Sep 7, 2009

Euro Books – Iznogoud | 12 Albums | 2009

IznogoudAfter the Black & White Classic of Will Eisner’s Dreamer, we are back to the colourful world of comics, with the The Infamous Iznogoud, to do the honours.

Euro Books Logo It’s the second blockbuster release of the year from Euro Books, who only a couple of months back brought the much famous Lucky Luke back to India, by launching him in an exclusive 24 set release.

This time around they have taken-up the mantle to bring the ever-cunning Iznogoud, in his own 12 title set.

Iznogoud, the Grand Vizier to the Caliph or Sultan of Baghdad, Haroun El Pashid, always aspires to become the Sultan himself, which is attributed to his trademark catchphrase ‘I want to be Caliph, instead of the Caliph’.

Rene Goscinny Jean Tabary René Goscinny & Jean Tabary, the co-creators of Iznogoud, were at their humorous best, where they continuously chalked out witty stories, often placing Iznogoud in precarious situations; where he attempts to dethrone the Sultan, and finds his plans backfiring on himself.

The creators, would only give a consolation for the poor soul, by giving him the company of Wa’at Alahf, his trusted henchman. Wa’at sticks to his master in all of Iznogoud’s misadventures, even though he ends up facing the wrath of his master’s blunders.

017The charismatic duo of Goscinny & Tabary, continued to enthral the comics fans across the world, until 012the former’s death in 1977. Tabary then decided to continue the series with a new direction, where he chose to feature full-fledged stories running an entire album, unlike the short witty stories for which the famous antagonist, Iznogoud, was known for.

We will cut short the intro to the series and the creators here, as we have looked into as much details as required, during our review of Iznogoud’s debut title on Lion Comics. If you missed the post, now is a good time to check back on the same.

Euro Book’s love towards latest albums means that all the 12 titles which they have hand-picked are post Goscinny era, and that’s where the difference lies.

EB IG 01 Iznogoud and the WomenEB IG 03 AccompliceEB IG 04 Nightmarish Birthday

Goscinny, was involved only in two of the albums out of the 12; one 016in the Returns of Iznogoud, and two where his name is given credit for one of the Nightmare tales, along with Buhler. Otherwise, all the other titles were solely worked by Tabary, donning the dual role of Writer and Artist.

With all due respects to Tabary, we can clearly see that the titles which were worked by him solely, misses out badly on the Goscinny charm. Some of the stories, are too lengthy and often misses out on the central plot work, with the story revolving around various scenes, and situations. Obviously, the short witty stories attraction was totally absent in these new adventures.

 EB IG 05 Caliph at Last EB IG 06 Trap of SirenEB IG 09 Returns

For a best example, within the current lot, take the Returns of Iznogoud title, where the script is  013credited to Goscinny. It has a different plot unlike any other Iznogoud titles. It follows the same short story style of Goscinny, but this time limited to only to two pages each.

Those who followed Iznogoud series for long, would have witnessed one common ending scene with all of them – Iznogoud finding himself in a sorry state, or figure.

Returns of Iznogoud - Story1-1Returns of Iznogoud - Story1-1But, in every new adventure he will be back to his full-form, devising new plans to outwit the Sultan. Majority of the readers (including me) might have ignored from questioning this logic, with the assumption that it is the most common aspect followed in much of the humour series; where connecting one to another, doesn’t make much sense.

But, Goscinny & Tabary decided to reasons these supposed Returns of Iznogoud, for themselves and for their loyal readers, by bringing in their witty and humorous touch to them.

Each one of these stories were Iznogoud comes back to life, from where he was left in the original story, is a full blown laughter package. Goscinny has left no stone unscathed in bringing this title, a classic cult status. For a sample refer to the first story of the this monumental release, above.

A clear example, what an interesting plot and a creative thinker could add the difference in a classic series. We will talk more about this monumental title, when we select it for our first review from this series.

