Maruti Suzuki Alto Comic Book Celebration Week’

India to Celebrate the First ever

‘Maruti Suzuki Alto Comic Book Celebration Week’

Presented by Comic Con India & Powered by ReadWhere

DOWNLOAD COMICS SAMPLERS FOR FREE FROM 4th & 10th JULY 2016!

• Enjoy a full week of free digital comics (samplers) from leading Indian publishers
• Download them straight on your Desktop, Phone or Tablet  (iOs & Android Store)

India, June 28th’ 2016: Gear up to celebrate the First ever Alto Comic Book Celebration Week in India presented by Comic Con India & powered by ReadWhere from July 4th & 10th’ 2016. Comics enthusiasts and fans can download a host of Indian Comic book samplers for free straight on their Desktop, Phone or Tablet (iOs & Android Store) from any part of  the country.

The main publishers participating in the Comic Book Week are Amar Chitra Katha, Chariot Comics, Graphic India, Abhijeet Kini, Campfire Graphic Novels, Holy Cow Entertainment, Meta Desi Comics, Saumin Patel, Shamik Dasgupta and many more.

Comic Con India started an initiative called ‘Free Comic Book Weekend’ in the year 2013, with an aim to expand the scope and access of comics across India. Alto Comic Book Celebration Week is the extension of the same initiative, with a week long celebration of comics & lot more activities for fans.

Online digital content marketplace Readwhere.com has been partnering with Comic Con India since the very beginning to promote this initiative and allow comics enthusiasts download Indian comics for free. This year also, Readwhere.com will be providing the platform to serve free digital comics sampler to fans across India.

Jatin Varma, Founder, Comic Con India shared, “I am extremely excited to flag off our latest initiative to promote Indian comics & creators and this year we have a week long celebration lined up! All thanks to the support from Maruti Suzuki ALTO. We are bringing the latest & the best in Indian comics to fans across the country, in return we hope they will support their local creators and not only download the free comics but also purchase them! Additionally, we have tons of awesome contests & giveaways each from 4th July to 10th July! So, Keep Calm & Read and Buy Lots of Comics! .”

During this week, fans can download free comics samplers and participate in digital activities like Fan Art Contest where fans can upload their art and the winner will get a chance to showcase his/her art at Alto Hyderabad Comic Con and Fan Meme Contest where fans can upload memes and the winner will get a brand new Tablet. (The winners for both these activities will be decided via public voting and internal judging. Fans can also vote for their favorite artwork/memes and increase their chances of winning.)

There will also be Trivia Contests, where fans can indulge themselves in daily fun contests with a new theme everyday. Winners will get awesome prizes like merchandise, graphic novels, Comic Books etc from Random house India, Planet Superheroes, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and Hachette India.

Comic Con India will also host an section called Know your creators, a dedicated section where people can know more about all popular Indian Creators and publishers taking part in Alto Comic Book Celebration Week. (All these digital activities will be conducted on the dedicated Comic Con India, microsite for Alto Comic Book Celebration Week.)

This year, the titles featured at Readwhere will be VRICA: Ascension Protocol, Angry Maushi: Heavy Metal, Holy Hell 1, Rakshak, Kaamotsav, Elephant Stories, Birbal, Suppandi 7, Shambhu 7, Beatles, DC Superhero Girls Finals Crisis, Avatar EX, Aghori, Ravanayan, Shaitaan and many more. Users can download these samplers for free and full comic book will be available at very reasonable price with attractive cashback to receive in the readwhere wallet.

Fans can download, purchase the comics via Web (http://www.readwhere.com) So fans get set, the process for Alto Comic Book Celebration Week 2016 will go live on Monday 4th July at 12 AM and will conclude on Sunday 10th July.

About Comic Con India

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. It has now grown to multiple events across the country. The mission has now evolved to create unique pop culture events and engage with fans all across the country.

The properties include Delhi Comic Con, Mumbai Comic Con, Bangalore Comic Con & Hyderabad Comic Con. Along with a traveling property - Comic Con Express, which was last held in Pune in 2016.

Comic Con India (CCI) took a big leap as they recently (In September 2014) announced a joint venture with Reed Exhibitions; part of the FTSE listed Reed Elsevier Group, to grow the pop culture space in India and bring world class events to Indian fans. The Comic Con India team will now work closely with the ‘ReedPOP’ division of Reed Exhibitions, the largest producer of pop culture events in the world.

With this JV in place, CCI enters the burgeoning ReedPOP portfolio of pop culture events which includes New York Comic Con, PAX, the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Oz Comic-Con, Singapore Toy, Gaming & Comics Convention and Star Wars Celebration among many others.

