CineBook - Childrens Category | 2007

Distributor in India: West Land | Price: INR 195 | Color | Pages: 50 | Size: A4 | Laminated/HardCover

Well it's long since we reviewed the last batch of CineBook editions released in India this year, as back-issue sale from the UK based CineBook.  Since we have a lot more issues to cover, I have gathered all the Children titles they released in this batch as a single post.  They are a bunch of unknown comic characters, we have never read or heard in India before.  The popularity of these titles also doesn't make them to be covered separately.  All the batch of comics are created in Belgium, and many of them are still being published with new titles every year. First-up, is Ducoboo, famously termed as the 'King of Dunces', created by Zidrou and Godi in 1992.  The series follows the adventures of Ducoboo, and his mischief making acts.  It typically consists of assortment of small acts, which generally spans one or two pages.  The stories are hilariously portrayed, and Cinebook have come up with 2 volumes of Ducoboo.  Each volume depicts a full year in School with the last gag always ending up as portrayed in Summer Holidays. When you browse through these books, you can identify that the header of each storyline will eventually be based on the plot of that particular act, depicted in few simple pictures.  That's the amount of detail Zidrou and Godi have concentrated on while making these comics.
Ducaboo 1: King of the Dunces ISBN: 978-1-905460-15-1	Ducoboo 2: In the Corner ISBN: 978-1-905460-26-7

Melusine is a story of kind-hearted young witch.  She is touted to be 119 years old, as explained in the first album.  The character and the plot was created by Clarke and Gilson in 1995.  The stories typically features short, and humorous comic strips based on the life of Melusine.  The plot sometimes seems heavily derived upon the Harry Potter series, as Melusine also studies at a Witches school.  Cinebook have released two volumes of Melusine with this batch.
Melusine 1: Hocus Pocus ISBN: 978-1-905460-20-5	Melusine 2: Halloween ISBN: 978-1-905460-34-2
Papyrus is a comic book series, written and illustrated by Lucien de Gieter.  It's about a young peasant in Ancient Egypt, called as Papyrus.  It was originally published in 1974 in the famous Spirou Magazine.  As the story takes place in Ancient Egypt, the users are taken down back in the history with the plots revolving around the famous landmarks, temples and monuments found from the original Egyptian Era.  Ramases Temple, Saqqara, the ancient Egyptian funeral complex, are all breathtakingly drawn with detailed structural explanations, while closely tying  them to the storyline of each album.  As could be construed, the Papyrus stories involves its fair share of Magics and Miracles.  Overall, a good historical comic series for children.   Again we have two volumes of Papyrus with this batch.
Papyrus 1: The Ramases' Revenge ISBN: 978-1-905460-35-9	Papyrus 2: Imhotep's Transformation ISBN: 978-1-905460-50-2
Yoko Tsuno is a comic book series created by Belgian writer Roger Leloup, an arden follower of Ligne Claire.  It was originally published in 1970, making it the oldest children comic series in this batch.  The story follows the adventures of Yoko Tsuno, a female electrical engineer of Japanese origin, accompanied by her friends.  They travel across the globe and even reach the outer space in this 24 volume series.  The highlight of the story is that they are based on technological concepts, with Robo Dragons, Time Travel and others; which were a thought way ahead during its initial years.  We have two volumes of Tsuno with this batch.
Yoko Tsuno 1: On the Edge of Life ISBN: 978-1-905460-32-8	Yoko Tsuno 2: The Time Spiral ISBN: 978-1-905460-43-4
Yakari is the most famous Children magazine character in this batch of Cinebook editions.  It is a series which was created in 1973 by Job and illustrated by Derib.  Yakari is a young Sioux Native American who has an unique ability to understand and speak animal language.  With this unique ability he meets many North American animals in his albums, by which the readers are introduced to the life and customs of these animals.  Yakari is so popular that it has so far been translated to 17 languages, from French. Cinebook have brought 3 volumes of Yakari with this batch.  But they are not released in an order in India.  There are 5 volumes which were published by Cinebook, when these titles were available in India, but we have received only Issues 3, 4 and 5.  So, the collection is incomplete.  The series is translated in English by Erica Jeffrey for Cinebook.  She is known to Comicologists as a surprise visitor during our first Cinebook post's discussion thread.
Yakari 3: Yakari and the Beavers ISBN: 978-1-905460-09-0	Yakari 4: Yakari and the Grizzly ISBN: 978-1-905460-16-8
We also have an One volume release in this Children's batch, called Scared to Death, which is a new series created in 2000 by Mauricet & Vanholme.  The cover-art is spooky enough to foretell that the series revolves around the strange adventures of two adolescent friends, Robin and Max.  It touches upon all the fantasies, like Sorcery, Werewolves, Ghosts, etc. but somehow the storylines aren't gripping enough.  Maybe because the target audience is Children's again :).
Yakari 5: Yakari and the Stranger ISBN: 978-1-905460-27-4	Scared to Death 1: The Vampire from the Marshes ISBN: 978-1-905460-47-2
Well these titles may not be of the interest to many of us, but as a fan to the Franco-Belgian comics era, I wouldn't leave them up from my collection, when they are available right at our doorstep. As always, do post your comments and let me know what you think of this different post category.  Next up on the Cinebook reviews, we would jump to the serious titles aimed for grown up audience.  Well, now we are talking.

