Comments on Comicology: Amar Chitra Katha – Mahabharata | 3 Volumes | 2007...

Readers of ack, Please take a look at http://asci...

2010-06-01T02:01:38.148+05:30

Readers of ack,

Please take a look at http://asciimb.com for an 'ascii-line-art' rendition of mahabharata.

thanks
-rmlsswhl

@ Aneesh: Not only Mahabharata, the ACK, under the...

2010-04-28T20:50:04.106+05:30

@ Aneesh: Not only Mahabharata, the ACK, under their new management, does not actively publish any of their titles in the Regional languages anymore. Their current focus seem to be only about reprinting the English Editions time again, coupled with concentrating on the initiatives of digitizing them into Animated DVDs, and TV Serials.

So I doubt, whether they would ever venture in Regional language prints again. I agree with your viewpoint that, Indian epics, and history can more easily be understood and stay native, if they are published in regional and national languages. ACK's old management saw the merit in that concept, but the new age one doesn't.

I have tried contacting ACK numerous times in the past, but it seems they aren't ready to invest their precious time, in listening to a mad fan from the old time anymore :)

Let's hope the reality bites them sooner than later :).

@ sujataiyengar: Thanks for the heads-up news. I w...

2010-04-28T20:46:02.646+05:30

@ sujataiyengar: Thanks for the heads-up news. I will update the post accordingly. If you have more details about Ramesh Umrotkar, please do enlighten us with the same. Would love to read them.

@ sijo thaikkadan : My friend, no doubt Dilip Kadam is one of the brilliant artists to have evolved from our glorious comics industry from the past. All the artists at ACK, especially the league toppers, had an uncanny ability to adapt to whichever medium or genres (humour, horror,myth,etc.) they are drawing their art for, and adapt to the style which will suit the most to the same. But, still those who are passionate to see the intrinsic details, would able to notice that they are from the same artist. Kadam Studios, is still very much active, and Kadam's sons are each excelling in their own style.

I feel happy than ever to have rekindled the memories of our glorious childhood, filled and mixed with these wonderful releases, shaping our imagination and perception to this day. Thanks for your memories and comment, Sijo.

Hi Rafiq, Do you have any idea whether they publi...

2010-04-24T19:08:44.116+05:30

Hi Rafiq,
Do you have any idea whether they publish the regional language versions of the Mahabharata series anymore?(I am particularly interested in the Malayalam version).

As a child I enjoyed them immensely and now I want my child to have the same privilege.

Also, I personally believe that Indian epics are better read in Indian languages and the world classics in English!

I feel that it will be still popular outside the metros and big cities where children still read in their native languages.

In case they don't publish them anymore, will you, as a researcher on this subject, be able to impress upon them the need to re-print them again - at least the Mahabharata.

this post has taken me back to my childhood.. it w...

2010-02-14T00:33:13.797+05:30

this post has taken me back to my childhood.. it was heaven for me to read mahabharatha series..as a child i liked it for the story full of action now i like the whole seris specially for the artwork..dilip kadam...he has done it so brilliantly..actually in childhood i didn't know anything about the artist recently when i bought'kesari the flying thief' i noticed the style of art which differed from other artists i felt the illustrations serious,realistic and highly proportionate..and about colours used, more than the colour it is style of illustration which fasinates me...thank you

"While the 2nd Volume cover is a re-used from the ...

2010-02-07T17:00:46.822+05:30

"While the 2nd Volume cover is a re-used from the 42 individual album covers drawn by Dilip Kadam, the rest two were newly drawn, by other artists, which is clearly noticeable from the style."

The cover art of the title 'The Kuru Princes' is taken from the ACK title 'Enter Drona' (original ACK # 337). The artist is Ramesh S. Umrotkar, who used to illustrate the cover of Tinkle as well during the late '80s/early '90s.

Arvind Iyengar
appu dot iyengar at gmail dot com

@ Comic World: Zaheer Bhai, I share your feeling ...

