The Revival of Indian stories through Comics

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The Revival of Indian stories through Comics

Sunday, 08 November 2020 | Kaninika Mishra

The Revival of Indian stories through Comics

In recent years, comic books have seen a resurgence in India. The advent of digital technology and social media are helping new designers and artists create and promote their work more easily, writes Kaninika Mishra

India is a land of stories. The tales from our ancient past have been told and re-told over millennia in different ways and forms. We have heard them from elders; seen them depicted in art through the devotional scrolls of Pichwai and Phad; experienced their enthralling rendition in Ram Leela or Kathakali; and even watched them come alive in festivals such as Dahi Handi. Modern historical figures such as Rani Lakshmi Bai, too, have become a part of our storytelling traditions. Indeed, our sense of history, cultural and moral sensibilities have been shaped by our indigenous stories. The legends of the heroes and heroines have inspired us through our growing-up years.

The written word

Along with the various oral storytelling traditions in India, the written format has also existed for centuries. Long before the printing press came to the country, Indians have been preserving their stories on birch or palm leaf manuscripts. Panchatantra, one of the most ancient fables in the world has been found preserved in both the ancient manuscripts and also 18th century hand-written paper versions with colourful illustrations. In contemporary times, old stories from Vedic and Puranic literature continue to inform, entertain and educate us as they adapt to new forms and mediums.

Hinduism with a huge pantheon of revered characters and universally relevant themes provides artists and writers with enormous creative fodder. It is also the only major religion in the world that allows great freedom in artistic representations of its Gods. The inherent liberalism of Indic thought not just accepts, but also encourages new expression. The breadth and brilliance of its texts also lend well to fantastical adaptations in illustrated mediums. It is not surprising therefore that these tales were the springboard that catapulted the Indian comic industry to popularity and success for almost three decades from 1960s onwards.

The comic world

Comic books came to India a couple of decades later than the West. The initial comics published in the country were the American ones. Indian comics, however, saw their most successful phase later when Amar Chitra Katha with its beautifully illustrated comic series from Hindu literature and Indian history became a household name. The blend of art and story brought India’s culturally history alive for the 20th century and it became a hit with both children, teachers and parents.

A children’s magazine of that era, the classic Chandamama, though not a comic book per se, was known for its illustrations and published long-running mythological stories that ran for years. The stories embedded in the never-ending story of King Vikramaditya and Betal (Vampire), an adaptation of an ancient Sanskrit work Baital Pachisi, brought wide repute to this magazine.

The story was adapted in the form of a television series in 1985. This shift was portentous. As the number of television sets grew exponentially over the next decade, reading became a less favoured pastime. Stories from ancient India such as Vikram-Betal, and series such Ramayana and Mahabharata still remained popular but the medium had changed. By the time the century ended several comic book publishers were out of business.

Sign of times

In recent years, comic books have seen a resurgence. The advent of digital technology and social media are helping new designers and artists create and promote their work more easily. Today’s comic artists are both passionate creators and smart entrepreneurs. They are driven by a strong conviction about the type of work they undertake but also know how to effectively reach the readers. The graphic novel has now moved from being focussed on children to targeting adults.

During the research for my book The Indic Quotient, Reclaiming Heritage through Cultural Enterprise, I came across one such comic book venture, Vimanika comics. The founder Karan Vir Arora told me that his motivations to start this venture were multi-pronged. “I had a three-point agenda: firstly, educating the youth around the world about Indian culture, heritage, and spiritual values. Secondly, I felt the need to share the stories in a format that appeals to young people. And thirdly, I wanted these graphic novels to be ultimately created into live-action and animated films like Superman and Batman,” he said.

Vimanika’s stories are steeped in Indian mythology, but the art is highly stylised. Apart from a team of animation artists, writers, and editors, Vimanika also has archaeologists, researchers, and historians, who help keep the content authentic. Arora says that they pick up historical events that have created an impact, especially those that exemplify individual courage. “Our comics are a complete package of drama, emotion, action, and spirituality. They also have fantastic artwork.” Vimanika is a part of the new wave of comic books in India. Not only is the expression more in tune with the times, the comic book publishers are using unconventional ways to promote and market their books.

Comic conventions & new media

Conventions like Comic Con are specifically curating events around comic books and their characters and drawing thousands of visitors in Indian cities. These gatherings do not only sell the books, but also other paraphernalia connected with popular comic book themes. Comic Con attracts young professionals, college kids and parents. Since this consumer segment has more disposable income it brings higher publicity and sales. Inspired by this trend, Arora too has tried to build a new revenue channels based on his comics. “We decided to take our heroes beyond books,” says Arora, adding, “We have ventured into merchandise, collectibles, and toys.”

While Indian comics take tentative steps into new channels to boost visibility and sales, innovative digital platforms are setting a new trend in the West. With comic apps and dedicated mobile based platforms, comic books are finding it easier to reach a generation that is more comfortable with smart phones than physical copies of books. Marvel Comics, one of America’s biggest comic book company was an early mover and launched its digital app several years before the others caught up. While Marvel and DC Comics, which is Marvel’s biggest competitor, have their own apps, there are others which work like e-readers for comic books and offer a range of comics from different publishers. They provide readers a catalogue of comic titles for a specific download price or work on a subscription model with unlimited access to their library.

With growing downloads and increasing revenues, the digital app-based graphic novel has become a game-changer in comic book publishing. In India, too, comics have adapted to the digital ecosystem. Not only do we find bigger names such as Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle comics available as apps but several other players have leveraged the this medium to reach out to readers. These include both graphic novels based on war heroes such as those by Indian War Comics as well as stories from Indian legends from the fast-growing comic company Graphic India.

Graphic India states, on its website, “In the same way that America created superheroes and Japan created anime, Graphic is tapping into the creativity of India to launch a new wave of enduring characters and mythic heroes to captivate the imaginations of youths in India and around the world.” The company says that it is using uses digital comics and animation to develop new stories targeting the 550 million Indian youth under the age of 25 and the 900-million-person mobile market as they take their stories directly to smartphones.

Graphic India, in fact, is highly focussed on the new media. It is sparking a new creative revolution in comic book storytelling by using enhanced visual effects and interactive elements that lend well to a digital medium. It made waves when it recorded 20 million views for the first of its kind short-form comic books ‘18 Days: The Mahabharata’, and its female super-heroine series, ‘DEVI’ which it launched on the video-content platform TikTok for a limited period of time.

Graphic India is now expanding their motion comics and audio comics to include new languages beyond English and Hindi, and a quick look at Google Playstore reveals that many lesser known Indian comic apps are also available in Hindi and other regional languages.

As comic book players continue to pursue new creative ways to compete in an increasingly competitive space, the best is perhaps yet to come. The past two decades have seen an expansion in the genres and formats of Indian comics. While the storytelling is getting more attractive and the formats more diverse, Indian themes form the bulk of the comics sold. It seems like Indian stories rooted in tradition and cultural ethos are here to stay.

The writer is an author. She has recently published The Indic Quotient, Reclaiming Heritage through Cultural Enterprise with Bloomsbury India

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