Comic Con India Awards Final Nominees Announced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BY FARHATNAZ ANSARI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(15 Febraury 2012 15:41 pm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The first Comic Con India Awards to kick start the 2nd Annual Comic Con India on 16th February 2012 at Indian International Center, New Delhi has received a great response from the industry in its 7 different categories. Speaking to AnimationXpress.com Jatin Varma, Founder, Comic Con India shares, “We have had a tremendous response from all quarters of the Comics Industry as well entries from the mainstream publishers. Our Unpublished Work Grant received 140 entries from across India, the awards have started off on the right path, we look forward to announcing the winners on the 16th of February.” The final nominations for the awards have been announced. They are Best Graphic Novel/ Comic Book of the Year
Nelson Mandela, Campire Graphic Novel Shiva, Vimanika Comics Animal Palette, Aakruti Books Best Writer
Dan Danko for Leonardo Da Vinci Chetan Joshi for Animal Palette Best Publication for Children
Campfire Graphic Novels’ two titles- The Jungle Book and Three Men in a Boat, Penguin Group’s (India) two titles- The Kashmiri Storyteller and Moochhandar, Sufi Comics’ 40 Sufi Comics Green Gold Animation’s Chhota Bheem Best Cover
River of Smoke Vol.2, Ajanta Guhathakurta (Cover Illustration) & Bena Sareen (Cover Design) Tinkle 590, Abhijeet Kini Sita, Manikandan (Illustrator) & Jayakrishna KP (Color & Design) Odayan - Issue 01, Deepak Sharma & Raghavendra Kamath I Am Kalki, Vimanika Comics Best Artist
The Rabhas Incident, Harsho Mohan Chattoraj Odayan, Deepak Sharma Leonardo Da vinci, Lalit Kumar Sharma Muhammad Ali, Lalit Kumar Sharma The Jungle Book, Amit Tayal Milk and Quickies, Abhijeet Kini Ravanayan (Issue 04), Vivek Goel Best Web Comic
Beast Legion, Beast Legion Odayan, Level 10 Entertainment Best Unpublished Work Grant
A Figment of Reality, Neelesh V. Saran The Masterpiece, Harsho Mohan Chattoraj Satya Police, Mohit Srivastava & Gagandeep Kochar Untitled, Aashim Raj Hail, Abhinav Krishna connect@animationxpress.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Comic Con India Awards Final Nominees Announced.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Meet the father of the Bengali comic strip.
Meet the father of the Bengali comic strip
(Meet the father of the Bengali comic strip)
His comic appeal keeps everyone from eight to 80 in splits even now. TOI flipped through the pages with Narayan Debnath, the creator of Bengal's original superhero, Bantul.
Back in 1957, I used to sit on the stairs of my ancestral home in Howrah, watching boys playing on the streets all afternoon. In those days, there were fewer cars, so kids were allowed to be out till sundown. I would sit for hours watching them play, tease each other, break into fights, play pranks on passers-by. Nijer monei hashtam oder kando dekhe. Handa-Bhonda was born out of these fragmented experiences."
It's a chilly winter evening. We're with Narayan Debnath, the father of the Bengali comic strip, at his Howrah home - the same one where he saw those kids playing and found inspiration for the iconic Handa-Bhonda strip. Much has changed since then: there are more cars, more people, more noise. But the space that Debnath's characters - Handa-Bhonda, Bantul The Great, Bahadur Beral, Nonte-Phonte - inhabit has got immortalized in time, in the 18 frames on the pages of Shuktara and in our chhotobela.
That's the key to the popularity of Debnath's characters. Hundreds of his books are selling at this year's book fair. Not far from his home, in a swanky Kolkata bookstore, kids are picking up Nonte-Phonte comics, translated into English. "Though the English comic strip and graphic novel, as genres, are becoming popular, no Bengali comic artist in recent times has generated the response that Narayan Debnath gets. His works are bestsellers, and in terms of sales we do very good business on his titles, around 30-45% of the category sales," says a spokesperson of Oxford Bookstores.
Debnath himself had no clue about Tintin or Asterix when he started Handa-Bhonda and Bantul The Great. Tintin in English first arrived on Indian shores only in the second half of the '60s and Debnath drew Handa-Bhonda in 1962 for Shuktara.
"I know about Asterix and Tintin but haven't seriously read any," he says, admitting that the first time he actually saw a Tintin comic up close was when someone gifted his granddaughter Shurjodeber Bondi, the Bengali translation of Prisoners of the Sun.
So how did it all start? "I was interested in drawing and illustrations from a very young age. I was in the Indian Art College when World War II was on. After five years, I started doing freelance illustrations for ad agencies and created movie slides and logos. In 1950, Dev Sahitya Kutir, the publishing house, got in touch with me. I spent about a decade illustrating children's comic books and creating covers for translations of Western novels. I started Handa-Bhonda in 1962 for Shuktara. How did I do them? Shotti ghotona gulo ke golper moto shajiye nitam. Once I ran out of ideas, I depended on my imagination."
