Comic Con Express – Bengaluru - 2012

Another year and another Express Event from Comic Con India. Our Pre-show coverage of the event in the Garden City.

Comic Con India – New Delhi - 2011

Get to know, more about India's first ever Comic-Con, how does it rate among the rest.

Chennai Book Fair - 2011

We catch up with the Annual Chennai Book Fair, and see what it has to offer for Comic fans.

Lion Comics Jumbo Special - XIII Collector's Edition

An inside look into a collection, touted as the biggest Comic Book released in India

Showing posts with label Diamond Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diamond Comics. Show all posts

Feb 28, 2010

News – Return of Indian Superheroes | HT | Feb ‘10

Those who are passionate about Comics among us would all agree that Comics in India, is largely an industry, which never got its due credit, compared to the ones which its counterparts in Americas, Europe, and Japan enjoyed.

Did we not have the talent, or the interest, or the creativity?, what pushed us in the back corner of the alley, when other industries flourished?

Much was to do with the way the then Indian comics publishers perceived the market, who instead of relying on the wealth which had to be nurtured within, were instead eager to tap to this business medium, by bringing in the foreign content for local publishing. What they did in the process, was to cut out the creativity, and uniqueness of Indian comics creators, who failed to get the necessary backing. And evidently, the success of such publications over test of time, remains the best lesson learnt.

But, not all players followed the suit, as exhibited by a handful of publishers, who stood different and were ready to go any miles to promote local content. Only a handful of them survived the TV and Internet era, and they remain to tell the story.

The Return of Indian Superheroes - Hindustan Times 02152009This month’s Hindustan Times newspaper carried a thought provoking account of the same, with inputs from Comics publishers, who belong to the later category - the legendary Diamond Comics and Raj Comics.

It talks about the survivors from the Dark Ages of Indian Comics, a period highlighted by Diamond’s Gulshan Raj, as between 1997-2003, when TV and Internet medium took over from traditional print runs.

The article talks about the current plans of those surviving publishers, in order to better align with the changing times.

One another interesting reference, in the article, is Raj Comic’s Sanjay Gupta’s acceptance that his creation, Nagraj, created in 1980’s and arguably one of the first and better known Indian Comic heroes, failure from establishing himself in the bigger league. In Gupta’s own words, a stature similar to Superman/Batman.

Superman #1 sells for $1m Batman #1 sells for over $1m Only recently, Superman and Batman’s first ever appearances in Comics, made headlines as they were outbid each other to a tune of $1 million, on comics auction sites.

Eventhough, the real scenario under which these overshot money, could be attributed to the poor economy, and the need for newer investment fronts, the fact remains that the thought of Nagraj breaking grounds with Superman or Batman, cannot be realistic, keeping in mind the difference in the comic market as it was and is available in US, with the one we have/had in India, which are poles apart to say the least.

As much as we could mock the dream for all its ambitions, we couldn’t ignore that the intent was there, when the Nagraj character was envisioned. But was their equal weight of effort in planning to reach the big league? Let’s accept Superman/Batman evolved during time, mainly because that it was born in a language, which had a universal reach, and was contributed by the fact, they were the first of its kind.

On the contrary, Raj Comics concentrated its market only for Hindi speaking sect, thus, apart from the Hindi speaking states in India, it was never popular in the other states, and sometimes even unheard in some among them. If it could not break the Desi language barrier, did it stand any chance at the International stage?

At least, their present focus to reinvent the characterisation, and their increased focus on reprinting the older issues, in better paper quality and print techniques, should bring them into mainstream, and hopefully this time they would do it sans the limited language focus.

The best quote I can draw from the recent media article, was Karan Vir of Vimanika Comics’s assertion on the same quality lines.

..Someday I hope to make Vimanika the DC or Marvel of India. We may not be able to replicate their success in the print runs but I'm sure we'll get there in terms of quality and art.

Comic Punch - Hindustan Times 15022009That isn’t all. Hindustan Times, also carries another Comics article, aptly titled Comic Punch, where it looks in detail the present comics market, and then the future as it is being planned by the new and established players in the field.