"Scions of the cursed King"

"Scions of the cursed King" गाथा है एक शापित राजा की जो नाग-मानवों द्वारा शापित है, सिंहासन का प्रत्येक उत्तराधिकारी राजा बनने से पूर्व या तो मर जाता है या मारा जाता है! उन्हीं में से एक वंशज है "अथ्मिका" जो इस श्राप को अन्धविश्वास मानकर इसका सामना करने की ठान लेती है! और अपनी इस लड़ाई में उसका खतरनाक एवं रोमांचक सफ़र शुरू होता है...यह कहानी है अथ्मिका के आत्मपरिवर्तन की और उसके सिद्धि की जो उसे सर्वोत्तम वंशज बनाती है।

इसे अपने रिस्क पर पढ़ें क्योंकि यह आपको दहला सकती है, यह बेहद डार्क एवं खून से लतपत ग्राफ़िक नोवेल है...तो बच्चे और कमजोर दिल वाले दूर इससे रहें...इसका प्रथम भाग "ग्रीष्म" हमारी साईट पर बिलकुल मुफ्त में उपलब्ध है तो अभी जाकर पढ़ें इस लिंक से -

http://yalidreamcreations.com/scions-cursed-king/

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1562251810736586&set=gm.1089852777774607&type=3&theater

Reading urban dystopia

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One of the most iconic images that even non-comic aficionados are familiar with, is that of Batman perched on a gargoyle, looking down at Gotham City. “It’s a bird’s eye… a god’s eye view of the city,” says lawyer and writer Lawrence Liang. “But it’s also how a city planner would look at the city.” It’s a very different perspective than the one in The Walking Man by Jirō Taniguchi, pointed out Liang, in which the Manga comic’s protagonist takes a walk around his city. “He takes the time to look around,” he adds. “You experience temporality through that. It’s a contrasting view from the one Batman has of Gotham City – there’s a distinction in seeing a city from the top and walking it.” These are just some of the discussions that participants can look forward to at “Comics and the Urban Imagination”, a four-day course that explores the representation of cities in comics and graphic novels.

Liang will be in Mumbai to teach the course as part of ‘Scaffolds, Layouts and Palimpsests’ at the School of Environment and Architecture (SEA). Participants will be introduced to a slew of international and Indian comics via the tropes of architecture, dystopia and labyrinths. Apart from offering an understanding of comics and graphic novels, the course aims to explore the role of the image and the imagination in shaping urban form. The course, according to SEA website, will examine the intersection of comics and the imagination of the city, in terms of representation and how architectural concepts may offer a new way of understanding the formal properties of comics.

Although Liang is best known for his work at the Alternative Law Forum in Bengaluru, of which he is the co-founder, he is also a film and media scholar. “I have been reading comics seriously for quite some time now,” he says. “I have always had an interest in visual culture.” According to Liang, when it comes to the visual archives of the city, both photography and cinema have been extensively mined for their ability to capture an experience. “As archives of the city, they are both intentional and unintentional,” he says. “If you look at cinema, you are often shooting on location. You capture more than what you intend to – the ambience and the archive of the city at a particular time.” Further, today’s selfie-happy culture, people are constantly taking photographs. “Rather than seeing better, there is a visual blindness,” he adds.

Which is one of the reasons that Liang is drawn to comics – while a photograph is taken, a drawing is made, creating a representation of the urban space. “What you leave or include becomes more acute in a drawing,” he says.

While landscapes are intrinsic to comic books, cityscapes are predominant in many of the narratives. No matter what their origin, superheroes have made mega cities – real and fiction – their homes and the base to fight crimes from. Phantom may feel left out, but urban landscapes are pretty much inherent to the aesthetics of comic books now. The form also gives the space to create allegorical cities, and to reinterpret the future of the cities, in all their utopian and dystopian possibilities. “The history of the city is essential to the narrative imagination of a comic,” explians Liang. “Like Batman and Gotham City. It creates a perceptual archive.”

Liang adds that there has always been a strong linkage between architecture and comics. Graphic novels and comics give free reign to the architectural imagination, making urban centres the protagonist of the narrative at times. Chris Ware’s Building Stories is one such book about the people who live in a three-level building in Chicago. It comes as a box containing 14 little books, some made from cloth, some paper. “Chris Ware slows down the action,” says Liang. “Very little happens, but there are so many images. It slows you down, to take in the minute and intricate detailing. In Building Stories, the protagonist is the building.” Then there’s Les Cités Obscures by Belgian comics’ artist François Schuiten and writer Benoît Peeters. Schuiten studied architecture and his education serves as a firm foundation for the surreal, metaphysical landscapes he conjures up here.