 EB IG 07 NightmaresEB IG 08 More NightmaresEB IG 02 Some More Nightmare

015Nightmares TaleIn comparison, the other titles are much below the norms set to the glorious time of Goscinny & Tabary.  One of which is undoubtedly the Nightmare series, which has spanned a total of 4 albums, out of which 3 of have been picked up in the current lot, by Euro Books.

The Nightmare stories mainly follows a one page theme, of ‘If I was’ type, with Iznogoud playing different roles with his trademark punch. To say frankly, none of the stories were impressive enough to even draw out the laughter, and Tabary’s zoomed artwork to adapt to the one page style, didn’t work that well either.

Trap of the Siren (Example for Translation)Majority of these stories were written by French writer, Alain Buhler, with one title even crediting Goscinny as the writer, which I believe would have been minimal, mostly related to the original concept.

Just in case, if you felt that the Translation could have been the culprit, then I can vouch that it’s not so. As you might have known by now, that all the titles selected by Euro Books, were never translated into English before.

Even though, Euro Books have never revealed their translating sources, or even given them due credits on their published titles, this time around the translators have done a considerable effort in maintaining the puns and word-magic from their original French source, to the maximum.

Not everyone can become Anthea Bell or Derek Hockridge (the famous translators of Asterix comics, who also worked their magic on the original English translations of Iznogoud series), but Euro Book’s translators for Iznogoud was certainly up to the readers standard.

EB IG 10 Who Killed CaliphEB IG 11 Likeable MonsterEB IG 12 Ancestor's Mistake

Ancestors Mistake (Tabary Enters)021One more notable change in these titles, is the predominant presence of Tabary in between the stories. Even though, it could be said that Goscinny and Tabary, have often placed themselves in the crowd or between panels, in the Iznogoud series in past, never before was Tabary involved in such a lengthier presence.

Obviously, being the sole owner of the creativity, Tabary would have been lenient on his presence more often. Which to an extent, does add up to the humour part, as witnessed in the panels next.

I wonder does Tabary’s wife still looks so young, or is it one of Tabary’s imaginary character :) 

022Euro Books Iznogoud Series’ Originals: Here is the list of titles published by Euro Books in their 12 issue set, with their corresponding original reference.

In their selection from the original series, they have gone in a sequence, only missing out the latest one, Issue #28, which was worked for the first-time by Tabary’s kids. Given the relativity of the release (#28 was released in 2008), it is understood.

Also as noted above, all these titles are being translated from French into English for the first-time. Thanks to Euro Books.

With CineBook, currently publishing the Goscinny-Tabary genre of Iznogoud series, at 2 titles a year rate, the day won’t be far when we would have all 28 titles of Iznogoud series, in English.

# Euro Books Title Original Album (French)

Creator(s)

Published Year
1. Iznogoud and the Women #16: Iznogoud et les Femmes Tabary SE, 1983
2. Some More Nightmares of Iznogoud #17: Les Cauchemars d'Iznogoud (Tome 4) Tabary & Buhler SE, 1984
3. The Accomplice of Iznogoud #18: Le Complice d'Iznogoud Tabary SE, 1985
4. The Nightmarish Birthday of Iznogoud #19: L'Anniversaire d'Iznogoud Tabary SE, 1987
5. Caliph at Last #20: Enfin Calife! Tabary ET, 1989
6. The Trap of the Siren #21: Le Piège de la Sirène Tabary ET, 1992
7. The Nightmares of Iznogoud #22: Les Cauchemars d'Iznogoud (Tome 2) Tabary & Buhler ET, 1993
8. More Nightmares of Iznogoud #23: Les Cauchemars d'Iznogoud (Tome 3) Tabary, Goscinny & Buhler* ET, 1994
9. The Returns of Iznogoud #24: Les Retours d'Iznogoud Tabary, Goscinny# ET, 1994
10. Who Killed the Caliph? #25: Qui a tué le Calife? Tabary ET, 1998
11. A Likeable Monster #26: Un Monstre Sympathique Tabary ET, 2000
12. The Ancestor's Mistake #27: La Faute de l'Ancêtre Tabary ET, 2004

EB IG BackCover Publishers Code: SE: Séguinière, ET: Éditions Tabary
* #23 was scripted by Buhler, but Tabary credits some of the stories to late Goscinny
# #24 was scripted by Goscinny, which was brought to a book form by Tabary, later

019Here is the back-cover one of the issue, which provides a checklist for the 12 titles available in this series of Euro Book.