Staying with the article, the current comic market in India, is said to be around 300 Crores mark, with an estimated print run 12.5 crores every year. Industry experts also believe that the market is expected to grow by 40% over the next few years, pooling in all those aspiring companies, to join the frenzy.

Diamond Comics, Raj Comics, Amar Chitra Katha (under it’s new ACK Media avatar), all seem to be gung-ho on taking their comics ventures, to the next level, in terms of animated and full-feature films, DVDs, Mobile and eComics.

On a reality check, there is no harm in comics publishers trying to tap into newer mediums, which is the need of the hour. But hopefully, they would realize the importance of staying true to the roots of print medium, which eventually opened up all these frontiers.

For reasons, they can always look back at another promising venture like Virgin Comics (now Liquid Comics), suffered at the hands of dreaming big, and losing their forte. Even though, they keep making news (including this very article in reference), it’s long time since they came out of hibernation, to prove that they still stand a chance in the industry. I hope I am proven wrong, but the Omen is strong enough, considering Virgin’s past track records. All izzz Well or hopefully will be :)

 

I guess this article, did turn out to a pretty serious mode, and to keep the Pran the Man - Hindustan Times 02152009comic spirit up, here is another article in the same newspaper, talking about the Walt Disney of India, Mr. Pran, the legendary creator of Chacha Chaudhary and umpteen other desi cartoon characters, which have been entertaining the kids and teens alike, for near 4 decades.

Well, I must admit, that I have outgrown most of what Diamond Comics throws at us off late, but the fact remains Pranji, is still considered one of the greatest icon in comics medium, as highlighted by the fan following he enjoys among kids, even today.

No wonder Diamond Comics, which still publishes Chacha Chaudhary and other Pran characters, into comics format, is easily the biggest comics publisher until today. But they can’t sit on their laurels, as other players including the newer ones, are going to take the fight to them. Comics readers are in for a treat, for sure.

1970s Lotpot Cover by Pran In keeping with spirit of current times, here is a Pran designed cover art on occasion of Holi, which decorated the cover of yesteryear Lotpot, a magazine in which Pran’s legendary creation Chacha Chaudhary originally appeared in.
(Courtesy: Comic World)

Wish you all a Happy Holi, dear friends. Adios Amigos!!


References:
Hindustan Times, Steve on Superman #1 Sale, Yahoo on Batman #1 Sale, Comic World on Lotpot, Rediff’s Interview with Karan.

Aug 1, 2009

2nd Year Anniversary & Comics News

2nd Year AnniversaryWell, it feels just like yesterday, when I sat down and thought about giving some form to my long standing ambition to start an exclusive website devoted to one of my long cherished passion over Comics. What came out of that thought, was the blog which has come to be known as Comicology.

And what we have here, is the Second Anniversary of our Blog. Time does run fast, isn’t it? I will save you of my blabbering for the end of the post, but before that, just like our 1st Year Anniversary post, let’s look into some of the most happening news around Indian Comicosphere, to mark the occasion.

A glimpse of Modern Indian Comics (Ramayan - Virgin Comics) On the Indian Comics front, the past year was one of the best in terms of more players joining the Comics field, meaning to its true essence. Ever since Virgin Comics closed shops in 2007, which previewed a whole new face of Indian Comics, there was a dearth of fresh air in the Indian Comics space. Finally, the call seems to have been answered by a host of new start-ups, which are vying to fill up the void left by Virgin/Gotham.

Let’s look into some of those who were recently in the news for their newer endeavours. The list includes only those brands who are still in active publishing, thus steering past the forerunners Indrajal Comics (which had its run from 1964 to 1990, amassing 803 titles in total), Amar Chitra Katha (started in 1967 and running till 1991, amassing 436 titles, and since have been reduced to just reprints. Read more about ACK, here), and the recent casualty Gotham Comics (which never made a long run, through its entire start and stop publishing. Read about their last set release, here).

Donal Duck - Junior Diamond Diamond Comics: From a publishing house which has it roots earlier to the Indian Independence (which dates back to 1907), Diamond Comics, which was started in 1978, remains the most sold comics brand in India, which continues even today. Despite being the forerunner of Comics biz in India, comics fans were always apprehensive about their restrictions into evolving the comics beyond the Chacha Chowdhary, Pinky faces (most commonly referred to as Pran Era), to move to an evolved Graphic Novel format. But, Diamond Comics continues to remain on the same foothold, where they feel themselves more comfortable at.

