We have finally reached the end of the most controversial year in the decade. The Year 2008 had its fair share of surprises; Booming Indian Economy, Global Economic Slowdown, Indian Crickets Turn-around, Gore of Terrorism; it was overall a mixed bag of events. Hopefully, we will get to see a better year, in 2009.
The Comics or Graphic Novel Biz also had a fair bit of happenings around in 2008, with the introduction of new players in form of CineBook, Tara Press, Euro Books, Vimanika, etc. In the South, we had a rejuvenated Prakash Publishers, unveiling their line up of classical Tamil comics. Overall, it was year to remember and cherish for a Comics fan.
With the experience of running a blog for the last 3 years, I believe it’s time we talk about good things which have passed over in 2008, on the field of Comicology. But, don’t we need a fair trial ? In keeping up with the Election fever in the country, Comicology gives you an option to elect the best of 2008, in a democratic way. Yes, I am not going to be the sole judge in selecting the best in various categories. In fact I will only be a facilitator allowing all the comics fans to choose, by providing them options among the nominees elected by Comicology in the various categories.
UPDATE (26-Jan-08): And thus it turned out, the Inaugural Comicology's Readers Poll to choose the Best of 2008, has surely turned on as the biggest attraction to the blog. There were a total of 333 Votes which were cast across multiple comics categories, which makes me proud to have initiated this, and will go a long way in organising this poll on a yearly basis. Thanks to all those Comicologists, who spent their time and effort in making this a big success. Without further due, here are the Winners in respective categories.
#1: Best English Comics
The Nominations for this category, would be from the English Comics Series, which were reviewed at Comicology in 2008, as that gives a chance for everyone to arrive at their decision with what they have read about them at Comicology. If you choose to read the reviews before you vote, click on each of those series for reaching the respective review page at Comicology.
The Nominations are:
And the Winner is: Surprise, Surprise. The unanimous choice seems to be The 99 Series from Teshkeel Comics, out of those English comics series reviewed at Comicology in 2008.
The Strong favourite, as many thought was the Lucky Luke Series from CineBook, which was leading the pack when the polls were started. But the predominant visitors from out of the country, seem to have voted in favour the 99 series, as that is the new kid on the block. Total Number of Votes: 49.
#2: Best Tamil Comics Year 2007 had a new star in the Tamil Comics horizon in form of Star Comics. But its starting issues, coupled with a no-show of Iceberg Comics, ensured that Prakash Publishers, were the only player available in this competition in 2008. So, there are no surprises that all the nominees are from the Lion Comics & Muthu Comics (Comics Classics is left out for obvious reasons, as they are olden classics which can't be placed in the same scale of Modern day Comics). As with the previous section, if you would like to read a review about them before voting, click on the respective titles.  The Nominations are (in the order of their release):
And the Winner is: There are no surprises in this category, as the pack of Tamil comics released by Prakash Publishers, is lead in the front by the Lucky Luke extravaganza, showing to prove the fan-following this legendary character enjoys among Tamil comic fans. The much acclaimed and well received Martin Mystery extravaganza takes the second place, marginally missing out on 3 votes. Total Number of Votes: 22.
#3: Best Blog We saw an abundant amount of interest in the Comics Blog World, with a lot of new bloggers staking their claim, and giving much needed competition to the two long running blogs: MuthufanBlog & Comicology. So this award category will highlight the Best Blog of 2008. The Criteria for the Blog Nominations are: - Minimum of 5 Posts (relevant to Comics) over the Year
- Blogs about English Comics and Tamil Comics (Hindi Comics is too early to be reviewed at Comicology)
- Blogs which doesn’t infringe any Copyrights held by the authorised publishers
The Nominations are (in the order of their Post Count):  1. Tamil Comics Ulagam: Obviously, the most happening blog on the Tamil Comics blogosphere, inspired by Viswa. The fact that it boasts 25 Posts in a time span of 4 months from its launch, speaks volume about his dedication. A strong contender for the top honours.