As far as the pricing goes, Euro Books have tagged the single editions at INR 199, and they are also available in the 3-in-1 bound edition for INR 450. There are advantages and disadvantages in both formats - While single editions, gives you a chance of owning the titles in their full form, with their wonderfully drawn cover-arts; The bound volume editions, gives you proper binding for safe book-keeping.

I wonder, why Euro Books have continuously ignored, the individual titles binding issue. They are just glue-sticked, then the much required corner stitch, which is prone to get damaged as you read. Hopefully, they would try to avoid this blemish, in otherwise wonderful package comprising glossy paper quality and layout design.

That brings us to the close of Euro Books Iznogoud Preview post. So use this as a checklist for your comics shopping next time around, or enjoy the cover-scans of these wonderful titles.

But remember, despite my review comments, and the post Goscinny-Tabary era tag on this series, these classic titles are worth to be in your collection, as there are only 28 titles ever released in them, and this is a chance to own almost half of it, in one shot.

And before we close, here are the covers of those 4 bound editions (Courtesy: N.Suresh, from his recent acquisition). Happy Reading. Adios Amigos !

EB Iznogoud 3 in 1 - Diabolic DaysEB Iznogoud 3 in 1 - Mission CaliphateEB Iznogoud 3 in 1 - The Horrors EB Iznogoud 3 in 1 - Power Plots

Book Facts: Publisher: Euro Books | A4 Size | Single Title: INR 199 | 3 in 1 Title: INR 450 | 12 Individual Titles | August 2009

Places to Buy: Available at all leading book stores, like Landmark, Odyssey, Crosswords, etc. including individual stores like Blossoms.
flipkart.com
offers around 9% discount. All the Iznogoud titles are available at present.
indiaplaza.in offers around 25% discount generally, but you need to wait, as the Iznogoud set is yet to arrive on their listings.

Note: I suggest you to keep an eye over the discounts factor, while getting these bulk editions. I was sincerely, hoping to pick up these titles on Indiaplaza for a handsome discount, but was disappointed to see their slow moving Sales team, yet not listing these titles on their online site. Frustrated, I had to bug my other city friends, to procure a set for me with a local store discount. One of the pains to be in a city, where chain book stores, don’t offer any sort of discount for prospective buyers. I only wish, that the Online bookstores be more active to put these bigger bookstores in a corner.

References: 1. Skot’s Iznogoud World, 2. Wikipedia’s Iznogoud Page, 3. Lambiek’s Tabary Profile, 4. Edition’s Tabary

41 ComiComments:

Rafiq,

Great coverage.
Thanks for the review. Will use your listing while buying these books.

By the way, you said, you are going to write an article about Blueberry. When can we expect it?

Regards,
Mahesh

ரஃபிக்,

இஸ்னோகுட் அவர்களின் இயூரோ புத்தக வெளியீடு குறித்த உங்கள் கருத்துக்கள்
சிறப்பாக இருக்கின்றன.

நான் இஸ்னோகுட் ரசிகன் அல்ல, நான் படித்த ஆல்பங்களில் காணப்பட்ட நகைச்சுவை வறுமை என்னை அவரின் கதைகளை தொடர்ந்து படிக்கத் தூண்டவில்லை.

ஆனால் இந்த ஆல்பங்களையும் ரசித்துப் படிக்கும் ரசிகர்கள் இருக்கத்தான் செய்கிறார்கள். தொடர்ந்து வெளிவரும் ஆல்பங்களே அதற்கு சான்று பகர்கின்றன.

இஸ்னோகுட் ரசிகர்களின் பட்ஜெட்டினைப் பதம் பார்த்த இயூரோ புக்கிற்கு ஒர் ஜே, மிஸ்டர் ஜே அல்ல :))

நம்பவே முடியாத வேகத்தில் உங்களிடமிருந்து பதிவுகள் வருவதை பார்த்தால் குவிக் கன் முருகன் ஆசீர்வாதம் உங்களிற்கு கிடைத்து விட்டது என்றுதான் தோன்றுகிறது.