The only good news heard from them recently, was their foray into bringing Walt Disney back to India, under their sister brand “Junior Diamond”. Read more about it over here. But for the sheer fact of being one of the forerunner of Indian Comics, much more is expected out of them.


Raj Comics Superheroes Raj Comics: The only other brand which could rate up to Diamond to claim their share of the longest in the business; is the 1984 starter Raj Comics. They truly deserve every bit of the accolades, which is reflected by their slogan ‘The Home of Indian Superhero Comics’.

Raj Comics picked up the area which was mostly untouched by Diamond, to base their storylines on in-house created Superheroes, Raj Comics Nagraj & Dhruvamost famous of them being the Raj Comics trio of Nagraj, Doga, and Dhruva.

The superior artwork went hand in hand with the wonderfully written plot, to make their series one of the most recognised ones, very close to the fame enjoyed by DC/Marvel characters in India. Till date, their line-up consists of an amazing 3500+ titles.

The only complaints over Raj Comics, was their ever standing image of being a regional language player (For starters, Raj Comics is predominantly published in Hindi), which long deprived them of the international recognition, which they thoroughly deserve for their splendid work on the Indian Comics front.

Incidentally, there was a recent announcement from the publishers, on them reaching out to more languages (which I presume should include English too) with their brand, which should put them right on with the elite in the business. I am staying hopeful. For details, refer www.rajcomics.com


Karna PreviewVimanika's Karna GN

Vimanika Comics: The only comics company which can claim to have picked up from where Virgin left-off. A brain child of Mumbai based Karan Vir, which was started with much fanfare in 2008. They have two series, in their line-up, namely The Sixth and Moksha, which have so far been released in 3 issues each (including the #0).

The artwork is clearly of the highest standards, you can find at present in India. The plot-work is mostly based on the Indian Mythology, with a retake on some of the forgotten heroes from the myth. (Read more about it, here)
 

Vimanika's Dashaavatar GNDashaavatar PreviewIn 2009, Vimanika Comics have planned to release their first two Graphic Novels, in the forms of The Legends of Karna (which talks about the life and times of Karna from the Mahabharata epic), and Dashaavatar (which talks about the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, as per Hindu Mythology).

The two will become the first volumes, of a series which would run for a couple of years, as per Karan.

Here is a preview of both of those Graphic Novels, which is sure to draw attention towards those incredibly drawn and colored panels. I am eagerly looking forward for them to hit the stands. For details, refer www.vimanika.com 


Campfire: Another new start-up from the publishers Kalyani Navyug Media, based out in New Delhi. Their initial concentration is totally different from the original Virgin or new-gen Vimanika, as they decided to license out the famous classic novels known to one and all, and present them in a whole new package.

In late 2008, they came up with a host of these classic titles, decorated with new artwork from a number of Indian artists. Not much I could say about the venture, as I am yet to buy them, which I would do shortly, for a review at Comicology.

Campfire - Land Time Forgot Campfire - Alice Campfire - Moby Dick Campfire - Houdini

As far as I have previewed the series, even though the artworks were of varied quality, and some were real breath-taking, the sheer focus on recreating the olden classics, which were read and experienced by majority of the readers bunch, is a little let-down, as it doesn’t allow you to enjoy the title to the fullest, let alone the interest of experiencing something new.

Their company website, says that they are also in the process of creating some Original titles, along with comics based on Mythology. So, I will reserve my verdict, after experiencing their titles. As per the sales, goes I still see much of Campfire titles available on shops, which were released way back in 2008. They must think about more aggressive marketing strategies, if they want to make themselves know among the masses. For details, refer www.campfire.co.in


Arkin Comics Preview Arkin Comics: Is an aspiring comics company, started by Rohan Kapadia, IRITH #1 Preview based out in Pune. Their primary objective is to create custom comics, and also venture on 3-D comics, which they tout as the first ever in India.