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Comics Classics #23 - Barracuda | Johny Nero | Sep '08

Prakash Publishers | Price: INR 10 | Total Pages: 244 (122+122) | B/W | Size: Pocket | Tamil | SoftCover

Prakash Publishers continue to amaze with regular monthly releases.  What we have this time around is the Comics Classics #23, which as usual carries two yesteryear blockbuster comics from the erstwhile Muthu Comics;

1. Kaatril Karaintha Kappalgal (காற்றில் கரைந்த கப்பல்கள்) starring Code Name: Barracuda aka., CID Lawrence & David
       
2. Moolai Thirudargal (மூளை திருடர்கள்) starring Johny Nero & Stella

Ardent fans will remember that this was originally advertised to be the Issue #22, last year.  I enthusiastically covered it as a Preview feature in this very blog, only to get outsmarted by Prakash Publishers who released another Instalment in place of that.  But as it turned out that actually worked out fine, as we now have two Comics Classics releases in the same year.

Story 1: Kaatril Karaintha Kappalgal (காற்றில் கரைந்த கப்பல்கள்) | [Ships Which Disappeared]

Story 2: Moolai Thirudargal (மூளை திருடர்கள்) | [Brain Thieves]

As far as the story review goes,

Kaatril Karaintha Kappalgal is an action packed storyline.  I only posses a modest collection of Muthu Comics's earlier editions, but remember reading this story in childhood when it was reprinted some years back.  It was one of the instrumental comics which grew my interest towards the style of Picture based storytelling (as it is known as an unique art form: the seamless integration of images and words). 

The intellectual thinking of Lawrence and his quick paced action, with David giving him good company, is the highlight.  Suspense was spilled throughout the Storyline, with the ultimate being the Volcano Setup of the Terrorist group.  Back then as a Child, I used to imagine them to a scenario which is only matched in the Hollywood genre at this period. It certainly helped to grow a creative mind back then. Overall, one of the golden pieces of the British Comics era.

Moolai Thirudargal is a typical Johny Nero story, known for his globe-trotting free agent detective style.  I always liked the importance Stella gets in Nero storylines, which makes them an inseparable pair, yet maintaining the professional relationship between them.  European/British Comics stand out from the American genre in that aspect, which makes it right in parallel with the Asian culture. 

I still remember those initial James Bond issues of Rani Comics (another South Indian publisher of Tamil Comics, but defunct now), where they were printing the editions as it is from the Original, with Frontal exposures, and all.  I used to be scared those days, to maintain those comics as part of the collection fearing that my family would someday get a hand to that and may misconstrue that I am collecting the "so-so" type magazines too. 

Luckily, they realized the Indian culture, and later started to seal and mask the artwork, where necessary.  Lion/Muthu Comics publishers always have ensured this right from the start, and the reliance on European Comics (Franco-Belgian, British, Italian, etc.) which has a deep roots in quality comic art & plot work kept them in good stead too.

I always loved the foreword of Editor S.Vijayan, and he initially used to do it for the earlier Comics Classics editions, where he used to highlight and share the history behind the featured stories earlier publishing.  Unluckily, We don't see that feature in the recent editions.  So we only have to rely upon Comics stalwarts like Muthufan, to share the nostalgia behind these goldies.

As far the packaging goes, I don't have much to say. Eventhough, the Pocket edition helps in re-igniting the memory of past, it is not a great size by which you could enjoy the comics to the most. Editor Vijayan may argue that it is cost-effective and suitable for the price tag. But, I always believed the Comics Classics should follow the standards of the current Lion/Muthu in terms of cover and size (not the paper quality though :)). Because these are the ones which are expected to help a Collector in maintaining them over a long period. And since Comics Classics is expected to be a Collector's Edition, I don't think there are people who will object to have it priced in higher bracket for a better quality.