2. Comicology: I shouldn’t be talking much about my own blog initiative, nevertheless for the sheer count of 25 Posts over the year, I believe Comicology is qualified to be in the nominations list. But as always, the final judgment is with the readers. 3. Aa.Ko.Thee.Kaa. (அ.கொ.தீ.க.): The First full exclusive Tamil Comics Blog, started by veteran Tamil Comics Researcher, Dr.Sathish. His unique knack of providing a complete account of every series, made it one of the most sought after blog of 2008, with a total of 7 Posts (Including 1 Intro post). 4. Comics Pookal (காமிக்ஸ் பூக்கள்): A new entrant in the Tamil Comics Blog, but quickly staked his claim on the equals, by breaking away from traditional comics review and concentrating on the different topics through the history of Comics and its evolution. The posts are strengthened by the strong Tamil root evident in the writing of Ayyampalayam Venkateshwaran, and rightly deserves its nomination with 6 Posts (Including 1 Intro post). And the Winner is: Comicology narrowly beat AKTK, by 1 vote. Thanks to all those who made that possible. Surprisingly the 3rd place is shared both by TCU and Comics Pookal with equal number of votes. Total Number of Votes: 65.
Apart from the above blogs which were nominated, there were a few others, which just missed out from the nomination, but deserves a special mention (in the order of their importance and content relevance): 1. Muthu Fan’s Comics Blog: The Old War Horse missed the bus for the Nomination with only 3 posts in the year 2008, but doesn’t it deserve a legendary category award, for having pioneered the whole comics blogging passion? So, its deservedly should not be among the nominations, as the blog has a cult following unmatched by any other blogs. Muthufan has promised a series of posts in 2009, so it augers well for the legacy set by the forerunner of Tamil Comics Blog. 2. Kanavukalin Kaathalan (கனவுகளின் காதலன்): A Tamil Comics Blog by the superiorly talented Shankar Visvalingam. His posts are uniquely styled with a fair mix of poetry and classic writing, backed up by the rich experience on a range of comics genre. He has 3 unique posts as a testament to his talent. 4. Share Hunter: Eventhough the primary aim of this Tamil Blog by Josh Alexander, was to write his analysis about the share market, he has offlate been more active in posting a number of comic related blogs, with reviews, and even an iconic adventure series featuring the who-is-who of bloggers. The only thing lacking is that they are lost in the pile of his share-market related posts. But isn’t he more famous for that ? :) 5. Rani Comics (ராணி காமிக்ஸ்): A new entrant in the Tamil Comics Blog, originally started by me, with the intention of making it a team blogging activity talking through the history of Rani Comics. So far I have been playing a lone hand in the process managing 3 posts in total, all in the month of Dec’08. 6. Mudhalai Pattalam (முதலை பட்டாளம்): Started by a serious Comics collector Kaleel. A long way to go for him to stake his claim among the other bloggers. 7. Chitrakathai: Started by Siv, talking about the forgotten comics initiatives in Tamil. He is yet to make a mark in the blogosphere, and his focus on the less-quality comics, with little info isn’t helping grow his stature. He has 4 posts so far about these Tamil Comics.
#4: Best Comics Post  This is across the Comics Blogosphere, and I have chosen the best posts from the top Comicologists blog as a list of nominees for this prestigious award at Comicology. This is the only poll in the Year 2008 round-up, which will give you a chance to pick multiple blog posts, you deem to be the best so far in 2008.
The Nominations are:
And the Winner is: There is another tie in this category too. Comicologists have voted Blake & Mortimer post of Comicology, and Bond post of TCU both has the joint winners, garnering 30 votes each. So, we have a joint winners once again, in the form of Comicology & TCU. Total Number of Votes: 93.
