The Comic Book Bin
Spotlight (275) Articles


TopShelf Month

Darkhorse Month

Women's Month


 
Comics : Spotlight
Last Updated: Oct 20, 2009 - 7:25:21 AM




India Invades North America With Virgins
By Hervé St.Louis
Jul 4, 2006 - 12:07:00 PM

Email this Article
 Printer Friendly Page
 Mobile Friendly Page

Add to Del.icio.us     Add To Reddit
Add To Digg     Add To Stumbleupon
Add To Technorati Favorites     Add To Ask


devi_01_clr.jpg
When I think of Indian entertainment, I have vague visions of bad movies with bad actors and annoying music. However, from now one, when I think of Indian comic books, I’ll have something much better to think about, thanks to Virgin Comics. Virgin Comics is the child of Richard Branson, the British guy who turns everything he touches into money. It’s not clear who approached whom, but there is a large market of untapped potential in India and someone finally did something with it.

The last Indian comic book I remember is the Indian Spider-man published by a licensor of Marvel Comics in India. I saw the pics, they looked ridiculous, although the artwork was great. Well, I also looked at the free preview from Virgin Comics and was totally impressed. I did not expect that level of quality. The sample included two short stories from Virgin’s equivalent of its super hero imprint called Shakti.

These stories draw from India’s rich religious and classic tales and modernize them. The first story was about Devi, a human girl given godlike powers which she uses to combat an evil god called Bala and his supporters. It’s set in modern day India. The artwork was impeccable and the colouring sumptuous. It must have taken the artists a lot of time to produce this comic book.

iyam-warcopy.jpg
The second story is Ramayan Reborn, a retelling of a classic story. From the look of it, it reminded me of Lord of the Rings with Indian costumes. The artwork and story were also impressive and very similar to American comic books. My beef with these two comics is that they use Indian lore and names for their characters. Of course they will, they are Indian, but I’m not sure if fans are ready to read about people with funny sounding names. The Japanese do it too, but often, we translate most names. Akira is also easier to pronounce than Aryavarta.

My second beef is that I don’t know who those comic books are for. They use the name Virgin to give themselves some credibility, although Virgin is not synonymous with comics in my mind. They say that other creators and artists have been assembled to create new stories. One of them is John Woo’s Seven Brothers by Garth Ennis. They did not mention the artist though . . .  

Virgin’s strategy seems to introduce these comics in the market hoping some stick. They also use material from movie scripts to transform them into comics. As I’ve written before, that’s not a good thing to do. Reusing stuff for comics to create a market for a later film version is not respecting fans or the comic book medium. Comic books are not a testing grounds for Hollywood or Bollywood. That’s why, no matter how slick Virgin’s comics are, I’m weary about their long term support. Will they stick around if the numbers don’t? 



Related Articles:
Virgin Comics Gets Down with Jenna Jameson
India Invades North America With Virgins
Virgin Comics formed
Virgin Launches Comic Book Line



Comment Script Join the discussion:

Add a Comment

Comments


© Copyright 2002-2009, Coolstreak Cartoons Inc. - All rights Reserved. All other texts, images, characters and trademarks are copyright their respective owners. Use of material in this document(including reproduction, modification, distribution, electronic transmission or republication) without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.

Top of Page

Hidden gems
Some of the Comic Book Bin's reviewer share with you their hidden gems, comic books that have been overlooked but who are worth hunting down.
The Cult of the Comic Book Creator Part Two: Vassals and Middlemen
These debates about the nature of comic books and the industry created around it in North America still fight what I consider old battles about identity and how the individual relates to comic book
Comics Legend John Byrne
John Byrne appeared on the comics scene when he illustrated a two-page story which appeared in Nightmare #20, published by Skywald Publications
Comics legend John Buscema
A short biography of Comic books legend John Buscema
The Cult of the Comic Book Creator Part One
Are comic books created by their original creators better than company owned ones?
Copyrights and Comic Book Creators: Be Careful What You Wish For
Cheering for the rights of the estates over copyrights today may create an environment that is totally closed and against their very interests in the future
Should Marvel Comics Buy Boom Studios?
Will Marvel Comics repatriate the Disney comic book licenses owned by Boom Studios?
It's an Exciting Time To Be a Comic Book Bin Reader!
Let me take a few minutes of your time to tell you how exciting is The Comic Book Bin right now
Warner Bros. creates DC Entertainment Inc.
Warner Bros. responds to Disney's acquisition of Marvel by creating a new company to attempt to match the Power of the Mouse behind the House of Ideas.
Should the Ultimates Have Saved America?
A reflection on Mark Millar's Ultimates, American global policy and the legitimacy of the superhero.
The Mouse Owns Marvel
Disney acquires Marvel. What does the Mouse mean to the men at Marvel?
Panel Wars Marvel vs. DC
At the 2009 Fan Expo an epic battle between two bitter enemies took place. Who will win the PR war?
Response To Tom Spurgeon: Copyrights, Superman, and the Estates of Siegel and Shuster
Response to Tom Spurgeon's essay "Truth, Justice And Superman Is Totally Ours, You Stinky, Greedy Siegel Family"
Prelude to Blackest Night: The Sinestro Corps War Vol. 2
Part Two of the biggest Green Lantern event at the time, and Part Three of what has become the Prelude to Blackest Night. An epic with a very important message.
Superman – More Copyrights Stupidity
US. Federal Court renders Justice of King Solomon judgement crippling Superman for all parties and the character's comic book readers.