2009-07-30T23:30:32.633+05:30

@ Comic World: Zaheer Bhai, I share your feeling that an illustrator of Waeerkar or Mulick, then the series would have gone to a superior level than the one which it finds at present. Imagine if ACK would have released a second version, while these giants were still in business. Our dreams and us :)

By the way, loved your recent post with all the 42 covers of Mahabharata original series. Loved them to the core, and with your permission, I will add some of them to this post :)

@ ERB: Thanks for PACK list. I will update the list with all the missing titles once I gather enough information on the releases, for a exclusive post at Comicology.

@ MaNdrAke dudE: Now you consoled me and rested m...

2009-07-30T23:26:12.874+05:30

@ MaNdrAke dudE: Now you consoled me and rested my heart at a normal pace, by revealing that you don't own the complete set :) Hehehehe...

Believe me, I have long lost hope that I can collect all editions of ACK, which have become a rare collector items, with all the blogs celebrating those glorious days. We are the victims of our enthusiasm, atleast in that count :)

I don't think ACK's current management is keen to venture back on the regional languages foray. They seem to have set all their eyes and concentration on only digitizing their current copyrights into bigger plans like animation, and serials, etc. :) Hope they find the Comics is still a lucrative business to rely onto.

Here is the list of PACK so far published: No Nam...

2009-07-27T20:39:19.330+05:30

Here is the list of PACK so far published:

No Name Hero Year
1 Ganesa Oct 84
2 Raja raja cholan Oct 84
3 Muruga Nov 84
4 Hanuman
5 Kumbakarnan dec 84
6 Kannagi
7 Vaali Jan 85
8 Harischandra
9 Thyagaraja Feb 85
10 Suriyan
11 Ramana maharshi Mar
12 Ayyappan
13 Krishna & sisupalan Apr 85
14 Indra & Vrudra
15 Vivekanandha May 85
16 Jhansi rani
17 Tenali raman Jun 85
18 Mahiravanan
19 Kaalidasan Jul 85
20 Arjuna kadhaigal
21 Vedavyasar M 1 Aug 85
22 Ravindranath tagore
23 Beeshma sabatham M 2 Sep
24 Bagath singh
25 Guru elavarasarkal thottram M 3 Oct
26 Vikramadityan
27 M4 Nov
28
29 Dronarin varihai M5 Dec 85
30 Kannapar
31 Karnanin varugai M6 Jan 86
32 Mariyadai raman
33 M7 Feb
34 Krishna deva rayar
35 Thappithal M8 Mar
36 Sakuntala
37 Gadothgajan pirappu M9 Apr
38 Garuda
39 Ekachakrathil pandavarkal M10 May
40 Chanakya
41 Drowpathiyin varugai M11 Jun
42 Tipu sultan
43 Drowpathy suyamvaram M12 Jul
44 Prahalad
45 Pandavarhal hastinapuram M13 Aug
46
47 M14 Sep
48 Subramanya bharathi
49 Maya maligai M15 Oct
50 Krishna & rukmini
51 Jarasanthan vadham M16 Nov
52 Balaraman
53 Uthishtrar raja suya yagam M17 Dec 86
54 Elephanta
55 Indraprasta elappu M18 Jan 87
56 Parijatha maram
57 Kaanakathil pandavarkal M19 Feb
58 Bahubali
59 Ayutham thedi arjunan M20 Mar
60 Rama kumararkal
61 Indra logathil arjunan M21 Apr
62 Kacha devayani
63 Meendum inaithal M22 May
64
65 Thuryothanan avamana paduthal M23 Jun
66 Krishna & narakasura
67 12 m andu M24 Jul
68 Ganga
69 M25 Aug
70 Kakavin kottai
71 M26 Sep
72
73 M27 Oct
74
75 M28 Nov
76
77 Krishna thoothu M29 Dec 87
78
79 Por moondathu M30 Jan 88
80 Paramasivan kathaikal
81 Beeshmarin padai thalaimai M31 Feb 88
82 Thirunthatha arasan
83 Beeshmar veezhchi M32 Mar
84 Iru paritchaigal
85 Dronarin sabatham M33 Apr
86 Mathipattra manikkam
87 Abhimanyu maranam M34 May
88 Kashmira kathaigal
89 Arjunan sabatham niraivetral M35 Jun 88
90 Marainthiruntha puthayal
91 Nalliravu por M36 Aug 88
92 Rajabala Jul 88
93 Narada kadhaikal Aug 88
94 Karnan thalaimai thangal M37 Sep 88
95 Puli vettai kararkal Sep 88
96 M38 Oct 88
97 Raja thesingu Oct 88
98 Porukku pin M39 Nov 88
99 Nov 88
100 Rani ambalika Dec 88
101 Yuthishtrar M40 Dec 88
102 Lava kusa Jan 89
103 Pareekshit Feb 89
104 Ashvamedha yagam M41 Feb 89
105
106
107
108 Rana sanga May 89
109 Swargam sendranar M42 May 89