#5: Best Comics-Commenter Time and again, I have iterated in my posts, that more than the number of readers who visit your blog, it is ultimately the persons who decide to record their comment are the important factor, which decides a success of the blog. It is a clear reward for the hard work put in by a blogger, which has to be aptly supported by all those who read through them to record their views as a comment. Either it is a comment in nature of a critic, or appreciative, they are the building blocks for a healthy blogging environment. The idea for this category, is to appreciate the best and the most active one out of this lot, to recognize the equal importance played by them on a blog’s lifeline. Here are those select GEMS out of the crowd.  The Nominations are:
- Viswanathan
- Rafiq Raja
- Shankar Visvalingam
- Mahesh Kumar
- Arun Prasad
- அய்யம்பாளையம் வெங்கடேஸ்வரன்
- Dr. Sathish
- அம்மா ஆசை இரவுகள்
And the Winner is: The winner seems to be unanimous, and I am thankful to all the Comikers who voted me out from the lot. I always considered that Comments are the best way to support a blogger, and it is good to know that people have shown supports towards the same cause. Thanks once again. Total Number of Votes: 104.
That completes our Comicology’s First ever Comics Vote Categories. With the phenomenal success, I am pretty sure that we will see this as a regular year end feature at Comicology. And before I close, wish you all a Happy New Year 2009. May all your wishes come true on this joyous occasion. To quote, Edith L Pierce: “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.” In keeping up with the New Year Spirit, We have also moved onto a new exclusive domain for Comicology, www.comicology.in (I don’t know, how many noticed this change in the URL). The old blogspot URL will now redirect to this new domain automatically. It’s my long-time ambition to move to an exclusive domain and part of my Ver.2.0 plan. I thought this blog deserved this worthy expense, as a New Year Gift. Happy Holidays, and I will be back with a New Year Special Post shortly.
Epic Tales with a New Spin
TOI - 28 Dec 08 | Times of India carried a news article this week, on the resurgence of the New Super Heroes from the Indian Mythology, Ramayana and Mahabharata. In fact this seems to be the new trend which has been adopted in Indian comics or animation media. First it was erstwhile Virgin Comics, which pioneered this concept by introducing a variety of comics titles, one of which was Ramayana 3392 AD, which finds a mention in this article, albeit under their new name Liquid Comics (as explained in my previous post on Vimanika on the management buyout). I really liked the artwork which was exhibited in the new Ramayana series (look at the Hanuman art in the article, incredible), which was supposed to debut in India, after their successful launch in US. But, I was told that the Virgin Comics decided to hold their plans, as they were worried about generating probable ire from the large Hindu population in India, some of whom found these modern creations offended, and devalued their cherished mythos and beliefs, for commercial purposes. It’s a debate Comicology don’t want to get into, for the sheer respect shared towards all religions followed in India. | | There was even an animation movie recently on Junior Hanuman, the success of which prompted the producers to plan a sequel as Hanuman Returns. Recently, Chandamama also came up with an exclusive Ramayana Graphic Novel, which also finds a mention in this article. Overall, even though I liked these new and welcome attempts to generate mass media attention towards the Indian Genre of Comics, probably trying to imitate the Japanese Manga revolution in India, I still feel that the olden comics classics of Mahabharata and Ramayana from Amar Chitra Katha (ACK), continue to remain my personal favourite. |
Do you remember the last time we covered an Indian based Comics initiative at Comicology? Well if you had been following Comicology regularly, that was back at the end of 2007, the time until which Bangalore based Gotham Comics were releasing their Virgin Branded Comics in India.  Like their in-numerous attempts earlier, they went into hibernation ever since, and we were reduced to be reliant on the remaindered stock from European, Franco-Belgian, and American genre all the while.
The wait is no more, as we have a new player in the Comics/Graphic Novels biz in India, Vimanika Comics, which has made their foray with their two pilot series, The Sixth and Moksha. Vimanika Comics is the brainchild of its Mumbai based, entrepreneur, Karan Vir Arora. Karan explains that he always had dreamt and visualized these concepts right from his childhood, which was instrumental in him digging down the mythological aspects to form his launch-pad characters. No wonder, why he has named his comic brand as Vimanika, as that’s the name of an early 20th century Sanskrit text, called Vimanika Shastra, talking about the construction of mythical ‘chariots of gods’. 