From his imagination too sprang the original Bengali superhero, Bantul The Great. "Bantul was born a year after Handa-Bhonda. One day, I was returning from College Street when the idea of creating a larger-than-life character with a weird-shaped body - a massive torso, chicken legs and the head of a boy - struck me. I thought of the name Bantul first and then gave him physical attributes. The name was just as random as the physical appearance," admits Debnath.
Debnath attributed Bantul with an aura of invincibility during the Bangladesh War in 1971. The character was subsequently seen hurling tanks at adversaries, firing canon balls with his breath and displaying superpowers unseen during that era. "I was asked by my editor and publisher to turn Bantul into a superhero. I had no idea about Superman or Spiderman. The only foreign strip I had seen was Tarzan. It wasn't difficult to imagine Bantul as a superhero but I was worried that it might create legal issues as most of the subcontinent was at war at that time. Thankfully, the 'new' Bantul was liked by all and became very popular," he says.
Now, television channels have lapped up the idea of animation series based on Debnath's creations. Says Arijit Bhadra of the production house that created the animated Bantul, "Animation in Bengali is not possible without Bantul or Handa-Bhonda. Bantul has been on air for almost a year now and we've had tremendous response. When we approached Narayanbabu for permission to use his characters, he welcomed the idea."
Broadcasters couldn't agree more. "Narayan Debnath's comics - especially Bantul - cut across socioeconomic categories. Bantul is more popular than Chhota Bheem and other such programmes," says Taniya Chakrabarti, manager of programming of the channel that airs the Bantul series.
Debnath - he says he holds the copyright of all his cartoons - is more than ready to have his creations star in feature films a la Tintin. However, he feels that the talent pool in the city is not ready to match up to Hollywood standards. "A few years back, two gentlemen had come to me saying that they had created a 90-second 3D clip of Bantul. I thought they had done a good job. They were ready but couldn't find sponsors and producers," rues Debnath.
He also feels that comics had never enjoyed a high status in Bengal's intellectual hierarchy. Says Supratik Sen of Crossword bookstore, "Comics and animation never really took off bigtime in Bengal perhaps because comic strips were not regarded as 'writing' or an 'intellectual pursuit'. This is proven by the fact that in Bengali there is a huge amount of children's writing but nothing, apart from Abol Tabol and Narayan Debnath's creations, in comic form.
To keep up with the times, Debnath has even handed Bantul a mobile phone. "To make him more real in today's world, I have made Batul use a mobile phone. In that particular strip, Batul is warned by his locality boys about a bank robbery on his phone. Obviously, he intercepts the bad guys, thanks to the timely call," he said.
Debnath's comics are slowly finding space outside Dev Sahitya Kutir - the original publishers. Says Gautam Jatia of Starmark, "We are sending a compilation of Debnath's comics, published by Lal Mati publications, for printing. Narayanbabu is evergreen. The fact that the comics are now available in English and across all media platforms is helping them gain popularity." Debnath's Nonte-Phonte in English has also been published by Patra Bharati. "Nonte-Phonte in English is fast selling out especially now that the Book Fair is on. The buyers range from age 5 to 50," says Tridib Chatterjee, owner of Patra Bharati.
Debnath is aware that his characters - Handa-Bhonda, Bantul, Nonte-Phonte, Bahadur Beral, Potolchand The Magician, Danpite Khadu Ar Tar Chemical Dadu - will pass into oblivion once he is gone. Has he thought of training pupils so that his legacy can survive? "Comics are something one cannot teach or learn. It has to come from within. I've had young illustrators coming to me hoping to learn the art. But it's not just the drawings that matter. One has to know how to tell a story as well. Kintu ke ar korbe..." Debnath says quietly. It's getting dark outside and the shadows are lengthening.
Narayan Debnath apparently holds a world record for creating 1,500 comics, where the story, dialogues, the script as well as the illustrations are done single-handedly by him.
In 2012, Bantul will be 50 years old. Nonte-Phonte and Handa-Bhonda are in their late forties and early fifties.
Bantul has a pet dog called Bhedo and a pet ostrich called Utu. An interesting character that appears in the Bantul comics is Lambakarna, a boy with unusually long ears and special powers of hearing.
Debnath had thought of creating Bantul on a whim while returning from College Street after work. Initially, Handa-Bhonda was pencilled and inked by Debnath without colour frames. Later, it would be printed in grayscale.
Apart from Bantul, Handa-Bhonda and Nonte-Phonte, Debnath's other creations include Potolchand The Magician, Bahadur Beral, Danpite Khadu Ar Tar Chemical Dadu, Black Diamond Indrajit Roy, Petuk Master Batuklal and Shutki Ar Mutki.