Their current concentration is on releasing a line-up of comics consisting of a new superhero team, by the name of IRITH, which they pronounce as India’s First Anti-Terrorist Superhero Task Force. A huge difference from their other contemporaries, who all seem to be relying their titles on Indian mythology.

We had previewed their planned series during our V-Day post here, where the creators behind the series had expressed their concept on the direction of their dream venture. Refer to the interesting discussion on Comments section at the end of the post.

Their first issue is due in the mid of August, so do look forward for them at your local newsstands. For details, refer www.arkincomics.com


M4 Comics - One M4 Comics: Another aspiring comics company, from the recently started M4 Media, based out in New Delhi. Dheeraj Verma, co-founder of M4 Media, and former veteran artist of Raj Comics, who recently also had a stint with M4 Media - Kids MagazineVimanika, has said that they are working on a new series, titled as One, which will be a take-down again from the Mahabharata epic.

Seems that the epic Mahabharata, is the hot property among all the new comic start-ups in India at present.

Apart from the Comics, they are also planning for a host of magazines targeted at Kids and Young adults.

Not much, I could say about them, as their plans are still on an early stage, and much depends on how their final products turns-out. For details, refer www.m4media.in 


Devashard Book 1 India Cover Fluid Comics: Well, as it turned out, the wealth in offer with Mahabharata epic, or Indian mythology as a whole, is not only restricted to aspiring Indian start-ups. Fluid Friction Comics, who are based out in Hong Kong, and specialises in the Manhua (which is the Chinese art version, of Japanese Manga), have come up with a new title Devashard, which also is a take-down from the characters represented in Mahabharata.

Devashard Book 1 Original CoverThey have so far released two titles, in Hong Kong and Internationally. Out of which, the first edition was distributed for sale in India through IDB. It was priced around INR 195, which was way over cost, for a brand new comic in Indian market.

As expected, their sales weren’t as promising, and the second issue of Devashard, is yet to make it to India, which I doubt it will never be.

I had picked up the first title (which was available in late 2008), which featured a new cover from their international version, to mark their Indian entry and make it more aligned to the Indian readers (The Sun god centric cover-art).

Bhumi Map - DevashardTo say frankly, I wasn’t impressed to a great extent, either in the artwork or the storyline. The only bright aspect of the series, was the depiction of Earth, which is termed as Bhumi, and was detailed into such minute reference and geographical distribution of lands and uninhabited places, which was an entirely different takedown from other comic series I have read based on Mahabharata.

May be a second issue in the series, with reasonable pricing would have given an opportunity to re-experience the series and take a final call. But with that looking improbable at the moment, the verdict is reserved on the series. We will see more about the series, during our review of the first title, which is been pending for long time at Comicology.

For details, refer www.fluid-comics.com, www.devashard.com, and their official blog devashard.blogspot.com (which has some inside details about the characters and the world of Devashard. Definitely, deserves a visit and read)


Celeberations for 2nd YearFireworks for 2nd Anniversay And that brings to the end of the Comics News exclusive to the Indian domain, covering all the happenings around the Indian Comics Industry. Now, for a little chit-chat on our occasion of celebrating the 2nd Year anniversary at the blog.

It has indeed been a long and fruitful journey so far for us at Comicology, especially to me. From a humble beginning when the blog was frequented only by a handful of friends, it has blossomed into a website which garners more than 200 hits a day on an average, from over 120 countries.

Comicology Stats (Dec 2007) Comicology Stats (July 2008) Comicology Stats (July 2009)

It speaks volume about the contribution of readers, who cherished reading about one of our unique passion towards Comics. From my side, I have always resolved to the determination, that I wouldn’t be using this blog either as a medium for making money, or to drift away to things unrelated to Comics or its sub-genre Animation.

On this sweetful journey, I also garnered a host of friends, which I believe was the biggest achievement of this whole initiative. The journey also brought some bitter pills to swallow, but they only helped me to grow more determined, and focus on evolving the content offering, day-in an day-out. In return for all those true love and support, you can take my words that we are here to stay and together will enjoy the richness in offer out of the “The 9th Art”, for years to come.