Karan adds, “The objective of Vimanika, is to simultaneously impart knowledge as well as entertain the readers with exciting graphics and visual play, while understanding our roots with the mythology.” Assisting Karan on his mission, is a team of 20 members, who have been bolstered by the joining of Dheeraj Verma (billed as the first-ever Indian artist credited by Marvel), as one of the partners of Vimanika. Dheeraj is one of the famous artists from India, who is known for his work with Indian based Raj Comics, who rose to some fame when he worked for a US comics publishing company, for a short period. As in the tradition of the new generation comics, the team has come up with Issue #0, which is a double-intro issue of both The Sixth, and Moksha. Arnab Das takes care of the script-writing, while the artwork is at the hands of Deepak Sharma, Dheeraj Verma, and Sheetal.
 The Sixth, starts its roots from the Indian epic Mahabharata, where the scene takes us to the time when Karna was killed in battlefield, where we get to visualize is mindset as he nears his end.
The scene then moves onto focus on NRI Karan Vir (I believe, Karan couldn’t stop himself from his childhood dreams of naming a comic character on him) who runs a business conglomerate in America.  As it is portrayed, he is the re-incarnation of Karna in the modern world, who is haunted by the images of Karna and his life-traverse, in his dreams.
The story follows his exploits to understand its roots, while he moves to his roots in India, following his mind-trail. Moksha, has a different setting altogether, which is conceptualized in a unexplored time-space between two famous Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. It’s a double-hero storyline, following two most powerful Indian mythical legends Parashurama and Hanuman, picking up from where their stories are left untold, and re-imagining it with some fiction. Dheeraj has personally taken the ownership of re-shaping the plot-work and characterization of Moksha. Look at the breathtaking artwork exhibited in the Issue 1 of the series. The plot-work follows the storyline, as it is told either by the protagonist or the narrator. Sample Artwork from “The Sixth”
 | Sample Artwork from “Moksha”
 | Thus we get a chance to peek-in to the minds of the character which gives us a first-hand account of the action as it happens. The plot is aptly assisted by the Artists, who breath life to the concept with the exhibition of art, colour and inking, not seen so far in Indian Authentic Comics. (It was once promised by erstwhile Virgin Comics, before it was reduced to a state of oblivion). At Comicology, we always try to have a balance in our review, so as to not be biased towards a certain publisher. To live up to that promise, I can’t help, but mention about the few glitches I noticed in the first instalments of Vimanika: - Some panels of the art, look and appear pretty flat, which let’s down the incredible work on other panels. I expect these to be strengthened as renowned artist Dheeraj has assumed the lead role now.
- There are few grammatical errors in the sentences, which catch your eyes as you flip through the pages. Something which should have been avoided, when you are targeting an International audience.
- We can’t ignore the fact that there is a little over-use of religion in some of the panels. While, I agree that while digging through the Indian mythology, we are bound to side with the early beliefs, but shouldn’t they be made in a way which could be shared among a common base, which are toed together by a unique and far greater interest towards Comics? I hope, that as we progress further through the series, this would be subdued to make it more generic with the present world, while retaining the essence of the original plot.
With that said, I must also credit the team of Karan and Dheeraj for their effort to breath new life to Indian Comics; where the other players safely distance themselves from the risk associated with original creative work, by utilising the borrowed content from already established Western players and brands. The pricing is also attractive (INR 40), as a same quality edition from an International publisher is normally priced over INR 100. That’s the advantage of housing your publication in the country, where your targeted audience is. The Issue #1 is currently on stands (Landmark, Crossword, etc.), and if you want to get a head-start you can always browse through the digital version of #0 available on Vimanika.com. The subscribers do get a hard-copy of this issue, by means of which I obtained mine. Grab them if you want to witness the revolution in Indian Comics industry. Look at the “who-is-who” of show-biz who attended the launch party of Vimanika. Karan Vir does know some big shots :). | 
In Pic: RanVijay (VJ), Darsheel Safary (Actor), Milind Soman (Model/Actor), and Karan Vir
| Vimanika is no stranger to the hurdles faced by other other Comics initiatives, as they have so far launched only 2 sets (which includes the Intro series #0). Their original plan was to make Vimanika’s series as a bi-monthly edition, but Karan explains that they were holding on their releases for that to be available across stands in India and other foreign locations at the same time, by bolstering their distribution network. They appear to have achieved that feet, as their Issue #2, is slated to be released in India, US, and Europe, simultaneously.