Rafiq Bhai,i didn't meant to say that Mahabharat s...

2009-07-20T22:37:25.836+05:30

Rafiq Bhai,i didn't meant to say that Mahabharat series was weaker in any respect if compared to 'other' publication.My words expressed my regrets on the selection of illustrator by think-tank of IBH as this series could have been made far-far better if and only if the responsibility of illustration would have delegated upon Pratap Mullick or Ram Waeerkar,i regret that why publishers kept their best artists reserved for comparativley other not so important titles in place of this classic series.

ohh no rafiq,u miss-read my post..I wrote having '...

2009-07-17T21:24:08.537+05:30

ohh no rafiq,u miss-read my post..I wrote having 'some' in btwn #2-10 and from #11 onwards(but not ALL)....:))

also,I have NO target/dream to complete my ACK collection,BUT I do have a goal to get ALL of those titles from my WISH-LIST...which I still missing...

And yes,individual titles of 42-Mahabaht is unique...still IF ACK-publisher release Bengali edition of these 3 giant Volume,I'll buy these...

@ MaNdrAke dudE: Hi Sagnik, Actually it is not a ...

2009-07-17T20:57:25.560+05:30

@ MaNdrAke dudE: Hi Sagnik, Actually it is not a big honour to hold the Mahabharata collection, as it is available for everyone on ACK Media's site itself. On the contrary, I only envy on your collection of Individual Mahabharata albums.... Looking at those covers itself is a great feeling to cherish, which unfortuantely our collection pieces miss out from utilizing.

It's true, a person has more comfortable reading, when something is close to their language. I feel the same when I read comics written or translated in Tamil. We were lucky that in our childhood, we had so many comic publishing companies ready to have such a wide array of language editions in their publishing run. In the present world, even if the publishers are ready to do that, I don't know how many current generation kids, would be interested to read them. A fact clearly shown by the Chandamama's present sales, their English Subscription far outruns their regional langauge subscriptions by a far margin.

It seems, English will be defacto standard for kids hereafter. As long as the medium of Comics, is still sellable, I don't have any complaints over that :)

ACK #2-10, #11 to ALL..... Grrr........... Enough is Enough, my feeble heart can't take any more ;)

@ Comic World: Zaheer Bhai, I second your thought...

2009-07-17T20:51:45.189+05:30

@ Comic World: Zaheer Bhai, I second your thought. Waeerkar was simply gifted to have a unique style to serve as an Artist for both forms of Humour comics and classic stories. While, Mulick was the most talented to reproduce any Heritage or Mythological stories with such a knack, which is unrivaled by any of his day compatriot.

I just had a brief look for a couple of days on Mulicks ACK titles, and clearly awed by his style, even after having seen them a lot of times before. I only could dream what would have been the Mahabharata series had he been at the helm.