Liang points out the different approaches that comic book artists and writers can take while reinterpreting the city within their panels. For instance, in the Tintin books, he explains the landscape is elaborately researched. “The designs of the beams and the chairs, [Hergé] used archival material, a historical approach,” he elaborates. Science-fiction comics use the future approach, the narratives reflecting the anxieties and hopes of a city as a shared living experience.

As urbanscapes take over our literary, cinematic, and every day imagination, the phenomenon is also symptomatic to our idea of progress and development – vertical, shiny, and sleek like the cities in the pages of these graphic novels. In sharp contrast is the idea of wilderness, rural landscapes, and other unfamiliar spaces. This is an idea cleverly encompassed in The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins. The monochromatic graphic novel tells the story of Dave, who lives in an island called Here, where everything is perfect. Liang says that in Here, the city is imagined as a seamless space – a perfect realisation of modern planning. In contrast is the mayhem of There, a place of supposed chaos and fear. “It’s a space full of incredible anxiety and fear,” says Liang. “The contrast plays out interestingly, when aspects of There start emerging Here.” The Gigantic Beard may be fiction, but it the neurotic fear and anxiety it depicts, is familiar and eerily real.

The author writes about education for sustainable development, conservation, and food security. She’s the former editor of Time Out Bengaluru

How Amar Chitra Katha is going back to the future

                                Jasodhara Banerjee

 Forbes India Staff

                                                                     Deputy Head of Desk

O

ne of the most enduring tales within the Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) family is that of founder Anant Pai, sitting among children, reading from one of the much-loved comic books, and enthralling his young audiences. It is, therefore, fitting that as ACK prepares to celebrate its golden jubilee next year, it is in the process of retracing its steps to what Pai held close to his heart, and was so good at—old-fashioned story-telling.

Coming up over the next year will be a series of events held across several malls in different cities, which will seek to recreate Uncle Pai’s (as the comic’s creator is fondly known) story-telling sessions. Malls may seem like an unlikely venue for Pai’s gathering of schoolchildren, but not only are they the modern-day spaces for community activities, ACK also has the backing of one of India’s largest retailers: Kishore Biyani’s Future Group bought a minority stake in ACK Media in March 2011, followed by a majority stake in July 2011. (Elephant Capital holds the minority stake.)

Those within the company point to Biyani’s attempts at producing films—Na Tum Jaano Na Hum (2002), starring Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan and Esha Deol—as indicative of his inclination towards creative ventures. But, creativity apart, the founder and group CEO of Future Group, which owns hypermarket chain Big Bazaar, is also said to have a deep love for everything Indian. And what can be more Indian than Amar Chitra Katha, which has also been published in more than 36 languages and distributed in 12 countries.

“We are thinking of a big mela where we create an environment of fun and storytelling,” says Anuraag Agarwal, head of strategy, mergers and acquisitions at Future Group, who has been the interim CEO at ACK for the past six months. “We plan to have workshops with parents and children; there will be a character parade, ACK selfies and the trademark ACK Quiz.”

The event is representative of ACK’s efforts to go back to the basics—tell stories and engage with their readers—after having meandered for a bit in its quest to stay relevant. “Over the last few years, there were some efforts to enter the animation sector, and go on to digital platforms,” says Agarwal, speaking of the two films—Tripura(2011, premiered on Cartoon Network) and Sons of Ram (2012, released in theatres)—the YouTube channel and the app launched by ACK Media. “But there was not enough push within the company to make these a success. We also learnt some things along the way: Such as, a lot of children don’t really have access to apps, and a lot of parents would rather have their children read books than sit with an electronic device. So we are focusing on our books once again.”

It would be interesting to see what this renewed focus does to a product that, without any marketing push, has managed to sell an average of 5 lakh copies every month since 2013-2014. This shift in approach, however, has meant a rejig within the Future Group departments that have been trimmed—many of ACK’s old-timers are no longer with the company—to make them more agile, to flatten the hierarchy within teams and increase interactivity between them. Agarwal himself divides his time between handling mergers and acquisitions, and managing ACK, a job that he seems to thoroughly enjoy. “Where else can you read comic books as part of your job?” he laughs.

Agarwal says there is a “contra-trend” among readers who want their children to read more of Indian content rather than Western. “People want their children to be familiar with their roots,” he says.

This is exactly what had prompted Uncle Pai to start Amar Chitra Katha in the first place. The legend goes that Pai, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 81, and his wife Lalita were walking along Delhi’s Karol Bagh area when they came across a shop where a quiz show was being telecast on TV, still a novelty in India. As they joined the small crowd gathered outside the shop to watch the programme, the quizmaster asked: “Who is the Greek god of the seas?” One of the teams answered, “Poseidon.” However, the next question—“Who is Ram’s mother?”—stumped the participants.