On a final call, unlike any of its predecessors, Vimanika Comics can safely be terms as the only Comics brand which can call themselves as the “First Indian International”. I am aware that, this statement might create ripples among die-hard Comicologists. But save those emotions, as I have a strong case to prove the point. There is no doubt that Diamond, ACK, and Raj Comics, were the forerunners of Indian based Comic characters, but did they ever make a serious attempt to go global? Let’s look at their contributions: - Amar Chitra Katha (ACK), the whistle-blower inspired by Anant Pai, has now been reduced to reprints/republishing of their erstwhile stable.
- Diamond Comics, even after boasting a superior distribution network, never really came out of the Pran Era, and still continue to target the young kids market.
- Raj Comics, did introduce a stable of Indian Superheroes, and continue to publish their adventures. But their long-time focus of catering to a single-language audience, and not so-creditable plot-work, have always restricted them from penetrating beyond their local base.
- Virgin Comics, though the first to have really made an attempt to go international with some Indian origin, were actually controlled by Foreign authors and Creative team. Which took the sheen out of their so called Original Indian concept.
Then on, they went out of their initial focus, and tried to imitate Marvel and DC line of characters. The the result of which is there to see, with their present status.
(For the starters, Virgin Comics management has now changed hands from Virgin, to its Indian visionaries, under the new brand as Liquid Comics, and their current focus seems to be holding-on with the movie rights of Sadhu and Ramayana, which was in pipelines earlier). That brings us to the end of this post, and as a gift for those who read through this lengthy review, here is the Preview of what’s in store for you in the Issue 2 set of Vimanika, which is slated for 2009 release. Good times are ahead us. That brings us to the end of this post, and as a gift for those who read through this lengthy review, here is the Preview of what’s in store for you in the Issue 2 set of Vimanika, which is slated for Jan’09 release. Thanks to Karan for providing the inputs for the synopsis exclusively to Comicology, and I am eagerly looking forward for receiving my subscription copies. | The Sixth #02: Friend or Foe - Teaser
Follows the exploits of KV as he goes back in the memory lane during his trip to India. Does this lead to him to discover his own self or did he bargain for more than what he could asked for? | Moksha #02: The Forsaken Returns - Teaser
 The Forsaken prince from the Hell returns to stake his claim and does he has anything to do with the evil wrapping around the two legends Parashurama and Hanuman? | That’s not all, Karan also adds that he is working on a special double sized issue on The Legend of the Karna, from the epic Mahabharata, scheduled for the new year. And for those prying eyes which has noticed Dashavatar in the Launch pic, that’s their next major series in pipeline. Indian Comic fans are in for a big treat, to say at least. So, am I not right to call Vimanika with the anecdote of “First Indian International” ? Well, It’s for me to presume, and yours to debate; for which I would be eager to read your views, along with your thoughts about this post on the new player in Comics World. | Book Facts
Vimanika Edutainment | Price: INR 40 | Pages: 32 | Color | Size: B5 | Laminated/SoftCover |
| West Land | Price: INR 350 | Two-Volume Books | Color | Pages: 48+48 | Size: B5 | Laminated/HardCover | | I am back with another set of CineBook reviews, which were part of the back-issues set distributed by Westland this year in India. The topic of discussion for this post, is about the two new series, which were never published so far in India. First up the order, is Largo Winch, which is a Belgian Comic series created by the legendary comic creator Jean Van Hamme, who is credited with works like Thorgal and XIII (a series slated to be the Lion Comics Jumbo Special). As usual, let's look at the background of the creators before we zoom in to this series. | Largo Winch 1: The Heir
ISBN: 978-1-905460-48-9
 | Largo Winch 1: The W Group (Vol.2)
Published: Mar 2008
 | Just like his works, Jean Van Hamme (Born 1939 in Brussels), need no introduction, as he is often remarked as the Master of Comics Field. But, can you believe that Hamme wasn't destined to be in this profession initially? His initial career was on the Marketing field, but had the interest to write few comic stories in between starting from 1968. As with other Brussels school writer/artists, Van Hamme eventually joined TinTin magazine in 1970, and started writing regular series. Slowly he found his real interest in the comics biz, and left his marketing career to concentrate full time on comics writing in 1976.  The Creation of Thorgal in 1977, was Van Hamme's first super hit. In 1984, Van Hamme scored another big hit with his XIII series. The South Indian Comic fans don't need any introduction for this series, which garnered huge attention towards the all work of Hamme. But what many don't know is that the Largo Winch character was thought by Van Hamme even before his first hit series, Thorgal.