With that said, if we don't compare Mulick & Waeerkar, with Kadam, we need to accept the fact that he was good on his own rights. The limitation of colors used in ACK could have also contributed to the dull coloring for the series. I like to take a comic or a comic series at its face-value, in that way, I still consider Mahabharata as one of the best ever comic series to have been published in India, both in terms of art as well as script. If you need an example, wait till I review a recent attempt by another big Children magazine brand, which have recently come up with their own re-telling of another Hindu epic. :)

@ ERB: True, ACK has shaped what we envision as o...

2009-07-17T20:44:14.806+05:30

@ ERB: True, ACK has shaped what we envision as our Heritage, Culture, National Icons, for our entire life. I can definitely say that I wouldn't have had this much interest in exploring our History, had I learned them only through our School subjects. I am only happy that these wealth is still being made available to the generation of kids, even now. Kudos to ACK Media, even though they haven't added any new titles for a long time. Their line-up of issues, is saving them to stay afloat by issuing reprints.

Inspired by you, I also have started collecting some of the First editions, along with deluxe reprints. It's so good to even see and hold them in our hands, which is unmatched by the digital copies scattered across the web.

I was not fortunate enough to collect the Tamil editions published by Poonthalir. Only chanced upon them in Old bookshops, but yet looking for completing my collection on that front. With the increased attention being drawn towards collecting Old Comics, I don't think I would get a chance again to own them completely. :(

Your cow story was hilarious, eventhough I shouldn't laugh at your loss :). I had my own share of problems with White Ants, but as far as 4 legged are concerned, Luckily, my house was so narrow-doored that we barely managed to enter ourselves :) Now, I thank my Mason, the old time architect ;).

Hello rafiq, First of all,congrats for owning th...

2009-07-17T14:14:17.810+05:30

Hello rafiq,
First of all,congrats for owning that 3 mega volumes of epic Mahabharat!! :-)

What I've noticed,the newer version's ACK are wid better page quality etc,but the appeal of old/original series somewhat missing!! I missing only few issues from that 42-individual titles and MOSTLY I've collected in bengali only - THIS IS ONE THING I ALWAYS LOOKING FOR,i.e. while reading Western heroes like Phantom/Mandrake/Flash etc I prefer to read in both Bengali/English or simply in English,BUT for our own heroes/mythos,I just LOVE to read in my own tongue i.e. Bengali, like for many Hindi or Tamil etc...

Allthough old ACKs are hard to find,but I always looking for those original individual titles over current volumes...also old versions of many tales were NEVER re-printed later and made them even rarer!!I am fortunate nuff to got those...along with other titles.

And for my personal collection,I've earliest ACK #2 onwards till #10(some missing in btwn!) and then from #11(Krishna)onwards - all in Bengali only(except few English)...
One thing,you will find in ACK site,it starts from #11 only as first 10 were NOT Indian tales/mythos and they gave those a miss! :-)

Rafiq Bhai,the lone illustrator having the unique ...

2009-07-13T12:53:13.674+05:30

Rafiq Bhai,the lone illustrator having the unique quality of excelling equally well
in both funny as well as serious art work was none other than 'Ram Waeerkar',though he was
utilized mostly for funny art work rather than serious illustrations.For reference one can analyze his serious art work
for 'Padmini' or 'Birbal' stories where a single shortcoming is hard
to point out.
So,speaking about epic Mahabharata ideally Pratap Mullick would have been the best choice,
after which next henchman should be Waeerkar,but surprisingly the least talented among three,
'Kadam' was chosen.
Kadam's Trishul comico arts was acceptable most of the times due to flashing and impressive
inking only which unfortunately was also pretty ordinary in this epic series thus leaving
the series quite ordinary if talking of art work alone.

We do have the effect of Amar chitra katha in our ...

