Works of the legendary cartoonist Pran will be on show in the city

Works of the legendary cartoonist Pran will be on show in the city

Chacha Chaudhary ka Dimaag computer se tez chalta hai...remember this line? You would if you love comics. For more than four decades, Chacha Chaudhary, the old witty neighbourhood uncle who has a solution to almost all the problems, have regaled readers. The character was created in 1970 by thelegendary cartoonist Pran; he is also credited with creating evergreen comic series like Baboo and Prof. Adhikari (science fiction; 1960), Shrimatiji (1968), Pinky, Billoo — they have all entertained generations of young minds in the country.

A paucity of good Indian comics in the 60s led a young Pran, who had then just competed his post graduation in Political Science, to conceptualise, script and create India's first own comic syndicate. "Those were the days of superman, batman and the complete monopoly of the western comic syndicate,"says Pran (75), who became the creator of the first indigenous cartoon strips, with Indian characters dealing with local themes. His work was laced with humour and the exploits of his characters had the nation grinning ear-to-ear. "There were many cartoonists then,but all political. None had thought of a comic series," muses Pran, who even today does his sketches and scripts the series the old fashioned way — pen on paper — before handing it to assistants who digitise the same.

At the recently concluded Comic Con 2014, Pran was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award. Currently, his works are on display at the Indian Institute of Cartoonists in the city, which has also awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. "It's the reception by the readers which has brought all this recognition, and I am indebted to them," says the pioneer.

Reminiscing his journey of the past 45 years, he says: "It has been a fruitful and satisfying experience so far." From having his comic strips published in three newspaper to now 31 newspaper, and 600 comic books to his name....he sure has had a long and successful journey. 

Source:-http://www.bangaloremirror.com

Munshi Premchand stories in comic format.

Stories by modern Hindi and Urdu literary legend, Munshi Premchand is now available in comic format published by Amar Chitra Katha. 

The comic books in Hindi detailing two stories by the late literary phenomenon, is part of the publisher's contemporary classics section, which began in 2012 with stories by author Ruskin Bond. 

"We are launching the comics at the World Book Fair and it is our tribute to Premchand. The idea is to make his stories familiar with children," Reena Puri, Editor, Amar Chitra Katha told PTI. 

The stories "Buddhi Kaki" (The old Aunt) and "Do Bail" (Two Oxen) have been scripted and illustrated by Pratima Singh and Surendra Murthy. 

The English version of the comics translated by Nandini Nair is also set for launch within a few weeks, says Reena. The books are priced at Rs 50 each. 

"Buddhi Kaki" first published in 1921 is the story of an old childless widow who craves for love after she bequeaths her entire property to her nephew and his family who start mistreating her. Also "Do Bail" the story about two ox revolves around compassion. 

"For our contemporary classic series we have identified many authors in the last 100 years. Our list includes Ruskin Bond whose story 'Blue Umbrella' was well loved by readers and got a great response. 

"Stories of Premchand are now in the public domain but for others we need to get permission from the authors' families etc," says Reena. 

Detailing the efforts put into converting Premchand's stories into comic format Reena says, "Of course it was very challenging." 

"It is not easy to convert Premchand's stories into comics because there is so much description in the way he writes and obviously we can't convert each line into text. We had to rely on pictures to denote the expressions," says Reena. 

Born in Lamhai near Varanasi, Premchand wrote nearly 300 stories and novels. Among his best known novels are "Godan", "Sevasadan", "Rangmanch", "Gaban" and "Nirmala". 

ACK has been bringing out stories written by Kalidasa, Shudraka and Harsha amongst others under its "Indian Classics" section.

अमर चित्र कथा ने प्रकाशित की मुंशी प्रेमचंद की कहानियों पर आधारित कॉमिक्स.

अमर चित्र कथा ने हिन्दी और उर्दू साहित्य के लेखक मुंशी प्रेमचंद की कहानियों को कॉमिक के रूप में प्रकाशित किया है. कॉमिक के रूप में यह किताबें हिन्दी में प्रकाशित होंगी.