Pai saw such uncertainty about India’s mythology in his nephews and nieces too. He realised that youngsters in India were growing up on a diet of Western culture and information, and remained oblivious to the riches of India’s mythology, heroes and legends. Thus began his lifelong endeavour to tell the country’s greatest stories to its children.

“Whatever ACK is, is because of the vision of Uncle Pai,” says Reena I Puri, executive editor of ACK Media, and a 25-year veteran of the company. “He did not start it as a money-making enterprise. He wanted to reach out to the children of the country through our story-telling heritage.”

Pai had worked with the books division of Bennett Coleman & Co, when they had launched Mandrake and Phantom under the Indrajal Comics series in 1964. With the urge to start a series on Indian comics, he approached the Mirchandanis of India Book House (publishers and distributors of books and magazines since 1952), who agreed to become distributors of Pai’s comic books. Thus, Amar Chitra Katha was born in Mumbai in 1967. “They agreed to give Uncle Pai a space to work in and also promised to print what he created, although, at that time, they did not pay him a salary,” says Puri. The first title to be published—scripted by Pai, and illustrated by another much-revered name, Ram Waeerkar—was Krishna, in 1970.

Maruti Suzuki Alto named presenting sponsor of Comic Con India for the year 2016

Press Release

Maruti Suzuki Alto named presenting sponsor of Comic Con India for the year 2016

• The shows include Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore & Hyderabad Comic Con 2016
• Maruti Suzuki Alto will also be a part of the 3 key special events Comic Con India will host this year entitled “Comic Book Celebration Week, Indian Championship of Cosplay & Comic Con India Awards”

India, 22 June 2016: Comic Con India is pleased to announce Maruti Suzuki Alto as the presenting sponsor of all the Comic Con India shows this calendar year which includes Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Comic Con India is dedicated to expanding India's popular culture by creating high profile events that cater to fans of not only comics, but also, gaming, movies, television, merchandise, toys & more.

Comic Con India is part of the Reedpop family of events, which is dedicated to producing world-class celebrations of popular culture around the world with events like New York Comic Con, Oz Comic Con, Shanghai Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration among many others.

Comic Con India (CCI) shows attracted over 1,50,000 visitors across 5 cities in FY 2015-16, they are among the biggest consumer events in the country. CCI has become the the hottest platform for brands to engage with young consumers. Attracting the key demographic between 18-36 year olds and giving some of the best fan experiences in the country. The CCI visitors are not only eager consumers of the latest & the best, but they are also influencers and trendsetters for content, products & services in the country.

Tapping into this energy has become key for youth-oriented brands and therefore natural fit for a brand such as ALTO.

Mr. Jatin Varma, Founder, Comic Con India, states, “As our shows evolve and become THE places for celebrating popular culture, we looked towards finding brands who would partner with us in this endeavour as well as understand the value of our platform. With Maruti Suzuki - Alto we certainly have found the right partner and i am truly excited in having them on-board for our journey this year!”

Mr. Vinay Pant, Associate Vice President, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “Alto is a brand for the younger generation who believe in chasing their dreams and passion. Comic Con is one such platform where such youngsters meet up and share their love for comics. We found a great synergy between Comic Con India and Alto. Alto is associated with Comic Con for over a year now and the response has been very encouraging. We saw very high engagement rating with the target audience and the user generated content was exceptionally high. This year too we aim to reach out more youngsters, engage and establish connect right from the beginning.”

Besides the main events, Maruti Suzuki Alto will be a part of the 3 key special events Comic Con India will host this year entitled “Comic Book Celebration Week, Indian Championship of Cosplay & Comic Con India Awards.” These national properties will extend the reach of the main shows, specially focusing on Artists, Writers & Cosplayers.

Over and above the mentioned activities, Comic Con India plans to do over 30 Fan Meet ups and celebration Nights throughout the year to engage with the fans on a regular basis. Alto will be a prominent part of all such celebrations throughout the year and will add a lot of value to the fan experience.

FYI:

Save the dates

Alto Hyderabad Comic Con - 24-25th Sept 2016

Alto Mumbai Film & Comic Con - 22-23rd Oct 2016

Alto Bangalore Comic Con - 12-13th Nov 2016

Alto Delhi Comic Con - 9-11th Dec 2016.

About Comic Con India

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. It has now grown to multiple events across the country. The mission has now evolved to create unique pop culture events and engage with fans all across the country.

The properties include Delhi Comic Con, Mumbai Comic Con, Bangalore Comic Con & Hyderabad Comic Con. Along with a traveling property - Comic Con Express, which was last held in Pune in 2016.

Comic Con India (CCI) took a big leap as they recently (In September 2014) announced a joint venture with Reed Exhibitions; part of the FTSE listed Reed Elsevier Group, to grow the pop culture space in India and bring world class events to Indian fans. The Comic Con India team will now work closely with the ‘ReedPOP’ division of Reed Exhibitions, the largest producer of pop culture events in the world.