And just before I close, I often come face to face to few of the nears, who keep asking me the same question –“Do you feel your time is well spent on this childhood passion?”. Well it’s hard to explain to them on your likes and dislikes, but I simply want to leave them with some of the famous words uttered by T.S.Elliot:

“Time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted time”

Wish you a Happy Friendship day, my friends, aka fellow Comikers. Have Fun and nJoY Star

Jun 30, 2009

News - Comics Bloggers making Waves | Jun '09

World is mourning the loss of an icon, famously known among his fans as the “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson. Even though I have reservations over his life at large, the fact remains that no one can deny the popularity and respect he enjoyed among music fans world over, whom he inspired and commanded for decades through his famed blockbuster albums. With that said, I hope he finds his joy in his afterlife.

In the World of Comics, the month of June was a pleasant surprise, as some of our fellow comics bloggers achieved important milestones in their respective means, garnering media attention too. This post is to highlight some of them, in the process honouring their efforts towards our unique passion shared towards The 9th Art.

Pran with his Creations#1: Toonfactory’s Chitrakathaa Rolls-On

Good friend and fellow comiker Alok Sharma, who is famously known on blogosphere, under his nickname Toonfactory, has finally restarted his most ambitious and dream project, Chitrakathaa. Chitrakathaa is a documentary which hopes to map the evolution of comics medium in India, with enough spotlight thrown on the creators who revolutionized this art form, which often is deprived of its fair share of accolades.

Chacha Choudhary As part of this great project, Alok has scheduled a line-up of interviews for days to come, in the process meeting up with some of the famous creators Indian comics scene has ever seen.

The first-up from his side, was the news that he indeed met Mr. Pran Kumar SharmaBilloo, known simply as Pran among Comics World. Pran was instrumental in creating a series of locally drawn and inspired comic characters, who looked at the day-to-day lifestyle of typical Indians, with a jolly-good humour attached to them. Some of his legendary creations include Chacha Chaudhary, Pinki, Billoo, which still continue to be syndicated and serialized on a variety of Indian languages.

Pinky There was a time (even now) when Diamond Comics wholly relied on Pran, for their in numerous titles, which still continues to find the reprints quite often, along with newly drawn series, which Pran continues to create for Diamond.

Pran was decorated with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indian Institute of Cartoonists in 2001, It was my childhood dream to meet up this famous icon, who was once named even as the Walt Disney of India.

Good that Alok was able to achieve that feat for all of us. Alok has promised a big write-up and news about other creators whom he would be meeting for his project. Makes for an interesting wait. 

You can learn more about Pran, and the art institution he runs on his official website.


Comic World #2: Comic World on Press

Nobody is a stranger to the fact that comics blogs in India, are mostly dominated by fans of erstwhile brand Indrajal Comics (IJC).  People found their happiness in sharing what they have in their collection, in the process introducing these wealth of titles to new comics readers, as well for the older ones to cherish their childhood passion.

Even though, I have my reservations over releasing a comic in toto on net, I had to appreciate this bloggers enthusiasm in keeping up the comics reading passion alive.

Recently, the speed of these blogs had reduced significantly, as the number of IJC issues which are left un-scanned have reduced to a meager numbers. Many of the blogs have switched over to provide different content to enthuse the visiting readers. One such blogger, is long time friend, and fellow IJC blogger Zaheer, more famously known under his nick-name Comic World.

Recently, he started to venture on newer avenues, by discussing the pulp fictions of India, when Pocket Books based Novels ruled the roost. Many Comic friends would remember that, it was the publications which were publishing pocket books, who eventually started publishing Comics too. Most famous of among them are Raj Comics and Diamond Comics.

Comic World on News One such post at Comic World, which ignited this novel topic, was considered the best ever by many who commented on the topic.

Eventually, Comic World made its way to be featured in an article on a National Daily Newspaper called Hindustan Times.

The article talks about the childhood habit of many who have drooled over these pocket book novels, and comics in general, and their impact on modern society, and literary world. Kudos to Zaheer, for achieving this wonderful feat. Keep Rocking, Bro.


ComicBitsOnline #3: Comicology draws Attention

Well, I generally try not to blow up my own trumpet. But, it’s a matter of honour to mention that our blog was referred over at ComicBitsOnline, during one of the Interviews with CineBook’s
Olivier Cadic.