போடுங்க போடுங்க போட்டுக்கிட்டேயிருங்க... பதிவுகளைத்தான்

உற்சாகத்துடன் தொடருங்கள் உங்கள் அதிர் வேட்டுக்களை.

OK so this is where the famous TANTRI THE MANTRI from Tinkle comes from.

@ Mahesh: So good to see that you also will be a proud owner of these classic titles of Iznogoud.

Blueberry post is long in the backburner. I will try to get it to some shape sooner. Thanks for your first-up comment, dude.


@ Aalok: Aalok not only the Tantri the Mantri, even the Raj Comics' Bankelal is based out on this legendary Iznogoud series. Tantri the Mantri, does take the cake though, and I was thinking it to be an original, until having come to know about Iznogoud.

But, talking about which, I believe the concept of Chief Minister trying to overthrow the King was pretty eminent through our history books, so the concept isn't anew. But, credits of the concept to add a humour side to otherwise treason forte, should go to Goscinny & Tabary :)

@ Shankar: நண்பரே, நீங்கள் படித்த அந்த இஸ்னோகுட் கதைசித்திரங்கள், டபாரி மற்றும் பணிபுரிந்த ஒன்றா, இல்லை கோஸினியும் சேர்ந்த ஒன்றா, என்று தெளிவுபடுத்துவீர்களா...? ஏனென்றால், கோஸினி ஐக்கியமாகி இருந்த வரை அந்த சித்திர தொடர் மிக அருமையான நகைச்சுவை பட்டாசாக இருந்ததாகவே நான் எண்ணுகிறேன்.

அதே நேரம், எல்லாம் இஸ்னோகுட் புத்தகங்களும் சிறந்தது என்று கூற முடியாது தான். உண்மையில் நான் இஸ்னோகுட் ரசிகன் என்று கூறுவதை விட, அந்த சிறந்த கதைகளுக்கு ரசிகன் என்றே அறிய விரும்புகிறேன். ஒரு கலைஞனிற்கான சிறந்த மரியாதை, அவனுடைய உருவாக்கங்களை அடிப்படையாக கொண்டே இருக்க வேண்டும் என்பது என்னுடைய பணிவான சித்தம்.

2008 ல் வெளிவந்த 28 வது ஆல்பம் பிரான்ஸில் எவ்வகை வரவேற்பை அடைந்தது என்று கூற முடியுமா? தபாரியின் புதல்வர்கள், மற்றும் புதல்வி சேர்ந்து தயாரித்த முதல் இதழ் என்பதால், அந்த வித்தியாசத்தை உணரலாம் என்று நினைத்திருந்தேன் (தபாரி அவர்களுக்கு உதவி செய்தார் என்ற போதிலும்). ஆனால், யூரோ புத்தகத்தினர் அதை வெளியிடாததால், இன்னும் சில காலம் காத்திருக்க வேண்டும் போலிருக்கிறது.

பி.கு.: நம்பவே முடியாத வேகத்திலா... ? இப்போதெல்லாம் மாதத்திற்கு மூன்று பதிவுகள் என்ற விகிதத்தில் தான் இட முடிகிறது. அதற்கே பெண்டு நிமிர்த்து விடுகிறது. அந்த விடுபட்டு போன ஒரு வாரம் என்னுடைய சோம்பேறி தூக்கத்திற்கு செலவிட்டு கொள்கிறேன். :)

குவிக் கன் முருகன் அருளாசி நல்கினால், மறுப்பு சொல்வேனா? :) கூடவே ரம்பா அம்மையார் பிரசன்னம் செய்தால் ஜில்பு கூடும் :)

Dear Rafiq,

Superb post, but you have not got into details. I was fan of iznogoud until I started reading these books. As I said earlier story and also pictures are so much reduntent I slept when I read the Nightmare series. The earlier titles and currently released by Cinembook are really good. This set will create bad influence on the complete iznogoud books if some one starts reading Iznogoud books from Euro publications. :)

Hope after this Cinebook releases there books directly in India. I am yet to get the last 2 books :( which are said to be really good.