With this JV in place, CCI enters the burgeoning ReedPOP portfolio of pop culture events which includes New York Comic Con, PAX, the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Oz Comic-Con, Singapore Toy, Gaming & Comics Convention and Star Wars Celebration among many others.

Flying in from Sri Lanka for a taste of Tex in Tamil

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  V Subramanya lost his collection of comic books during the Lankan war  Ashwin Prasath

CHENNAI: It is not everyday that one decides to take a flight to another country to buy Tamil comic books at a book fair. Meet V Subramanya, a 65-year-old from Jaffna, Sri Lanka, who loves his comic books and has visited the Bapasi Book Fair in the city after a gap of three years.

“I have been reading them for over 25 years, but during the war I lost most of my collection and am now trying to get them back.” Dressed in a simple lungi and shirt, Subramanya speaks in his heavily accented Sri Lankan Tamil. “I was in a refugee camp for two years. My favourites are Tex and tiger comics.

Tex is a comic book sold across Europe, the story of a crime fighting cowboy set in early 20th Century America. The Tamil translated version is sold in the State by Muthu Comics. “We have been selling comics from 1974. There is a special crowd for comics. Tex is like MGR; he has fans in France, Belgium, and England, we translate the books to Tamil,” said R Ganesh, who manages the stall at the book fair. “We first started with Irumbukai Mayavi comics but Tex comics overtook the sales.”

Chakra: The Invincible:’ an end to Bollywood’s superheroes?

Madhav Dutt

Created by the legendary Stan Lee, ‘Chakra: The Invincible’ first appeared in comic book form in 2011, and was excitedly referred to as Lee’s first “Indian superhero”.

It opens with an animated shot of a Mumbai street. It’s summer. People are sweating profusely, a lone stray dog drinking muddy water from a puddle. The next shot takes us to the skies above, where our superhero, Chakra (real name Raju Rai), flies by, surveying his city. He’s a boy dressed in a tight, blue jumpsuit, with a shiny sun symbol on his chest. The villain of this altercation is Thandai, an eccentric school teacher with the ability to control ice. Their battle ensues, with Thandai flinging snowballs at our hero, and him responding with his signature move, which involves (no points for guessing) activating hisSurya Chakra. He saves the residents of Mumbai from Thandai’s ice, leaving them in the face-melting humidity once again.

Created by the legendary Stan Lee—you know, the man who co-created Spiderman, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the X-Men, ad infinatum, and who makes a fleeting appearance in every single Marvel movie— and Graphic India’s CEO Sharad Devarajan, Chakra: The Invinciblefirst appeared in comic book form in 2011, and was excitedly referred to as Lee’s first “Indian superhero”. The comic book was followed by an animated film which aired on Cartoon Network India in 2013. The animation isn’t groundbreaking, and because they didn’t bother using Indian English speakers for dubbing, Chakra (pronounced Chalk-ruh) ends up sounding more like a Californian than a Mumbaiker. However, in addition to being a children’s character, Chakra was created by Lee with the hopes of expanding the franchise, adding a live-action Bollywood film to the existing videos and comics. Fast forward to April this year, and the companies behind Chakra (Lee’s POW! Entertainment and Devarajan’s Graphic India) have announced that they’ve found their director, Phantom Films’ Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan, Lootera). Lee, Devarajan and Motwane are currently working on the screenplay, and will begin production late 2016-2017.

Stepping out of animation and into live action broadens the target demographic from children to entire families, and to accommodate for this, they’ve tinkered with the story a little. In Lee’s version, Raju Rai, a child tech whiz, teams up with his mentor, Dr. Singh, to create a suit that activates the chakras in the body, unlocking supernatural powers. For Bollywood, the child has been replaced with a young man in his 20s, who’ll be fighting villains in Mumbai.

Lee is brave for venturing out of America, the veritable land of superheroes. This is by no means an understatement, with the character of Superman having been penned before India even gained independence, and the Marvel cinematic universe, which includesSpider Man, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and the like, raking in north of $10 billions in the global box office.

Our on-screen superheroes, both old and new, have never held the interest of the masses the American way. The first truly successful on-screen superhero was Shaktimaan, whose acts of valour were watched by many Indian households from 1997 till 2005, with a total of 400 episodes aired by Doordarshan.