2009-07-13T10:57:32.127+05:30

We do have the effect of Amar chitra katha in our blood, as we grew reading these heritage comics. The availability of these comics at that time was so huge that I did not have interest in collecting them. But now, i have started collecting them again. I have some first editions also. It is indeed difficult to review as each single title has been published several times reprinted with a new cover or atleast a new price tag. I found the link of listing of amar chitra katha, which was a good compilation. A child reading ACK would be better knowledgeable in history.
During my comic days, i collected the tamil version of ACK from the first issue. It was printed in 2 color in small size at Rs.1.50. There was a showroom for paico at mount road, where there is VST showroom now. I used to get 10% discount there and buy these ACK tamil. I liked them very much then. I lost most of the collection of tamil ACK when one daring cow entered my house and opened my cup-board where i kept the comics, and ate the comics. I beat the cow to my capacity but my anger did not subside. BUt still i have a decent collection of these 110 odd books. All the 42 episodes of mahabaratha was published in tamil and once the series is completed, they stopped.

@ Roshmi: Thanks, would definitely take part in yo...

2009-07-13T01:45:31.581+05:30

@ Roshmi: Thanks, would definitely take part in your tagged sooner.

@ Comicos & Spider: Thanks for the visit and comment, friends :)

@ Vishal: True, much of the mythological stories I...

2009-07-13T01:43:40.178+05:30

@ Vishal: True, much of the mythological stories I still remember, were inspired by what I read through ACK. Good to meet another one sharing the same feeling. :)

@ Siv: Siruvar Malar that time was totally depende...

2009-07-13T01:42:47.451+05:30

@ Siv: Siruvar Malar that time was totally dependent on ACK. So we witnessed some awe-inspiring artworks, and wonderfully translated series, that too for free ever week. Back those days, when I didn't see an ACK title, I thought that Tamil Comics industry did have such talented artists :) Nowadays, Siruvar Malar completely focuses on some other brands comic series, most notably of modern Chandamama, which certianly is way below par. But I believe they are doing it to avoid high licensing cost from the new ACK Media who own ACK and Tinkle titles.

Virgin's Mahabharata was a complete retake on the series, so eventhough it had an initial euphoria in Western, they never dared to release it in India, fearing that it may attract the ire of our people. So, India never witnessed those stories. Since, Virgin has closed shops, we may never see them. Frankly speaking I loved their artwork and different storyline, for a change.

Vimanika Comics are coming up with more titles, but the gap in their release cycle makes them a less sought after venture. I hope they be more regular in future. I read couple of their issues, and loved the artwork in some, while in others it was little off-mark. The plot also has some creative work, so I suggest you to pick one and experience yourself. You won't be much disappointed for sure :)

@ Comic World: Zaheer Bhai, thanks for those kind...

2009-07-13T01:36:17.406+05:30

@ Comic World: Zaheer Bhai, thanks for those kind words. It's true the moment we talk about Indian Comics and our tradition rich brands, which have a nostalgic feeling among many comics fans, they add all the more value to any blog. So Comicology is no different in that aspect.

I should admit that Kadam could have been replaced by Waeerkar or Mullick for such a mega event. But, I believe that Waeerkar was more over used for his unique talent of even serving in funny comics like Suppandi, and other folk tales. So, they wouldn't have risked him to be locked up in such a huge project. Mulick could have been a better bet, but I believe that they chose Kadam, so as to keep him occupied, as he rarely worked on other host of titles. Anyways, I believe that if not upto the other two's work, at least he didn't make the series look pretty bad, even though some of the panels the people look like Some Androids moving in a swift style. :)

You are so fortunate to own the complete original series. I would love to own them, let's see if I get a chance ever :)

@ Toonfactory: Thanks much Toonfactory. I should ...

2009-07-13T01:29:34.969+05:30

@ Toonfactory: Thanks much Toonfactory. I should also Thank Zaheer and Prabhat's blog from which I was able to collect some of the covers listed here. Thanks to them for their selfless sharing.

I also noticed that the initial 10 editions, eventhough of international licensed titles, the covers were all done by our local artists. Seems Uncle Pai wanted to have a indian face for their titles. Any news on those artists would be a welcome information. Hope your documentary would cover that too :)

@ Prabhat: New Pack looks indeed pretty beautiful,...