Keep up the posting.

I am too eager to hear from you on Blueberry.

Suresh

great stuff..i visited the site of euro books last night..really nice to have some new comics like lucky luke, iznogoud in india..iznogoud is a new comic to me..keep it going..thanks

i must say u r a master of the comic world. i dint knew there is so much on comics, u made it available ... thanx

madhi illa mandri in nagaichuvai thargala arasiyaluku othupogum athisayam kandipaga ullathu

@ Suresh: Hehehe... This is a Preview only, so I didn't actually go to the details. Even in that itself I have taken enough care not to write-off this Euro Book series selections completely, in order to avoid disappointing potential buyers.

But, I should more than agree with you. It's a bad selection, and that involves more in line with Euro Book's strategy to select the newer editions in any series they pick for publishing. It was evident in Biggles, Spirou, Lucky Luke, Agastha Christie, Hardy Boyz, Nancy Drew, and now onto Iznogoud.

Our only hope is to see the Cinebook's Iznogoud titles, which are from the Goscinny-Tabary era, reaching out to India sooner. Looking forward to grab them, when they are available.

@ Walker: Dude, believe me, you will love them if you decide to try out few of the Iznogoud or Lucky Luke titles, to add to your collection. Euro Books is indeed revolutionizing the Indian Comics space with their huge releases at reasonable prices, of titles from the classic series all around the globe. Kudos to them.

@ eChitrakatha: Welcome to Comicology, brother. Well I am just a avid reader of comic books just like yourself, so try to keep pace with the changing demands based on content availability in the Comic World. So good to hear your appreciative comments about the effort placed towards this blog. Please keep visiting and providing your expert comments on our wonderful hobby.

@ Cap Tiger: தற்கால அரசியல் மட்டுமா? சரித்திர காலத்திலும் மந்திரிகள் மன்னர்களை கவிழ்க்க செய்த சாகசங்களை பற்றி தான் நாம் வரலாற்றிலும், திரைப்படங்களிலும் காண்கிறோமே... மனித உருகொண்ட குள்ளநரிகளின் கொட்டம் எக்காலமும் தொடரும் விசனம் தான் :)

The success of the Iznogoud series, lies in the ability of creators, to base these hideous plot into a widely accepted comical presentation.

Hello my friend,

I was very excited to read your latest blog here, which I enjoyed very much. The release of these books is a major milestone for English readers of Iznogoud, and one that I thought might never happen. These later books were the most unlikely Iznogoud titles to be published in English.

Now that it has happened, the dream has been fulfilled. Euro Books has done the hard part. And so now we just have to wait for the rest of the older books to come out through Cinebook UK...a goal which I am pretty confident will be fulfilled.

It's a great time to be an Iznogoud fan!

--SKot
iznogoudworld.com

That’s a good news for Indian comics fans. I think it’ll take couple of months to get these books in Sri Lanka. I’ll have to wait and see. Thankz for the wonderful post dude.

@ SKot: Welcome to Comicology, Oh Keeper of the Iznogoud World :). I am so honoured to have the greatest Iznogoud's fans presence on my humble blog.

What you say is pretty right, these titles were the unlikeliest set to have been translated to English, for the sheer reason of them getting blanked out in recognition, while comparing to the golden period pioneered by Goscinny & Tabary. Now that the most stable and fan-favorite CineBook has taken up the mantle to the cover the later, we are going to be a happy lot to finally own all 27 (if not 28) titles of Iznogoud in all English :)

Once again thanks for your time to record your presence here in our blog.

@ Mr.J: Not only Indian Comics fans, but for all South East Asian nations I believe, since Euro Books have a huge presence in there. Despite the exuberant price levels out of India, it's still going to be pretty much cheaper than any foreign english editions of the same titles.