Our Indian superhero equivalents to Iron Man and Superman are—it is difficult even to say this— Ra.One and Krrish. Besides ripping off characters, superpowers, and sometimes entire sequences from Hollywood films, these movies offered little besides the star value that came with Shah Rukh Khan and a chunky Hrithik Roshan. Obviously, that was more than enough for them to succeed in the box office, grossing Rs.250 and Rs.300 crores respectively. Both Ra.One, and the two Krrish films, proudly spoke of their CGI and VFX work ahead of their respective releases. After watching them, I concluded that they looked more like an early 2000s video game than anything.

Given our rather fruitless and plagiarised on screen superhero past, why should we be optimistic about Chakra: The Invincible? There are two reasons. Yes, India hasn’t caught on to the global superhero craze, but I suspect that’s because we had enough superheroes before they were trendy. From the pre Vedic period (1750 BC) to the time of the early Puranas (200 BC-500 AD), India was the cradle for Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. We didn’t need heroes in spandex, because we had, and still have, fantastical gods with many avatars: deities who see all and know all, but whose tales are relatable and universal in import. This is why it’s no surprise that Shaktimaan’s character, Pandit Omkarnath Shastri, gained his superpowers through deep meditation and harnessing the power of the five elements of life (Panchabhuta), and that Chakra also channels his chakras, a similarly religious act, but through technology, a decidedly modern spin. The religious overtones of the story will attract audiences. The second cause for optimism comes from Lee and Devarajan’s decision to collaborate with Phantom Films. Co-owned by Motwane (and Anurag Kashyap, among others). Phantom Films has developed a reputation for thoughtful and unconventional cinema. Combining their unique lens with the global fame and experience brought by Lee could produce a superhero film that’ll take the genre in a new direction.

Rohit Sharma launches first superhero cricket graphic novel 'Hyper Tygers'

New Delhi: In a treat for his fans, India's star batsman Rohit Sharma will be seen in a superhero avatar in the digital comic series titled "Hyper Tygers" launched on Thursday (June 9). The explosive Indian opener said on the release of the comic book that he took the leap from the sports world to the creative field as "it marries" his concerns with his "passion". However, he doesn't feel that it marks his entry into the entertainment industry. Hyper Tygers Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit shared that he considers the comic series, launched in collaboration with Graphic India, Britain-based ISM Komix and Cornerstone Sport, as a bridge to "reach out to" his fans. Hyper Tygers is touted as the world's first superhero cricket team that plays futuristic 'Hyper Cricket' to save the environment, their village, and the world. "If you care about your future and the future of your kids, then now is the time to take action and go green - I have always believed this. This opportunity immediately appealed to me. It marries my concerns with my passion, and the fit was unbeatable," Rohit said. "I do not view it so much as me entering the entertainment industry at all, but more in the light of - I can now use this medium to reach out to my fan base and share messaging that I care about, with a positive outcome for the planet," Rohit added. The "Hyper Tygers" e-books are available on DailyHunt starting June 9 and can be accessed free of charge for the first two weeks, after which each chapter will be priced at Rs 10. A new chapter of "Hyper Tygers" will be released every week. What role do you think comics play in sending out a social message? "I think that all media has the ability to communicate messages, no matter if it's TV, cinema, theatre or books. 'Hyper Tygers' as a comic book and an animated series (on digital platforms) is uniquely positioned in a way that they reach out to an audience of all age groups and the massive world of cricket fans. If we can embed the idea of being champions for the environment in everybodyÂ's minds, then we can hope to make the world a better place for everyone," he said. "Hyper Tygers" is set in a futuristic India (in the year 2077) where technology is super-advanced. In fact, cricket has also been upgraded with a 'futuristic' twist for the series. The superheroes play 'Hyper Cricket' -- which infuses technology to the sport -- and Rohit feels that "by showing a world in which cricket idols are making a difference, we hope to create tremendous impact with the comic and show that everyone, no matter who they are, can make a difference". Calling it a "great" concoction, Rohit says it "has been a long time coming", adding that the story is at par with any "graphic novel on a global level". Xan Morgan, who was part of Prime Minister David Cameron's 2012 trade delegation to India, representing the environment and water from Britain, is the co-creator of the series. "Hyper Tygers" is also developing original storylines with British charity Elephant Family, founded by Mark Shand, brother of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. ISM Komix and Graphic India will also be planning a worldwide animation, digital video and gaming strategy around "Hyper Tygers". The cricketer feels "it is never too young to create an awareness for the preservation of the environment in a child's mind or anybody's mind. Today we need this more than we ever did." Rohit is considered to be a youth icon, and he says with the role comes responsibility to "inspire people". "I try to do that with my career and I hope to do that with the 'Hyper Tygers' comic and animated series. If people look to the example of the 'Hyper Tygers' to try to be the best at cricket while trying to be more environmentally conscious I'm confident we can make the world a better place sooner rather than later," he said. OneIndia News

Read more at: http://www.oneindia.com/sports/cricket/rohit-sharma-launches-superhero-cricket-graphic-novel-hyper-tygers-2123094.html

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• WAIT SNAKEMAN.....SUPER HEROES FROM INDIA.
BY ARPIT PANDEYfacebooktwitterpinterest

Wait Snakeman.....Super heroes from India.

by Arpit Pandey,  October 7th, 2015 at 8:55pm

After writing 20 Articles speculating either cast or story or future of Marvel and DC today i choose to write upon something which is "Not so common" for Moviepilot . I'm a great fan of comic book world's fantasy and creativity. For me its a kind of freedom where we can play with the world of these God like people.