प्रकाशक ने 2012 में लेखक रस्किन बांड की पुस्तकों के कॉमिक संस्करण के साथ क्लासिक किताबों को इस रूप में ढालना शुरू किया है. अमर चित्र कथा की संपादक रीना पुरी ने बताया, 'हम इस कॉमिक का विमोचन विश्व पुस्तक मेला में कर रहे हैं और यह प्रेमचंद को हमारी श्रद्धांजलि है. इसका लक्ष्य लेखक की कहानियों को बच्चों के बीच लोकप्रिय बनाना है.'
उन्होंने कहा, 'प्रतिमा सिंह और सुरेन्द्र मूर्ति ने प्रेमचंद की दो लोकप्रिय कहानियों बूढ़ी काकी और दो बैल को लिखा और इल्यूस्ट्रेट किया है.'
रीना ने बताया कि इस कॉमिक का अंग्रेजी अनुवाद नंदिनी नैयर ने किया है और वह भी अगले कुछ सप्ताह में बाजार में आ जाएगी. पुस्तकों का मूल्य 50 रुपये रखा गया है. रीना ने बताया, 'हमारी आधुनिक पुस्तक सीरीज के लिए हमने पिछले 100 वर्ष के विभिन्न लेखकों को चुना है. हमारी सूची में रस्किन बांड भी शामिल हैं. उनकी कहानी ब्लू अंब्रेला को पाठकों ने खूब पसंद किया.'
उन्होंने कहा, 'प्रेमचंद की कहानियां अब सार्वजनिक रूप से उपलब्ध हैं, लेकिन अन्य लेखकों की कृतियों के लिए उनके परिवार से अनुमति लेने की जरूरत है. उन्होंने बताया कि अमर चित्र कथा भारतीय क्लासिक सीरीज में कालीदास, शूद्रक और हर्ष की कहानियों को शामिल कर रहा है.
Source:-aaj tak

Comic Con-Delhi 2014

Action Packed Comic Con

Thyagraj Stadium was a different world for three days. It was indeed a world of fantasy as Tinkle’s Supandi, Joker from Batman, Ironman all were there to welcome and greet the visitors to the 4th Annual Indian Comics Convention organised by Comic Con India in Delhi.

Spread across 50000 Sq foot of area, this year the convention was divided into 3 zones, Experience zone, Exhibitor zone and Food court. The first day of the fest saw a special session with Mohammad Faisal, the Creator of the insanely popular comic strip, “Garbage Bin”. Also a special interactive session with the team of Kuru Chronicles was arranged. There were 5 exclusive book launches in the festival, 9XM launched their new and exclusive merchandise and Zee Cafe presented the special screening of the Hit TV Show “House of Cards”. A range of graphic novels and comic series were on sale. The ‘V for Vendetta’ novels, sold with ‘V’ masks, were sold like hot pancakes. The Tinkle stall which celebrated its 30th anniversary was also a big hit among the visitors.

Also, one of the major and most interesting attractions at the Indian Comic Con was Inside Peanuts: The Life and Art of Charles M. Schulz exhibit. The exhibit has been shipped in exclusively for visitors at the convention takes the visitors through the journey of Peanuts & Charles M Schulz over the years. The Cosplay competitions like always was a huge hit among the visitors. It is a competition in which contestants wear outfits and accessories of their favorite comic or fantasy character. There were also sessions and workshops by writers and publishers from India as well as abroad.

Comic lovers had a huge ball in the festival not only because of the events but also because of the prizes associated with each event. Each day, one winner was chosen from different five categories. Each day, one lucky winner out of the chosen 5 won a golden chance and a VIP ticket to New York Comics Convention 2014.

The five categories were
1. Comic book/graphic novel
2. Animated Series/Movie
3. Manga/Anime
4. Sci-Fi/Fantasy
5. Gaming

“We are extremely happy with the kind of response we are getting at the 4th Annual Indian Comics Convention from fans, artists, writers and participants all together. We are seeing everyone having a wonderful time taking part in the variety of interactive sessions. Cosplayers are having a gala time getting their pics clicked with audiences ”, shared Jatin Varma, Founder, Comic Con India.

The main participants of 4th Annual Indian Comic Con were Amar Chitra Katha, Orange Radius, Abhijeet Kini, Pop Culture Publishing, Random House, Campfire Graphic Novel, Holy Cow Entertainment, HarperCollins Publishers, iComics, DC, Vertigo & Kodansha Comics by Random House India, Viz Media by Simon & Schuster India, Blaft Publications, Chariot Comics, Scholastic India, Meta Desi Comics and more!!

Comic Con India is dedicated to creating unique events and giving the fans, exhibitors and partners a platform to celebrate their undying love and passion for comics & pop culture.

Source:-http://elanmag.in

Meet the men behind the Superheros.

Mark Waid and David Lloyd can easily be cited as one of the superstars of the comic world — the former for his work on Captain America with Marvel Comics, the latter for etching the haunting V for Vendetta figure. As the internationally acclaimed writer and the illustrator visit the capital for the Annual Indian Comics Convention, The GUIDE quizzed them on all things comic and whether movie adaptations affect the popularity of comic books. Excerpts from the interview 

IF THE ORIGINAL IS GOOD, IT'LL SURVIVE ADAPTATION: DAVID LLOYD

You started exploring the digital medium for comic art with Aces Weekly. How has the journey been so far — transitioning from hard copies to digital comics and how are fans reacting? 
There's a definite resistance — this is a transitional period in publishing. We all know that digital is the future, but the printing press has been around for a long time and computers for a relatively short time. So, it'll take a while for the new kid on the block to make a name for himself.