Hope you get hold of them in Lanka sooner. Happy Reading, Friend :)

@Rafiq:Nice post on much-awaited Iznogoud series! :-) Anyway,while I should admit that I yet to read a single issue of this but after reading this post & some comments from seasoned fans,it's likely EB has missed all the better(& vintage) tales of Izno.. and published those newer versions only,mostly wrote by 'new' writers and hence Original feel is somewhat missing!! :(
I still wud love to collect a couple titles incld. tht "return of Izno.." etc having some original feel,reportedly!

PS - Cinebooks also releasing Izno from vintage era,as pointed out by another fan??then that will be better for all,incld. fans like me who yet to introduced with this character!!

Great post, Rafiq. Like you said, these may not be vintage Iznogoud titles, but they are still better than a lot of titles being released nowadays. BTW are any of the Cinebook Iznogoud titles available in India as yet? Of the vintage Iznogouds translated by Bell & Hockridge I only have 5 titles ( Iznogoud the Infamous, Iznogoud and the Magic Computer, The Wicked Wiles of Iznogoud, A Carrot for Iznogoud and Iznogoud on holiday plus another version of Iznogoud on holiday called The Caliph's vacation translated by Beatrice Soss).

@ MaNdrAke dudE: Yes indeed the long awaited release has materialized after almost a half a year announcement. Euro Books is really turning up the heat in Indian Comics space.

As you said, Pick or choose your titles, but don't fail from collecting atleast some of the series for sure. I agree they aren't from Goscinny era, but they are good on their own rights, if we consider not comparing them to the originals (which we tend to do having experienced them first-up).

As far as the Goscinny era is concerned, we have CineBook to rescue, who are printing the Old classics in a sequence. They have come up with 4 titles so far, and I believe that they would be available in India shortly. If you want to chance them, pick up the Returns of Izno, which has the Goscinny Tabary charm, and for the rest you can pick or choose, based on your liking.

@ Vineeth: Vineeth, The Phantom of Comics collectors, Welcome back Friend. You hit the right tone. It's true, they may not be comparable to Goscinny-Tabary creations, but they are still good enough to be rated among the contemporaries in the field.

CineBook, have so far released 4 Iznogoud titles,

Iznogoud 1: Wicked Wiles of Iznogoud
Iznogoud 2: Caliph's Vacation
Iznogoud 3: Day of Misrule
Iznogoud 4: Magic Computer

none of which are yet available in India. They might have decided to wait and watch, since Euro Books didn't reveal their selection until they published their titles. Now that they have gone about the later part of the series, and cinebook, like always, is concentrated on the early series titles, I believe that they should be made available for sale shortly in India.

You are lucky to hold these many classic translated versions of Iznogoud by Bell & Hock. I don't know whether cinebook would be using the same ones, in their print... but most likely they would be going out with their own trusted translators. Let's wait and watch :)

ரஃபிக் நண்பரே ,
Iznogoud கதைகளையும் Euro Book வெளிஇடுவது மிக மகிழ்ச்சி. Lucky Luke கதைகளை வெளிஇட்டார்கள் வாங்கிவிட்டேன். இதையும் வாங்க ஆரம்பித்து விட வேண்டியது தான் .Scans போட்டு அசத்தி விட்டீர்கள் .

அன்புடன் ,
லக்கி லிமட்

சொல்ல மறந்து விட்டேன் . உங்கள் வலைப்பூவை நன்றாக மெருகேற்றி உள்ளீர்கள் . அருமையாக வடிவமைத்து உள்ளீர்கள்.
ஒரு சின்ன விண்ணப்பம் அவ்வபோது ராணி காமிக்ஸ் வலைப்பூவை கொஞ்சம் கவனியுங்கள் .

அன்புடன்,
லக்கி லிமட்

@ Lucky Limat: அன்பு நண்பர் லிமட்,

யூரோ புத்தகத்தினர் உங்கள் பாக்கெட் பணத்திற்கு வேட்டு வைப்பதை விட மாட்டார்கள் போலிருக்கிறது. உண்மையில், ஒரு காலத்தில் லக்கிலுக் அல்லது மதி இல்லா மந்திரி (இஸ்னோகுட்) கதைகளை பார்க்க வருட கணக்கில் காத்திருக்கும் பாணி போய், அவைகளை பரவலாக வாங்க முடிகிறது என்பதே, ஒரு தனி சுகம்.