"I have immense respect for Narayanbabu. He's the only cartoon artist from Bengal who has been commercially successful. In olden days comic artists were considered to be 'bina poishar artists'. Narayanbabu has changed that. That said, I believe, his strips have become a tad monotonous. I wish he'd come out of the Handa-Bhonda-Bantul The Great mould and create a different set of characters."
"When we were young, we used to keep Shuktara at home only to read Narayan Debnath's comics. I feel Narayanbabu hasn't received the due he deserves. Maybe it's because comic strips weren't and still aren't considered to be of high intellectual value. These days, we hear so much about the graphic novel. Trust me, I'm waiting for the day we'll have our first Bengali graphic novel."
- Chandril
- Chandril
"Narayanbabu ekai eksho! The best bit is the fact that he has achieved commercial success, a little late in the day though. I haven't seen anyone else rise to his stature. There is definitely a lack in the talent pool when it comes to comic strips. One has to be successful on paper. Narayanbabu has achieved that in his lifetime. And he's still going strong. He's still drawing and his creations are still being published."
- Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay
- Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay
"Narayan Debnath is as popular in Bengal as Herge is in Belgium. I believe, since he's a Bengali, he couldn't achieve international acclaim. He is an artist of immense calibre. Not only does he draw, he thinks of the plot, writes the dialogue and builds up the story, all within a restricted space of two pages. My only grouse? If only he incorporated a little bit of adventure into the plots and went beyond the para setting."
- Sanjib Chattopadhyay
- Sanjib Chattopadhyay
"Narayanbabu started off with Shuktara. As the editor, I have had a long-standing association with him. It is really heartening to see that his comics are going beyond the realm of Dev Sahitya Kutir. He is a genius in this genre and it will be tough to match his standards. I'm just wondering who will take this legacy forward after he's gone."
- Arun Majumdar
- Arun Majumdar
2nd Annual Comic Con India to be held from 17th -19th Feb at Dilli Haat
2nd Annual Comic Con India to be held from 17th -19th Feb at Dilli Haat |
BY FARHATNAZ ANSARI |
(31 Janaury 2012 11:45 am) |
 After the massive success of the First Annual Indian Comics Convention (Feb '11; Turnout - approx. 15000 and Sales touching 25 Lakhs) and Comic Con Express Mumbai, the traveling version of Annual Indian Comics Convention (October '11; Turnout - approx 12000 and Sales touching 35 Lakhs); Comic Con India is coming back to New Delhi for its annual event, the Second Annual Indian Comics Convention, at Dilli Haat, February 17, 18 and 19, 2012.2nd Annual Comic Con India has scaled greater than its predecessor. Now it’s a 3 day event with over 80 participants and more than 50 exhibitors. It will have close to 30 sessions with various artists, writers, publishers and related companies during the 3 days, it will also have special guests coming in from abroad for exclusive sessions at the convention. It will be most certainly the biggest celebration of comics this year. Cosplay will be bigger and better, with more prizes and more participants. There will be two different categories for cosplay contests for kids as well as for adults separately. The upcoming Indian Comics Convention will also be the first year for the Comic Con India Awards, where the best new Indian Comics and Comics Creators will be honoured and felicitated, and will be given the recognition they deserve, among their peers. The first ever Comic Con India Awards is set to be held in the Capital at India International Centre on February 16, this year. Talking to AnimationXpress.com Jatin Varma, Founder, Comic Con India shares, “Awards is coming up great, lot of enthusiasm from within the industry and also from the mainstream publishers, lots of entries and a lot of hopes riding on the awards. The response to our unpublished work grant has been phenomenal; we have gotten entries from across India, from places like Varanasi, Patna to all the way in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The awards will essentially start off the convention with a bang on the 16th of Feb”. The jury consisting of Orijit Sen(Graphic Artist & Designer), Vaibhav Kumaresh (Animation Filmmaker) and the Comic Con India Core team will go through the entries submitted and eventually shortlist them. For the unpublished grant, the winner or winners get 50K Prize + a publishing deal with Comic Con India. For all other winners, it’s a special Comic Con India Awards Trophy. For the unpublished grant total of about 140 entries have been received and for the rest, Comic Con India has received participation of all major comics’ publishers as well as stalwarts such as Penguin. According to Jatin, they have over 20 new titles launching at the event. That might increase to 23 as they get closer to the event and have more details confirmed. The sponsors and supporters of 2nd Annual Comic Con India includes Animation Xpress, ACK Media, Flipkart, Bombay Merch, 9XM, Inkfruit, Game 4 as well as partners such as DSN, MOCHA and Delhi Tourism. About the expectations from this year’s Comic Con India Jatin says, “We are aiming to take everything involved up a notch, we want visitors spending the entire day with us. We also expect to double the number of footfalls this year. The number of exclusives at the convention has gone, there will be over 22 new titles being launched. We are working hard towards delivering a great event for all comic fans”. connect@animationxpress.com |
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