India is not a land of many comic book fans specially because of Low GDP and Less availability while comic book is a kind of " Availability of Luxury" . I started reading the comics at the age of 5 years back in 1995 and that time the cost was around 7 rs (Nearly about 1/12 of a dollar right now) . But now a days like the effects Globalization i'm also in the fan list of Marvel and Dc meanwhile i keep appreciating the work of "Raj comics" ( Kind of Indian Marvel and DC ) . Well like everyone can easily guess the inspiration arises from Marvel/Dc but Raj comics did phenomenal job to provide the essence of India in these characters. Whenever i started talking about these heroes many Indians started like "ohhh....this one is the rip off of that" but doesn't same happen between Marvel and Dc. I'm not saying that all the characters are rip off but you might fell the similarity between these characters and Marvel/DC counter-parts.

1. Super-Commando Dhruv ( Meaning of Dhruv is Pole star) - Batman (skills) / Robin (Origin)

In August 2011, The Boston Globe ran a feature on non-American comic book superheroes. They analysed comic book superheroes belonging to seven different nationalities which included Captain Canuck of Canada, Eden Fesi of Australia, Super Inframan of China, Zooman: El Hombre Mosca - a Mexican superhero, Superboy - a French superhero, Jabbar-The Powerful of Saudi Arab and Dhruva representing Indian comics. Not only did the character receive positive reviews from the columnist, but he also rated Dhruva the highest among the seven heroes awarding him a rating of 8 out of 10. Spanish writer Chris Wright summed up the review for Dhruva - "It's hard to find fault with Super Commando Dhruva - he is completely nuts in the best possible way."(source wikipedia)

Yes its true its hard to find a fault in super commando Dhruv either from his origin to his fighting techniques, in every sector he's the most logical superhero i have ever seen. He always use Normal people intellect in such a manner that he's able to easily defeat its biggest foe. Either from an Underworld lord to the Ninja clan , he's awesome. Well due to his intellect power he can be comparable to Batman but those who like Light atmosphere in comics - Dhruv is a better option for them.

Dhruv was born to a couple who worked as trapeze artists in Jupiter Circus. He received most of his martial art, acrobatic, and stunt training in the circus itself. At the age of 14, having lost his parents in a conspiracy that arose out of a business rivalry, he swore to fight against crime for the rest of his life. Eventually he was adopted by the then Superintendent of Police Rajan Mehra.

I think he'as the richest Villain in whole "Raj Comics Universe" , Richest complication in Love-Life. Dhruv is very witty , Funny, Logical and very audience friendly character. He can talk with Birds, Dolphins , Horses etc. He can use any situation to his advantage often noticing things in any given environment which can turn into weakness of enemy. This characteristic make him fit for normal situations to supernatural situations and the most important thing he doesn't have nay Alter Ego which increases my interest for this character.

2. Nagraaj (Meaning - King of snakes) - No one 

(Taken inspirations from many other characters but has a solid explanation behind those powers)

Well Nagraj is the poster boy for poster boy for Raj comics or we can say same as superman for Dc and Iron Man for Marvel. Indian is the land of snakes and mysticism , Snakes are personified in many religions and have their different forms. These whole stories are used to create Nagraj . The origin center of the powers is crores of snakes living inside his body and venom. Do you know snakes are known for Hypnosis also and telepathy. he often increases his power by meditation. He's the most powerful in whole Raj comics universe. He doesn't wear and suit and often leaves his epidermis like snakes.

The origin of Nagraj is one of the best origin i have ever heard - Started with the birth in a land of humanoid snakes which let him be a meta-human already but further met with Lab experiments which increase his powers by increasing the production of snake like creatures instead WBC's which also effects his healing capabilities positively. Several mystic teachers help him to learn how to use different type of snakes like rattle snakes and special kind of snake whose venom freeze your blood and nerves and so on. These power keep increases with time like he can turn into atomic form just for a sec and Hypnosis. He was presented as the creation of an evil professor Nagmani as a "Killing Machine" but with times passes he started regaining his memories.