Comicology on CBO Interview CBO’s Terry Hooper, a comic creator himself, and the Keeper of the Black Tower, has always been a good old friend and staunch supporter of Comicology, which is highlighted by the fact that he used to feature posts now and then about our blog in his most visited website (Ref. these pages). I am grateful, to Terry for his support towards this long journey through our favourite Genre.

Bear Alley Not only that, everyone who is fan of British Genre of Comics, would remember the name Steve Holland. A comics historian on his own rights, who has a host of comics titles credited to him, runs a Rolling News section on his official blog, Bear Alley.

Comicology on Bear AlleyRecently our Lucky Luke post has found its mention among the list, which is generally reserved for comic creators and visionaries. I am thankful to Steve for giving this great recognition to our blog.

For me, these two references in blogs, rate over and above any media article published in newspapers, for the sheer reason that they are written by someone who share the same passion towards Comics, like us Comikers.

Vikatan 04 By saying that, I don’t decree the occasion, when Comicology was featured in a Tamil Weekly magazine, Ananda Vikatan. I am thankful for them to have allotted a space for us in the esteemed magazine. For other language friends, the article is part of the series, where each week a new blog is introduced to the readers, and this one talked about the various faces of Comics as available in our blog. (Scan Courtesy: Arun S)

Deccan Chronicle 28th July Chennai Edition Undoubtedly, when you talk about comics bloggers making news, there is no way we can forget that the evergreen Muthufan was the first to feature on a Newspaper article, which was syndicated in a handful of newspapers, including Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age.

The only problem that time was that the content left much to be desired, starting from the title (The title starts with the word Kitsch, can you believe it?). You can read more about it in Viswa’s blog post over here. A sheer case of how a reporter could conceive a topic, without knowing head and tail about the subject. (Scan Courtesy: Viswa)

Wasn’t I right in saying that a mention in comic blogs, rate over and above the media articles written by some unknown faces. Well you be the judge :).

Apr 22, 2009

News - Disney Comics back in India | Apr '09

It’s time for the Ball vs. Bat, and every cricket fan is tuning into the (NR)IPL Season 2 in Zulu’s Country, which I must admit for its publicity and glamour is not living up to the euphoria set during the previous edition in India. But, if you are not amused with that, then you could always tune-into the anonymous blogger, who is stirring up all the news from behind the scenes. Truth or not, it is something everyone is gunning for at the moment. Enjoy them, I do!

PhantomWalt Disney Mickey MouseComing back to Comicology, I must admit the last post featuring the start of Phantom Series, was one of the ambitious project which I ever undertook at Comicology, both in terms of time and effort put forth. I was pretty much happy for the fact it was received well among the comicologists. In return I vouch to feature the concluding parts in the coming weeks, with fair share of information laced all along, while maintaining the tempo of the series.

What we have as a subject for our current post, is the recent media briefing about Walt Disney Comics entering India, after a long time. If not for others, It brought back all those childhood memories of watching the Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge of Disney’s eternal characters, both on animated TV series and in the comic books. Before we look further on the Disney’s earlier Comics foray in India, here is the excerpt from the Media News:


Donald Duck (English)WaltDisney NewsMickey Mouse (English)Walt Disney Company (India), has announced a licensing agreement with Indian publisher Diamond Comics to publish Disney comic books, both in English and Hindi in India, under their Junior Diamond brand.

Roshini Bakshi of Disney said, "The comics offer a story of adventure and fun for every child, and for the child in us all. The launch of comic books in Hindi, reinforces our commitment to localize our stories and connect with the Indian consumers through content, that is appealing and relevant."

Featuring Disney's characters, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, the 32-page comic book will be priced at INR 25. Disney is gunning to reach 10,000 points-of-interest within the first month of launch.

Donald Duck (Hindi) Mickey Mouse (Hindi)"We are excited to promote fun reading through the launch of these Disney comics in India through our nationwide reach," said Junior Diamond’s Manish Verma.

Disney also plans to launch comic books on its proprietary character of Princess, which includes titles such as Snow White & Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella among others. Also on the cards are comic books in regional languages for the south India market. To start with Junior Diamond will be publishing the Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck titles also in Hindi.