As early as in the late 1970's, Hamme started creating a series of novels with the lead character named as Largo Winch. But the abysmal sales and his other prominent work on Thorgal and XIII, pushed this to back-burner. B ut, when Hamme, met Belgian artist Philippe Francq in 1988, Largo Winch was re-born in Graphic Novel format, and first series debuted on 1990, through publisher Dupius. The series was about a young carefree guy, who suddenly inherits amazing fortunes through a long lost relation, and his subsequent fight to reclaim the empire left behind, in the process battling through all forms of defiance. Phillippe Francq's earlier stint at Hergé Studios, where he had a chance to collaborate with the likes of Bob De Groot (Clifton) and Bob De Moor, gave him an uncanny style of artwork, in expressing the moods and feelings with vibrant colors in an unique artistic style (See an example in the panel below, where the breathtaking scenario is expressed in a way in which the main character's importance is not spoilt). These qualities coupled wtih Van Hamme's own intriguing plots, helped Largo Winch, become a huge success, paving way for a "Hat-Trick of Super Hits" from Hamme's stable.  The success of series has made Francq concentrate solely on this venture, and currently the duo are on a release rate of one album per year. So far, 16 albums have been released as of date. It is said that the initial sales per album in French alone were around 600,000 copies each. With CineBook's English translations they are only going to be made more famous.
As in the case of CineBook releases, this is also a two-volume edition, and perfectly fits the bill on this occasion. Because Largo Winch stories are told over two volumes each, where the first one being the one putting Largo in an impossible situation, and the second one letting him get out of it. In addition, both volumes share the same background colour on the cover (as pointed out in Dr.Satish's blog too). Isn't this a cool new idea to be utilised in the Graphic Novel Biz ? Hope other comic players take note of it. The two volumes in CineBook's first Largo Winch edition are: 1. The Heir (Originally published in French as "L'Héritier", in Nov 1990) 2. The W Group (Originally published in French as "Le Groupe W", in Sep 1991) The plot starts with an introduction of Nerio Winch, chief patron of the business empire W Group, in his last days. He wants to find a successor, and knowing that he has a secret adopted son, he is brutally killed by his own allies.  Now, the focus shifts on Largo Winczlav, who suddenly is identified as the successor. A mad hunt is on with assassins trying to kill him, and the plot unravels at the second volume, where he goes through betrayal, treachery, with a final showdown set in an uninhabited island. Francq's artwork does all the talking, and Hamme introduces preludes and twists in the plot as and when necessary. Overall, a comics extravaganza, which you should not miss from grabbing.
Cinebook's tradition of editing the sexual interludes, for its targeted audience of English speaking countries, is shown in this release too. There are some forums, where the angry purists are against this effort, as they believe it as tampering with the originality of the series. Well, different people, different perceptions. It should be said that the editing, does blend well with our culture, so there are no qualms. Cinebook have also released the second album of Largo Winch in UK, titled TakeOver Bid, which encompasses the original albums 3 and 4, in one book. Blue is the theme for the covers this time around. I was told that they would be available in India with the next batch of CineBook early next year. Lover of Dreams Shankar had pointed out in his post about a Largo Winch movie in production in French language. I am eager to hear his review comments, once he watches the new venture. Hopefully, the movie franchise will live up to the expectation set by the Graphic Novels.