Dhruv and Nagraj often Team-up and their's duo is comparable with "ironman- Captain America" and "Batman-Superman" . Nagraj is directly effected by the Hindu Mythology and one of the most Mystic character in whole comic book industry. For me its unable to explain and wikipedia page on his name is just a preview nothing else. Just like Clarke kent and peter Parker he's a reporter because he wants a job which keep him close to the needy people because according to him problem always give signs before it comes .

3. DOGA ( Meaning "word is connected with Dogs" ) - Punisher ( Not really)

Dear people if you think Punisher is Brutal then you are joking. Doga is one of the most popular character due to its brutality ( children love brutality nowadays). he believes upon killing problem than to solve them again and again but many times his tragic past stops him from killing and most of the times motivates him to kill. Doga fights against corruption. He's known for his brutality and the reason behind that brutality is his tragic childhood. In his childhood his fight starts from an orphanage where he accepted another small girl as his sister but later his life send him in the clutches of bandits. One night he was beaten till death due to some robbery where Dogs took care of him. Later he was adopted by a Gym Trainer "Adrak Chacha (uncle) " . There Doga was secretly trained in weapons and Martial arts . Every story of doga starts with the darkness of his childhood under the shed of Nights. Dogs helps Doga to hide his weaponry in cases and he use sever lines mainly to travel. Well his past include many other R- Rated brutality but i have mentioned the main points.

The neo-noir feel of Doga is closely comparable with batman but batman works upon his detective skills while Doga many times use brute force fear and Blood to solve crimes but have all the traits of a detective comics Ex. Sin city. His alter ego is Suraj a Gym trainer.

4. KOBI-BHERIYA ( Man-Wolfs) - (violent Tarzen and Warewolf)

The god of the jungle born as an crossbreed of human and wolf 50,000 years ago. The mother of Kobi Found that the ruler of Wolfano, Kobi's father cheated his mother she cursed Kobi. Later the destruction of planet happens and one day Kobi without and memory found himself on Earth in the jungle of Assam. Kobi learns fighting techniques from a guru, Bhatiki. Now Kobi is skilled in many ancient martial art form but his past memories creates conflict between right or wrong. Due to the effect of Phobos and Mobos powers, the animal Kobi separates from his body and Bheriya is left as an highly skilled human.

VITAL STATISTICS(Original Bheriya):Height- 8'0 Weight- 154 kg.

VITAL STATISTICS(Kobi): The idiot
Height- 8'0 Weight- 138 kg,
Kobi could lengthen his tail to any desired length at wish and use it as a potent weapon or aid. In times of extreme crises he invokes wolf Gods and a fearsome mace materializes in his hand to smash the enemy,which comes upon calling the word "madad" that means help. When in need Kobi can also call for help of an army of wolves,circumcising his area.

VITAL STATISTICS(Bheriya- Human Part): The Intelligent. 
Height- 6'6 Weight- 122 kg.
Bheriya is a fearsome warrior having inherited all the fighting skills from the original Kobi. Bheriya is also a master of many ancient tricks and fighting skills and many a times he has beaten Kobi too. There are many differences among Kobi and Bheriya. Bheriya is very wise,kind and of human nature while Kobi is wild, mischievous, aggressive and in fit of anger he goes mad.

Kobi is separated into KOBI- BHERIYA

well this cover is from early 90's

If you think this comic is too serious then you are totally wrong because Kobi-Bheriya fights due to a girl. Kobi is brutal but he's funny. This characters also contains lots of mysticism either due to their origin or due to their villains. All tribal people love Bheriya because he's sensitive and helpful but hate Kobi. But they have to cajole Kobi every time otherwise he'll become furious upon them. These character might inspired by the look of a warewolf but first time a separate entity of Man-wolf and the relation between them come in light. They Both Often Merge into one due to some serious problems against the Jungle but again when they get separated , Back to their original route.

5. Bhokal - Original , inspired from Indian Short Stories.

Bhokal is a legendary winged warrior prince of a fictional fabled fairyland. He descended to earth on a private mission and landed in Vikasnagar, becoming a zealous defender of interests of Vikasnagar. He carries a sword which is deadliest weapon in the world. He has physic power gained after his deceased wife. he often consider as a time traveler also. His villains have many Epic religious book Baddies and the era effects the formation of human history due to the actions of Bhokal. His problems basically related with the same kind of problem of a fallen Angle. He married three times but send back to various other place and then again overcoming the same problems in the search for a place for Himself.

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Well friends there are many other heroes but i explained my favorite. I'll provide the pic of other and if you people interested in those characters also then i'll surely explain. That's my effort to tell about Indian comic industry also because it maybe small but that's all due to lack of resources. Even i consider Indian industry Far better than others except Japenese and American. Please tell your favorite characters and expressed your opinion about the explained and unexplained ones.