Even though Diamond Comics (most famously known for Pran’s Chacha Choudhary, Pinki, among others) has a publishing industry experience of 70 odd years; their newer division Junior Diamond brand is still at its infant state. The last known attempt of Junior Diamond was to base comic books out of the Bollywood movie Roadside Romeo, which both bombed at theatres and newsstands respectively. But it looks the partnership with Walt Disney during that venture, has paved the way Disney Comics deal. (Read more about Roadside Romeo, on our 2008 Movies Round-Up at Comicology, here)

This time around with the partnership of Walt Disney, and the attractive pricing model of INR 25, I hope they turn the tide and continue publishing Disney’s Comic books which were missing out from the all Comic Book scenario in India. But, this is not the first time Walt Disney Comics is making it into India.  In fact there were some well received earlier accounts, and let’s look into some of those, to mark this occasion.

LM Comics Disney Today 8809 150588 Disney & Living Media: Disney Comic Book’s first real attempt to penetrate the Indian Market, was through Living Media, which is still known widely for their long running magazine, India Today. A new title named LM Comics was created for this venture, and it was published as a fortnightly comics magazine, named Disney Today, mainly carrying the Disney’s world famous characters.

LM Comics Disney Today 9115 150891 Not much is known like how long the publication was in business, but their another children's magazine, Target, which was once said to be the only competitor to the evergreen Tinkle Children's magazine, ran from 1980 to 1995. (Read more about Target and its inspiration for Tinkle’s Shikari Shambu in our exclusive post at Comicology, here)

So LM Comics should also have run along the same period, by both feeding out of each others success. During Disney Today’s famed run, it was often referred as the only comics magazine close enough to the popularity of Indrajal Comics. They were both fortnightly, and had a standard 32 pages of A4 size. Disney Today was priced from INR 5 to INR 6 during its run. The issues were assigned a 4 digit number, which comprised of the year and chronological issues number (For eg., an issue released on 1988 as the 14th issue of that year, will be numbered as 8814).

LM Comics was published from its then head office located at New Delhi (Living Media India Pvt. Ltd., 316 Competent House, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110 001). The packaging of the magazine, was top-notch, and the printing with colored pages make them a collectors item even today. I am fortunate hold a few of those issues in my collection.


Chandamama Classics n Comics 03 Disney & Chandamama: During the Same period, from October 1980, the Chennai based Chandamama also had a publishing deal with Walt Disney in India and had released two titles, starting from the Disney’s Wonder World series in Chandamama’s Classics & Comics (C&C) brand, and later a separate title which carried the adventures of other Disney characters like Zorro, Snow White, etc. under the Chandamama Book Shelf (BS) brand. (Read more about Chandamama’s recent 60 years celebration with their Coffee book Collector’s edition, here)

Chandamama Classics Editorial Refer to this editorial featured in their 3rd edition, which talks a great deal about the Disney and its impact to the Comics Industry as a whole.

Chandamama seems to have started both the C&C and BS series especially to feature the Walt Disney’s Comic books.  I doubt how successful was the series as I couldn’t see any titles dated after 80’s.

The C&C series were numbered like Indrajal Comics, Vol.1-No.1 (prompting they were planned as Weekly), etc. and was priced at INR 2, while the BS series, which was released monthly, were numbered sequentially, and were priced INR 3.50, during its run.

One of the problems with the packaging of these comics, was their idea of waxing the covers, instead of laminating it. As it turns out the Paperback covers with the wax coat, means that they are prone to damage and break through years in storage, making it very hard to maintain it for collection. I own a few titles from these series, and it still hurts every time I turn around to read them and find that some part of it breaks away and spoils the overall collection. Chandamama could have done better to avoid it.

Nevertheless, for the sheer reason that it was part of the 1980’s comics euphoria of India, it certainly deserves a place in your comics collection.  Here are few covers from the series.

Chandamama Book Shelf 08Chandamama Book Shelf 09Chandamama Book Shelf 08-1 


IE Egmont Mickey Mouse 13 1996 Disney & Egmont: Can you talk about American Comics publishing in India, and miss out from mentioning Egmont? Well, Egmont was also in the reckoning during late 90’s, taking up the mantle to release Walt Disney Comics in India.