2009-07-13T01:25:58.809+05:30

@ Prabhat: New Pack looks indeed pretty beautiful, with their color choice, and hardbound package. It's really a nice collection to have. Uncle Pai & Kadam really deserve all the accolades for working on such a big project to convert Mahabharata into such a length comic series.

John's dedication is really superb, and I am thankful to you for giving a reference to his blog. I hope that ACK acknowledges his contributions, and mention him in their website too.

I would see if I could grab him his missing copies, when I visit the bookshops next.

I also remember Ajnabi's splending Krishna project. True contribution for any Comics fan. I hope someday we also witness the 3rd version of Krishna title too, if it is actually available. ACK remains such a mystery and treasure even now, it's amazing.

@ Shankar: அமர் சித்திர கதைகளை படித்து வளர்ந்த ஒரு...

2009-07-13T01:21:15.548+05:30

@ Shankar: அமர் சித்திர கதைகளை படித்து வளர்ந்த ஒரு பெரும் கூட்டம், இப்போது வாழ்க்கையில் தங்களின் ஒவ்வொரு கட்டத்திலும் அதில் இருந்து கற்று கொண்ட நல்ல விஷயங்களை பிரயோகித்து கொண்டிருப்பார்கள் என்பதில் எனக்கு எவ்வித ஐயமும் இல்லை. அமர் சித்திர கதைகள் கற்றுக் கொடுத்த பாடங்கள் அப்படிபட்டது.

உங்களுக்கு இரண்டு மூன்று புத்தகங்களை அனுப்பி வைக்கிறேன்.. நீங்களும் இந்த இன்ப வெள்ளத்தில் சற்று திளைக்க அது உதவும் :)

இந்திய காமிக்ஸ் நிறுவனங்களுக்கு மகாபாரதம் மற்றம் ராமயணம் அச்சயபாத்திரங்களாக உதவியது உண்மை... அதன் மூலம் அவைகள் வெகுஜன குழந்தைகள் மத்தியில் நம் கலாசாரத்தை உணர்த்தி இருப்பது இன்னும் சிறப்பு. இன்று கூட புதிதாக தொடங்கபடும் பல காமிக்ஸ் நிறுவனங்கள் மகாபாரதத்தை மையமாக கொண்டு தான் தங்கள் கதைகளை நவீன காலத்திற்கு உருவாக்கம் செய்த கொள்கிறார்கள். உதாரணம் சமீபத்திய விமானிக்கா காமிக்ஸ்.

கலைஞர்களை புறந்தள்ளுவது ஏனோ இந்திய பதிப்பகத்தினரின் வழக்கமாகவே ஆகி விட்டது.. காலம் மாறும் என்றே நானும் நினைக்கிறேன்.

பூந்தளிர் அமர் சித்திர கதை 42 மகாபாரத காவியங்களையும் வெளியிட்ட பிறகுதான் கடையை மூடினார்கள். இல்லையேல் ரசிகர்களின் கோபத்தை அல்லவா அவர்கள் எதிர்கொள்ள வேண்டி இருந்திருக்கும் :)

பதிவை இரண்டு முறை படித்தேன் என்று கூறி, அதற்கு உழைத்த நேரத்தை இனிமையாக மாற்றி விட்டீர்கள். நன்றி நண்பரே.

@ Venkit: #11 Krishna, oh, then it adds all the mo...

2009-07-13T01:13:16.891+05:30

@ Venkit: #11 Krishna, oh, then it adds all the more worth to your ACK collection. For me, I just get satisfied seeing the digital version alone. :)

Thanks for confirming the 60 album original plan. I did see some of the earlier advertisements saying that the series was supposed to be a 60 album version, but seems the long run and number of issues, made the publishers to think on cutting it down to 42. But, as you said, even if they would have attempted, covering the entire Mahabharata is always going to be a dream :)

Thanks for those nice words about the blog, VenKIT Walker. There is no doubt that the interest shown by comics friends like you, is what keeps me enthused to share a common platform to discuss our favorite hobby. I am also looking forward to talk to you when you are here. :)