Those with prying eyes would be able to see a small damage to the second cover in the above scans.  That's due to the effort of yours truly, while trying to separate the cover from the inner papers which had got stuck accidentally with the package glue.  This is one another reason why you shouldn't use Paper Covers for Comics.  They should be seen as Books (like Westerners) and not Magazines (as they are mostly categorized in India).

At times when some Comics collectors (?!) use the old Lion/Muthu editions to sell them at a premium price nearing INR 1000 (and in some cases, more), and get a sizeable profit out of it; Prakash Publishers who hold the rights for these golden editions are short-sighted to bring those gems in a low quality editions continuously, and miss out on a potentially profitable venture. 

Hopefully, the first comic-enthusiastic of Tamil Comics Industry, Mr.Vijayan, will take a cue from it to improve the packaging for his releases.  Whatever said, there is no doubt that Vijayan has always been the Flagbearer of Tamil Comics Industry, in the past, Now, and in Future.  He should be commended for continuing in a business, where others come and go without a basic interest towards Comics in genre, or the commitment.

To end with, see a small stats for Comics Classics releases over the years right from its inception.  2007 was the only year when Comics Classics was blacked out completely without a single issue.  In total there are 23 issues so far.  A way behind from the original idea, of printing 3 every year.  But that as many know, has always been a throne found in the main brands Lion/Muthu Comics too.  Anyways, 2008 has set things anew, hoping for better years to come for Comics Classics editions.

Year # of Issues Year # of Issues 1999 2 2004 3 2000 4 2005 4 2001 4 2006 1 2002 2 2007 - 2003 1 2008 2 Comics Classics Release Stats (from its Inception)

That brings us to the close of another Comics review at Comicology.  As usual, please leave your comments about this post and the Comics Classics editions on a whole, in the section below.

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Chandamama - Collectors Edition | 2008

Long before Comics or Graphic Novels made their foray to India, there were some Indian brands which captivated the mind of young and grown alike.  They were the so called Children Magazines, which succeeded in guiding a whole new generation in the paths of finding our roots, and imparted learning to differentiate between the good’s and the bad’s, in every day of life. 

To name a few of the most popular children magazines from that genre, would be: Tinkle, Balamitra, Gokulam, Champak, Poonthalir, and Ratnabala, which all had a unique set of followers and readers group.

Each of them also excelled in a specific way in which they originate their stories from, which was experienced by young and adult, during a period when what we see in TV media were controlled by state-owned TV channels, and there were not much other things to divert upon.

Even though, they could not match up to the stardom and world-fame which DC & Marvel garnered with their releases, they enjoyed a fan-fare of its own for decades, eventually falling out of reckoning as their younger readers grew, and India witnessed the growth and varieties of other Sports and TV Media.  Now only handful of them are still in publication, having adopted to live with a small number of readership and changing their content to match the modern expectations.

One such Magazine was Chandamama, which followed the stories from Medieval India, which comprised of Kings, Queens, and their bravery and wit.  It was founded on July 1947, by B.Nagi Reddy, who is more famously known as a well known South Indian Film Producer, and the person who owned then Asia’s largest Film Studio, named Vijaya Studios, in Chennai.

The cash-rich backing,and the unique selling point of basing stories based on Indian mythology and folktales, took Chandamama to a wider acceptance and it enjoyed a steady growth in sales, with their magazines being publishing in Multiple Indian Languages (12 + 1 English Edition) concurrently. 

Fellow blogger Venki, recently posted an article about the first ever Ambulimama (Chandamama’s Tamil title) which was released way back in July 1947, even before the Indian Independence.  Those who know to read Tamil, can go to this article, to bring back that nostalgic feeling.

Chandamama went on a uninterrupted publishing run which lasted until 1998, when it was stopped due to some labour disputes.  But, they came back within a year, and continue to publish till this date.

The fame of Chandamama could be exhibited from the fact that Disney, once was looking to acquire it for foraying into Indian Publishing.  Eventhough that ultimately didn't materialize, it was acquired by a Technology Company called Geodisc in 2007, and since has started to concentrate on digitizing its artefacts and old issues of its publication.  This was originally available to be downloaded for free on their corporate website, but now it is only available to be read online at their site.

Instead, Chandamama English Editions have now started giving out a CD containing 12 issues from any of the past years.  It’s a tempting offer for subscribing to the issue, which I have done now.

In the same year 2007, Chandamama also celebrated their 60th Anniversary, and recently have come up with a Collectors Edition - Coffee Book, which takes us back to the inception and various stages of publishing scenarios during the Chandamama's Golden Era.