Denmark based Egmont International, entered India in 1997, with a joint venture with Indian Express group. The resultant company was named Indian Express Egmont Publications Ltd. (IEEPL), and one of their first launches was bringing the Walt Disney Comics titles to India, for the obvious reason that they have a long publishing record in Denmark for Disney titles.

They released two monthly titles named Mickey Mouse and Mickey Mouse Digest. They were of B5 size, and were priced at INR 20 and INR 30 (for Digest with 96 pages. Egmont is known for the re-release and re-prints of the same titles, most evidently noticed with their Phantom editions.
(Phantom editions of Egmont  will be covered in detail in our Phantom series at Comicology soon).

So the reprints were even evident on the Mickey Mouse titles. The original print issues ran from 1995 to 1996, in the process releasing a total of 32 Digests. In 2000, after getting the nod from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Egmont bought the complete stake of its Indian arm from the Indian Express group, for a reported sum of INR 2 Crores.

In 2002, under their newly formed Egmont India venture, they published 16 Mickey Mouse Double Digests, which were all reprints from the Original Mickey Mouse Digests released in late 90’s. This time the size was reduced to A4, to go along with other Digest formats in the book shops. The titles were initially priced INR 60, but was later changed to INR 65.

Egmont’s Mickey Mouse Digests and Double Digests, were one of the best format for any comics enthusiastic to add to his collection. The only problem was the pricing, which was way too high for the time it was released. Which could be the very reason why the series never made a long run.

Disney in Tamil: During their run, Egmont also published few titles of Donald Duck/Mickey Mouse in Tamil. The translation was one of the poorest attempts to say the least, so let’s not discuss much into that failed attempt.

When it comes to translation in Tamil, there is no denying the fact that Lion Comics/Muthu Comics Editor S.Vijayan scores all the points. He had his own Tamil version of Donald Duck in his another famous Tamil comics and now defunct brand, Mini Lion, for a short span. More on that while we look at those Mini Lion title in the future at Comicology. Those titles does deserve a special mention for sure.


Diamond ComicsSo the start-stop publishing of Walt Disney’s eternal characters are in for a long haul, with Diamond Comics jumping in the foray to market Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck Comics in India, which makes for an interesting wait. Be assured that you would hear about the titles and their review at Comicology, whenever the hit stands, which is expected to happen in the a couple of months.

Especially, when the New York based Disney’s comic books, which publishes 274 million copies of children’s magazines worldwide, are losing its stature and popularity in its parent country (evident through eroded sales in recent years), India may be a market which they can flourish on. Let’s stay hopeful.

Also in Junior Diamond's Disney review post we will discuss about the author who was never given due credit for all these wonderful Disney comics, which we have come to know of. Talking about him would be the main aspect for the next Disney post at Comicology. Stay Tuned.


As a Bonus, to all the readers who read the post till its end, here are the covers of the Egmont’s 16 Double Digest Series, from my collection, which were originally on sale in 2002.  Some of them were still available on bookstores, when I last checked.

So use them as a checklist for your next shopping trip, or simply enjoy the wonderfully drawn Disney Covers. Until, our next post, Adios Amigos!

Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 01 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 02 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 03 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 04
Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 05 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 06 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 07 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 08
Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 09 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 10 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 11 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 12
Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 13 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 14 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 15 Egmont Mickey Mouse DoubleDigest 16


Earth Day Save Petrol CampaignTail-Piece: Today (Apr-22) is celebrated as the Earth Day, to save the mother earth. There are plenty of ways in which we could do so, starting with a few things right from our home, and our way to office, to know more follow this link. Let’s do our bit for the good cause.

Now, a fellow comicologist, did ask me If I would contribute to Mother nature, by digitizing the comics archive I hold. Well, as much as I agree with the concept, which saves paper and ultimately the trees, it’s certainly not on my wish-list. I will safely pursue other options. ;)

Not to forget a point that, our own Mickey Mouse and Goofy were once featured in a comic book for Save Oil campaign, and thus save Mother Nature. To go along with the Earth Day celebration, here is the cover of that unique issue. Enjoy Reading. Adios Amigos !

 

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