வலைபூ வடிவமைப்பை பாராட்டியதற்கு நன்றி. பதிவில் உழைக்கும் போது சில நேரங்களில் இதை சேர்த்தால் நன்றாக இருக்குமே, என்று கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சமாக அதை செப்பனிடுகிறேன். இருந்தாலும், இணையத்தில் கிடைக்கும் மற்ற லேஅவுட் டிசைன்கள் நம்மை விட பிரமாதபடுத்திகிறார்கள். கற்க வேண்டியது இன்னும் நிறைய இருக்கிறது போல. :)

ராணி காமிக்ஸ் வலைப்பூவை விரைவில் கவனிக்கிறேன். வேலைபளுவின்வூடே இரண்டு வலைப்பூக்களை நிர்வகிப்பது சிறிது சிரமமாக இருக்கிறது. முடிந்த வரை இரண்டையும் கவனிக்கிறேன். கூடவே, உங்களுக்கு அங்கு ராணி காமிக்ஸ் பற்றி பதிய எண்ணம் இருந்தால், நீங்களும் உருப்பினராக சேர்ந்து கொள்ளலாம் என்பதையும் தெரிவித்து கொள்கிறேன். கூட்டு முயற்சி ஒன்றே, சிறந்த வழி.

அன்பான கருத்துக்கு நன்றிகள் லக்கி.

DEAR RAFIQ AFTER SEEING UR POST I HAVE DECIDED 2 BUY THIS SERIES AS I BECAME THE FAN OF THIS COMIC VILLAN.U JUST ROCKS.

ரஃபிஃ, என்னை போன்ற தமிழ் மட்டுமே படிக்க தெரிந்த வாசகர்கள் எப்பொது மதி இல்லா மந்திரி, லக்கிலூக் பல கதைகளை படிக்க போகிறோமோ தெரியவில்லை. இன்று தி நகரில் பல கடைகளில் சமீபத்தில் வந்த லயன், முத்து கேட்டேன். கிடைக்கவில்லை, அவர்களின் பதில் " வர புக்ஸ் கம்மி, சீக்கிரமே காலி ஆகிடும்." சந்தா கண்டிப்பாக கட்ட வேண்டியதுதான்.

@ Murugan: Quick Gun Murugan is back :). Good to be of your help RTM. Let your collection prosper :).

@ Cap Tiger: டைகர், நம்பினால் நம்புங்கள், 5,6 வருடம் முன்பு வரை காமிக்ஸ் என்றால் அது லயன் மற்றும் முத்து மட்டுமே என்று எண்ணி கொண்டிருந்தேன். அப்போது கடைகளில் ஆங்கில காமிக்ஸ் பல வைக்கபட்டிருந்தாலும் அவற்றை திரும்பி கூட பார்த்ததில்லை.

ஆனால் எப்போது நமது லயன் முத்து வரத்து குறைய தொடங்கியதோ, அப்போதிருந்து தான் நமது காமிக்ஸ் ஆர்வத்தை காப்பாற்ற ஆங்கில காமிக்ஸ் பக்கம் சாய்ந்தேன். இப்போது, சேகரிப்பில் பிந்தையது, முன்னதை மிஞ்சியது தனி கதை :).

கடைகளில் நமது காமிக்ஸுக்காக அலைந்து திரிந்தது ஒரு காலம். சில நாட்களில் 7 ரூபாய் இதழ்களை வாங்குவதற்காக, 30 ரூபாய் பெட்ரோல் ஊற்றி சுற்றியிருக்கிறேன். பின்பு சந்தா கட்டியவுடன் நிம்மதியாக புத்தகங்களை எதிர்பார்த்து இருக்க வாய்ப்பு கிட்டியது. என்ன சில சமயம் புத்தகங்கள் தொலைந்த தொந்தரவு இருந்தது, ஆனால் தபால் ஆபிஸ்கள் எல்லாம் பார்சல் ஆபிஸ்களாக மாறி விட்ட காலத்தில், சொற்ப சாதா தபால்கள் தவறாமல் வந்து சேர்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கின்றன.