The Collectors Edition contains some breathtaking artwork from the past and photographs of the publishing house and their erstwhile staff at their prime. Eventhough, Chandamama isn't a much interesting proposition at present, this will be an item the collectors and old fans can possess and cherish to share with the loved ones and nears.

The Books is A4 Format, with waxed papers, in a Neatly Bound package, priced at INR 449/-.  It is currently available on Chandamama's website with a 20% discount, for those who cherish to collect this treasure.

The Inner-Cover contains some facts about the Edition and an history about Chandamama in a snapshot.  The only qualms about this Collector Edition is that it doesn’t talk anything about the creators who contributed stories and artwork for the 60 year old publishing giant, which one would have for sure expected to read about.  Ignoring them completely, at the hour of celebration has taken the sheen out of this edition, for sure.

As with the other children magazines of its period, Chandamama also fell out of reckoning due to the change in taste and choices of young and modern India.  They are still continuing their publishing legacy by maintaining the same number of language editions, albeit with a limited print run. They also have another magazine called Junior Chandamama, aimed specifically for kids. 

Recently, Chandamama have ventured onto Graphic Novels, a field which they never really concentrated in the past, by tying up with the publishers of The 99 Comics series from Middle-East.  Read more about them, in our The 99 exclusive review at Comicology.

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On a late check, I found out that this review of Chandamama Collector’s Edition was indeed the 25th Comics Post at Comicology. I am surprised at my own self, that an otherwise sombre, lazy person in me, was able to continue a passion for this long. Let me enjoy my moment of glory, while you can expect some more great posts in the years to come at Comicology.

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Lion Comics #204 - Tex Willer | Aug '08

Prakash Publishers | Price: INR 10 | Pages: 116 | B/W | Size: B6 | Tamil | Laminated/HardCover

After a long time we have back-to-back releases from Prakash Publishers. As promised in last month, Lion #204 surprisingly has landed in the hands of the readers in time. The last time this happened in Lion Comics, was way back in 2005, when Lion #189 and Lion #190, were released on Dec '04 and Jan '05

Kaatril Karaintha Kazhugu [Vanishing Eagle] Part 2 of 3: (காற்றில் கரைந்த கழுகு)

Tex Willer stars in the story titled "Kaatril Karaintha Kazhugu" (காற்றில் கரைந்த கழுகு) , 'Vanishing Eagle'.  It's the 2nd Part to the 3 Part Series, which started with Lion #203. It's the second part to the three part series written by Caludio Nizzi and drawn by Fabio Civitelli. Coverart again is inspired by its original counterpart, again drawn by Caludio Villa, which has been revamped by our own Lion Comics artist, as usual. Tex Willer continues his struggle, escaping from certain death.  He saves a White family by getting into a hand-combat with break-away Navajo group, despite not in a shape to do it, and yet comes out winner with his intellect.  On the other hand, Carson and Kit go in search for Tex Willer, as they come to know of his supposed death news. The story is nicely setup for the concluding part, with Carson & Co. zeroing in on the master-brain behind the chaos.

As per the Editor's Hotline, the next part Yemanin Yellayil, 'At the Footstep of the Demon', the 3rd concluding part to this mini series, will be available sooner.  So, we can expect the next release in the coming months. A preview for that is featured in the back-cover.  It's interesting to see our editor utilizing the back-cover to feature the next issue, as it gives a completeness for those who cherish collecting them. Editor has previewed a Line-up consisting, long- forgotten Agent Corrigan, the evergreen Chick Bill & Co. as the future issues.  Due to the space constraints, we couldn't get a preview of those titles.  Singathin Siru Vayadhil (சிங்கத்தின் சிறு வயதில்), Editors own Flashback, also gets missed out due to this reason. And for those who would like their name to be featured in the upcoming issue, you have a golden chance by booking in advance the XIII Special, as the list of those Early-Birds will be featured in the next Lion Comics edition.

Italian Original: Tex No.476 L'uomo venuto dal fiume (The Man who came from the River)  Jun 2000

Enjoy the Covers, Hotline and a preview of the next issue. As usual, please do leave your comments in the section below.

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1st Year Anniversary & Other Comics News

Today, we celebrate the 1st year anniversary of Comicology.  Even though the blog, was technically in existence as early as 2005, with some stop-start comic posts, this was the day a year ago, when I decided to streamline the blog as a whole, by cluttering off old posts, and starting afresh.  It was a fruit for my long desire to start a blog where we will discuss comics past, present, and possibly future. 