This is the 21st century, and we don't need all that old machinery anymore to get images and stories out to the people, especially when we have computer devices all over the place. We can just beam stuff to them.

The original masked vigilante in V for Vendetta

The Guy Fawkes mask has found recognition across countries where citizens are protesting against corrupt bodies (and even a popular DJ who wears it to his gigs). Had you ever imagined that the mask would gain such recognition?
No, it's a pleasant surprise. The great thing about that mask is that it has become an all-purpose symbol of resistance to oppression without being tied to any political end other than freedom from that oppression.

What idea did you have in mind while designing the character of V and his mask? 
Only the idea of resurrecting the spirit of rebellion in the form of the failed rebel — Guy Fawkes. We want to make him a successful one this time. The clothing is all authentic to the period of Fawkes' existence, and the mask is just a stylised representation of his features.

Illustrator David Lloyd

What is your take on digitisation of the comic industry?
It hasn't affected the art except for the often damaging overuse of computer-generated special effects. It has boosted the reproduction processes to a great degree and the digital editions of comic books, on platforms like Comixology. They have helped spread comics into the computer-using community. So, that's a mix of good and bad in terms of the comic industry. In the context of the art form, digitisation has led to ‘motion comics', which is clearly a bad development and the development of the ‘guided view' technique (used in Comixology's presentation of digital editions), also not a happy circumstance.

My company, Aces Weekly, is using the convenience of digital presentation to publish comic art and spread it cheaply, without unnecessary costs of printing, shipping, etc. It benefits the reader and the creator.

Lloyd now works on digital comic art magazine, Aces Weekly

What do you think filmmakers should do to do justice to comic books? 
Of course, filmmaking adapters of comic books should stay true to what they are adapting. But filmmakers are creative individuals and find it hard to resist adding their inputs to adaptations from any other media. There's only one way to guarantee truth to an original source, and that is for the creator to retain control of it. It's the choice of the creator to do that. But whatever happens — the original still exists. And if the original is good enough, it will withstand any blows that may be made to it by an unfaithful adaptation.

Are there any current films based on comic books that you have liked?
I don't watch them.

Have you checked and liked any works by Indian artists?
I am completely ignorant of it except for seeing some work on Facebook. I look forward to seeing more on 
my trip.

NOT FAZED BY SUPERHERO MOVIES: MARK WAID

You have worked on epic titles such as Captain America, Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk. How are they relevant to the times?
There'll always be a cultural significance to watching the struggles of good men and women fight for justice, in any era. Superheroes stay relevant to the times by the sort of menaces they face, and right now, a lot of American superheroes are battling enigmatic political forces and wealthy plutocrats — just like ordinary Americans do.

Cover of Superman Birthright

What is your reaction to superheroes becoming massively popular through the medium of films? Do you feel they subsume your work somehow?
Not at all. A good story is a good story, regardless of the medium in which it's told. And if good movies can remind people that good comics are still out there and available, so much 
the better!

Comics writer Mark Waid 

In your opinion, why is it considered cool to be a writer / editor of comic books? What are the nuances of being one (any tips)? 
Ha! I don't know how cool it really seems to be, but I think everyone respects and admires people who follow their passion in life, rather than settle for an uncreative job. The nuances of being an editor are knowing that your job isn't to tell the writer what to write, it's to help him get his story across with power and clarity. Being a writer is about expressing your beliefs with passion and truth.

Is this your first trip to India and how familiar are you with the comic scene here?
It is my first trip, and I know little of the local comic scene but I'm very eager to learn.

A page from the Insufferable Digital Comic Collection by Comixology 

If you could move away from the superhero trope, what kind of character would you like to devise, keeping the times in mind?
I've actually done a lot of non-superhero work in my career, and I tend to veer towards mystery stories and detective stories (Ruse for Crossgen and, later, Marvel; Potter's Field and The Unknown for Boom! Studios). Next to superhero tales, mysteries are my great love.

A page from Superman Birthright. It is a twelve-issue comic book limited series written by Waid

Which is your favourite comic?
There is an issue of Action Comics from 1980 — the 500th issue. The 64-page book-length story chronicles the entire legend of Superman from start to finish; it is written by Marty Pasko and drawn by Curt Swan, two of my favorite comic creators of all time. That's the one comic I'd take to a desert island.

Source:-http://www.mid-day.com

Aabid Surti