was the icing on the cake.
Would you also be marketing your titles outside India?We will be marketing our titles the world over and also across newer reading appliances and avenues. We are also in talks with several International collaborators to take this forward.
What is the current team strength at TCC?We are a team of 25 likeminded and passionate individuals with different skill sets and growing every day.
Your last assignment was with Hanmer MS&L Communications Pvt. Limited as a Principal Consultant specializing in financial services PR as a communications strategist and consultant. Tell us about the transition? Tell us about your personal journey?While in Hanmer, I would still write for Amar Chitra Katha as a freelance writer so actually the TCC transition is simply the merging of two roles – that of a marketer and brand consultant and that of a writer into one. The simplest way for me to have achieved this was to become a good storyteller – for brands through Isai and for original stories through Oviyam.
I think all my professional training and experiences have come full circle with the inception of TCC. With TCC, I have managed to combine my interests and passion with my profession. TCC is what gets me out of bed every morning, charged with passion and a zeal that 14 years of work outside haven’t managed to do.
Every new start has some bumps and blocks, what did you’ll have to face?The challenges we face are twofold. One, given as TCC is a company with unique product offerings, educating clients and consumers about what we do and how we do it differently is something we face every day. We are an Indian Company that challenges traditional perceptions while ensuring our working, discipline and quality match international standards – a concept that is yet to find resonance in Indian markets but given the progress, we have thus far made, we are hoping to change this soon.
The second challenge is funding. We are so far self funded and as other bootstrapping start ups, we are unable to grow at a pace that our demand is growing. Given the paucity of funds, we are unable to scale up faster as we would ideally want to. But having said that, we are still self sustainable to reach levels we want t, although our pace would then be a tad bit slower.
What else can we expect from you in 2013?Well, you can expect a load of firsts from us in 2013 starting with our launches and marketing strategies as we launch some interesting projects that we have in the pipeline to redefine not just content but even readership audiences.
Additional Comments?We simply hope that 3 years down the line, when we revisit this interview, we would have managed to achieve everything we have said here and definitely more as well.

 Source:-connect@animationxpress.com

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Pran


Meet the Walt Disney of India
Praneta Jha, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, February 09, 2013
First Published: 21:44 IST(9/2/2013)
Last Updated: 21:48 IST(9/2/2013)
Had Pran succeeded in becoming an art teacher in a school, millions of Indians might not have encountered their unlikely childhood hero – Chacha Chaudhary, a diminutive old man with a white moustache and a red Haryanvi turban. Fate had other things in store for Pran. And ten years after he became 
a cartoonist for a newspaper in Delhi, he created Chacha Chaudhary, the character that changed the Indian comic book scene, in 1971.


“At the time, imported comics like Superman, Phantom and Tarzan had total monopoly in the country,” says the 74-year-old, when you meet him at the second annual Comic Con India Awards on February 7. Pran himself grew up on Blondie and Beetle Bailey.
“Indian readers could not relate to American superheroes. So I gave them a middle-class character without supernatural powers,” he says.
Initially, Chacha, who was accompanied by Rocket, his loyal dog and armed with a brain that famously worked “faster than a computer”, solved petty crimes. Then Sabu, a giant alien from Jupiter, whose brawn aided Chacha’s brain as they fought bigger evils like kidnapping and terrorism, entered the scene. Pran’s other creations, Pinki, Billoo and Shrimatiji, were also immensely popular. In 1980, Diamond Comics compiled the cartoon series into comic books.
By the end of the 20th century, however, the comic book had fallen out of favour. “Sales were down everywhere, thanks to television and the internet,” says Pran, recounting how even “greats like Mort Walker, the creator of "Beetle Bailey” had looked dejected at a convention of cartoonists held at Chicago in 2006.
Pran, whose Chacha Chaudhary had been adapted into a successful TV series, told the convention that the way forward was for the electronic media and comic publishers to cooperate.
“The sales of my comics increased after the TV series,” says the legend, who was labelled the ‘Walt Disney of India’ by Maurice Horn, editor of the World Encyclopedia of Comics.
Now, the good times are back. “Sales are rising worldwide. There are more publishers today. And events like Comic Con are a good sign,” says Pran, whose most famous character will soon make his film debut. Chacha Chaudhary’s numerous fans can’t wait!
Source:-http://www.hindustantimes.com