Over the lengthy journey, if this humble initiative had achieved even 5 to 6 regular readers, then I believe the original concept for starting an exclusive comics blog would have achieved its goal. 

Hopefully, we will continue to go from strength to strength through our future posts.  For now, let’s look at few comics news around the globe, to mark our occasion.

#1: Tintin’s Abandoned Cousins Make World Debut in India

COMIC book series created by world-famous Belgian cartoonist Herge is being revived and will soon make a world debut in India.

While Tintin, the intrepid cub reporter created by Herge, acquired iconic status, the antics of the Brussels' street urchins Quick and Flupke remained mostly unknown.  But in November, 100 years after Herge's birth, Quick and Flupke will be rolled out in a 12-volume series of comics for the first time from India, the Indian Express newspaper has reported.

"India will be our testing ground before taking it to other countries," Uday Madhur, managing director of Euro Books told the paper.  Euro Books has been distributing the popular Adventures of Tintin series for the past decade and has now procured the rights of Quick and Flupke.  The cartoon series is about two goofy boys who unintentionally cause trouble, much to the annoyance of their parents and the police.  Quick and Flupke made their debut in 1930 in the short-story format in the Le Petit Vingtieme newspaper, one year after Tintin appeared in the same newspaper.

But with the success of Tintin and publishing some 310 gags of Quick and Flupke, Herge decided to devote his time to the adventures of Tintin and his clever white terrier, Snowy.  Source: indianexpress.com & theage.com.au

Comicology’s Call: We have reviewed Euro Books previous comics releases over here at Comicology. But this release is a big letdown for the company. Even though, I agree that Quick & Flupke have a classic touch to them, by the mere fact of being the brainchild of TinTin’s creator, they lack the punch to garner the interest of an enthusiastic comic collector.  The artwork is a big let-down, and the 2 page comic stories dont add credits to the series.  No wonder, why Herge decided to concentrate on TinTin alone.

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#2: Virgin Comics is Closed

After rumours began swirling late last week, Publisher’s Weekly now confirms that Virgin Comics has closed. The SoHo offices have been shut down, the staff let go and principals Sharad Devarajan, Gotham Chopra and Lance Leiberman have not returned attempts by the media to get details.

Virgin Comics has issued the following statement:

"Virgin Comics announced today that it will be reorganizing its operations and closing its New York office to consolidate in an LA base. The Company is currently working with management to restructure the business and will release its future plans in the next few weeks.”

Sharad Devarajan, CEO, said, 'We remain excited about the business and partnerships we have built through Virgin Comics and are working towards a restructuring that properly takes the business forward. The decision to scale down the New York operations and concentrate on core activities is due to the current macro-economic downturn and is in no way a reflection on the dedicated and valuable employees we have had the privilege to work with.' "

Gotham Entertainment, based in Bangalore, is expected to remain in operation.

Virgin Comics is another in a long line of start-ups that have failed to succeed in either the direct sales comic book market or crossover to mass market readers.  Their Shakti line was not dissimilar to CrossGen’s own universe while their Director’s Cut imprint seemed modeled on Tekno Comics’ model of using Big Name people to bring in curious readers.  The lack of a successful marketing campaign and inability to get readers excited about the material contributed to the line’s failure.  Source: comicmix.com

Comicology’s Call: It’s sad that we have to cover a news about a comic company’s closing doors, during our 1st year anniversary post, and that too about one which had its roots in India.  Virgin had all the ingredients to be a successful comics venture, with their initial focus on creating comics based on Indian mythology, and taking it to global audience with a mix of next-gen artwork and plot.  But like many other good start-ups, they drifted from their original concept, and what we see is that it has lead them to their ultimate fate.

We are yet to hear the re-launch of Gotham Comics Indian editions, and this news doesn’t put all the good signs on that effort.  Even though the final statement saying that Gotham Comics at Bangalore will continue to function, adds some hope to otherwise shoddy saga.  Let’s stay hopeful.

UPDATE (11/08): It seems the management of the company was bought over by the Indians who started the business in association with Virgin Comics.  The new company is now called Liquid Comics, and it seems their current focus is only on holding with the movie rights which were discussed during Virgin’s association.  So, them into Comics now looks a distant future, which means its officially a closure of Gotham Comics. 

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I guess its more than what we hoped to cover in our 1st year Anniversary post, as we saw an equal share of good and bad news altogether. 

Let’s hope our dream project Comicology grows better and stronger, with more ardent comics fans (Comikers, as we term them over here) will start becoming more and more interactive with their comment contribution in future posts.  I am staying confident, let’s see what the future holds, while we move on with this amazing journey.

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