நடப்பவை எல்லாம் நல்லதற்கே, என்று சும்மாவா கூறினார்கள் :). வருகைக்கும் கருத்திற்கும் நன்றி நண்பரே.

rafiq, thanks for this post. it helped me to select the iznogoud titles which i can buy. currently it is not available in indiaplaza.in website. once it is available, there i will buy them.

Rafiq, you didn't mention, out of these titles, which are translated in Tamil ?

@ Ramkumar: I waited and waited for the Indiaplaza listing, and had to go through the friend bugging activity. Well, I don't know why it is taking this much time for them, or may be they don't care on swiftness. :(

The reason why I didn't include the reference to those translated in Tamil, is because they are NONE :) Our Editor has chosen only the earlier Goscinny-Tabary issues, so none of this latest lot is in the fray :)

I was hoping to see the CineBook Iznogoud titles to fill the gap, but it seems they are yet to get the authorization to sell Iznogoud in India, which might be due to Euro Book's rights. I hope they release their hold on it, since they aren't going to print any more Iznogoud titles going by their past trend of series selections.

Till then we might have to wait. :(

the best blog on comics et. all...keep them coming.

you rock!!

@ Toon India: Thanks for those warm comments Tooni. So good to receive another friend from our Prabhat Bhai's Blog :)

By the way, you have got a nice blog filled with some quick fun cartoons. Would try to be more regular there :)

Hi Rafiq,

Congratulation.....


why dont you try http://www.blossombookhouse.com/ or http://books.rediff.com/?
you cant buy around 20% discount......

Cool, write up!

You know what, Suppandi is going to be on big screen:-).As a kind i used to luv him!!!!

@ Ramesh: Blossoms, Flipkart, Indiaplaza are the 3 regular online sites I frequent before making any purchase. But none of them offer a handsome discount, and at times when they do, the required items aren't available. Well, it seems its the paradox of buyer's desire :)

@ Viji: Yeap, heard the story of Suppandi making it to the Silver Screen. It's long overdue for one of the legendary Tinkle Characters, and my personal favorite to right from the Childhood. The new ACK Media management, is not leaving any stones unturned in their campaign to boost their image value. Let's wait and watch the outcome. By the way, Thanks for your return visit and comment.

Great feature. Hope all is okay with you.
Terry

@ Terry :All is certainly well, Terry. Excuse me for my irregularity, and I have replied to your mail now.

Thanks much for the visit and comment, Oh, keeper of the Black Tower :) I will soon be back active like ever :)

Thanks for this great webpage dedicated to the Iznogoud series. My father bought me all the original Iznogoud titles when I was 8 years old - over 30 years ago. I still have them and treasure them.

It was great to learn of the new English titles available in India. However, none of the Indian bookshops will ship to the UK ... not sure why ... I have asked a friend in India to buy them and ship them to me. Anyway, I am really looking forward to the nostalgia-fest!

LZ

Great feature. Hope all is okay with you.
Terry

Rafiq, you didn't mention, out of these titles, which are translated in Tamil ?

That’s a good news for Indian comics fans. I think it’ll take couple of months to get these books in Sri Lanka. I’ll have to wait and see. Thankz for the wonderful post dude.

i must say u r a master of the comic world. i dint knew there is so much on comics, u made it available ... thanx

Dear Rafiq,

Superb post, but you have not got into details. I was fan of iznogoud until I started reading these books. As I said earlier story and also pictures are so much reduntent I slept when I read the Nightmare series. The earlier titles and currently released by Cinembook are really good. This set will create bad influence on the complete iznogoud books if some one starts reading Iznogoud books from Euro publications. :)

Hope after this Cinebook releases there books directly in India. I am yet to get the last 2 books :( which are said to be really good.

Keep up the posting.

I am too eager to hear from you on Blueberry.

Suresh

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