The next new series from CineBook is from an relatively unknown Franco-Belgian duo of Stephen Desberg (scenario) and Bernard Vrancken (artist). The series is titled "I.R.$", which refers to the all powerful tax collection office of United States, the Internal Revenue Service (an actual organisation in US). The federal law states that the agency is empowered to collect taxes, and enforce the revenue laws within US. Taking a tab out of this little known agency to the outer world, Desberg and Vrancken thought about a character, who would do a federal agent kind of a role, with the key emphasize being on the Taxing irregularities. It's a whole new setting which let's the creative duo to break new ground on the Graphic Novels. Stephen Desberg, born 1954 in Belgium, initially worked for TinTin and Spirou magazines assisting in their script-work. While at Spirou, he got a chance to work with the legendary creator Maurice Tillieux, who is the author of Gil Jourdan, a Belgian Detective Comic series, considered as an Masterpiece of European genre. Tillieux also has done some uncredited work on Yoko Tsuno (a series covered in Comicology earlier). I.R.$. 1: Taxing Trails
ISBN: 978-1-905460-51-9
 | I.R.$. 1: The Hagen Strategy (Vol.2)
InnerCover | Published: Apr 2008
 | Working with Tilleux gave Desberg, his first experience of managing a character plot, and he soon went on to create many series of his own, finally bumping with Bernard Vrancken (Born 1965 in Belgium) in 1996. Initially they worked together for some short stories, before they started the political-financial thriller series 'I.R.$.' in 1999. The series centres around Larry B. Max, a fictional IRS secret agent, who is considered to be a specialist on Taxing. (Much like, our IT Officers portrayed in Indian Movies, who are normally shown raiding the Big B's :)). As it is highlighted in the character biography, "Reading Tax-evasion and Money-launderings rings like a virtuoso pianist would read a sheet of Mozart". Larry Max, Armed with a License to Kill and Thrill, like James Bond; Desberg and Vrancken take us to different themes of irregularities surrounding the Big Shots, through the adventures ranging all over the world. In this CineBook release, we have two inter-connected volumes:  1. Taxing Trails (Originally published in French as "La Voie fiscale", in Feb 2000)
In this first album, Max must look into a particularly delicate file belonging to a rich Jewish-American, Moshe Geldhof, known for his involvement in recovering items that were confiscated by the Nazis. Dissecting this billionaire's accounts, Max embarks on a dangerous journey to find the mysterious origins of the man's immense fortune. 2. The Hagen Strategy (Originally published in French as "La Stratégie Hagen", in Mar 2000) In this second album, Max continues to explore the billionaire's origin by visiting the Swiss Banks, to unravel the mystery behind the assassination of the former employee of the Union of Banks. In German mythology, Hagen embodies the traitor. One who infiltrates the ranks of his enemies to destroy them better. This idea has been incorporated very well in these two albums, as Max unravels the mystery and the black secrets behind the Nazi war and its cold after-effects.  On final call, I would rate this attempt by Desberg and Vrancken as fresh and new. But it fails on some account, as the plot seems to be dragged in certain sections. A silent and moot agent, who has some secret mobile conversation with a call-girl to open up his mind, as portrayed by Max, may not get that well with a larger audience, who expect the lead character to be more dynamic in nature.
Eventhough, Vrancken tried his artistic hand to show Max in better light with acrobatic skills in action sequences, and romantic interludes with the leading ladies (in line with CineBook's Sexual edit policy), it need to be admitted that the art style he followed doesn't boast well to the already suffering series with a dry subject of taxing. Hopefully, they will be better than the first two albums, to put some spice to the series. With tax bells ringing over head, as we approach the financial year end, this might be a good series for you to get acclaimed on (no pun intended). If you want to experience a different plot-work from the regular cop-catch-convict issues, grab the copy at your nearest store, before it runs out of stock. Whatever be the case of the artist, the scenarist Stephen Desberg is going great guns with his another adventure "The Scorpion", an historic-adventure series, filled with incredible artwork of Marini. CineBook have started releasing this series also in UK with English translations, and I am looking forward for their debut in India.
| 
%5B2%5D.jpg "page001(11)")
%5B2%5D.jpg "page001(37)")
Subscribe by email
Feedburner
