Mythology is no longer simply fed through comics by parents eager to introduce their children to Indian culture. It has evolved and grown more graphic, putting together those little pieces that we were never told about and highlighting those shades of grey, where nothing is completely good or bad.
“Mythology does not need to be marketed. The stories have been told over and over again, and parents wouldn't think twice about picking up comics for their children. Imagine a world where every Bollywood movie released was mythology-based! That's the present situation with the Indian comic book industry,” points out Suhas Sundar, Creative Head, Level 10 Comics.
But Rakesh Khanna of Blaft Publications says, there are other themes too. “India is a country where people speak different languages. There are many good comics and graphic novels in the regional languages that are not all mythology. The English-speaking crowd is usually unaware of these,” he says.
Graphic novels have always been around. But their resurgence in the last five years has seen major players improvise on the country's rich mythology, and dig out those little-known details.
“A number of comics are mythology-based, and I don't know if we should be happy about it,” says Vijayendra Mohanty, an independent writer of graphic novels. “The epics are very sophisticated and have many sub-texts. But comics dumb down these and present only the bare minimum. Problems start when children who grow up reading these versions do not update themselves with the original. Therefore, the images from the comic book stick in their minds and that's how the characters are recognised,” he says. But graphic novels, especially targeted at young adults, vividly describe the battle scenes, delving deeper into the characters, and revealing them in a new light. “The Mahabharata is arguably the greatest epic in the world and has defined much of eastern philosophy and thought. We just released a new book based on it, called ‘18 Days'. It goes beyond myth, generations and borders, paying tribute to the story's origins while showing the world a dynamic new vision of gods and war. Think ‘Lord of the Rings' meets ‘Avatar' and multiply the effect ten times over,” says Sharad Devarajan, CEO and Co-founder, Liquid Comics.
But why this sudden interest in mythology? “I think the present-day generation wants something different,” says Karanvir Arora, founder, Vimanika Comics. “Youngsters get bored with the old comic format of the epics. They want something more. I decided to work with stories that are not only packed with adventure and action but also instil values in the readers. And mythology was an immediate choice. These stories have been around for years but how many of them do we know? We need to know where we come from. I'm merely trying to re-introduce mythology to society.”
Vijayendra is, at present, working on a different version of the Ramayana that focusses on another character in the story. “My latest, ‘Ravanayan', is an imaginative take on the life of Ravan. We haven't changed the story but go behind the scenes to see why people did what they did. Was Ravan really a villain?”
Good storytelling
Vimanika Comics, whose bestsellers include ‘Dashavataar', ‘Kalki' and ‘Moksha', think that mythology works as long as there is good storytelling. “It is the art of storytelling that makes people pick up a graphic novel. The art and story, the links and everything must be visually appealing. People like cinematic books that have a lot of action. And as long as we don't cut out the details such as the war in the Mahabharata, people will buy graphic novels. We're coming out with a new series on Shiva soon,” says Karan.
Level 10, which dwells more on contemporary subjects, has brought in many desi superheroes as opposed to re-tellings. “Publishers are slowly warming up to the idea of experimentation and there are some interesting and eclectic comics out there,” says Suhas.
Liquid Comics, which has come up with revolutionary titles such as ‘Ramayan 3392AD', is now presenting these mythical stories in the digital format. “Pricing plays an important role in any product, but the biggest challenge for graphic novel publishers is distribution. That's why we are thrilled about the innovation. Today many of our Indian comic books such as ‘Ramayan 3392AD', ‘Devi' and ‘Sadhu' can be downloaded on platforms like the Sony Playstation. Besides, we are rolling out a number of digital comic books on iPod and iPad and our Ramayan iPad app is already available,” says Sharad.
Keywords: Mythology, comic books, Level 10 Comics, Liquid Comics
Thats the whole point- Raghavendra - Our Indian History(Mythology)our culture is a very precious gift to us by God himself.To pass on this rich legacy we should make sure our head is in the right place personally and proffessionally, especially when we do research on such subjects.One wrong turn in facts,one opinion of the author being highlighted and missing the facts will make a mockery of our deep rich culture and pass on the wrong info and henceforth wrong message over to our kids & youth of today,which i am afraid dont know anything about our history(Mythology)and may absorb anything that is handed over to them with tantilising art and colour like a spong.So we should be very careful and i hope everyone who writes and wants to publish such stories of our glorious past is extra careful.
In Hindu mythology no character is totally bad like say 'the Satan'. All characters have their own set of good and bad qualities and the character of Ravan is also no different. He was a highly knowledgeable person,a great devotee of Shiva who is supposed to have composed some extra ordinary hymns like 'Shiva tandava stotra'. He also was a great warrior and exhibited qualities like sheer determination in things like doing penances to please gods even though for nefarious motives. He had his share of mistakes for which he paid a heavy price. We all have something to learn from him too. We should never judge people by a rigid black/white template and consider grey areas too. This venture would also give a very unique perspective unless its poorly researched. Calling for the author's head even before seeing what's inside it is a bit juvenile.
Rape? I humbly request you to share your enlightened, heightened and obviously rare knowledge of Hindu mythology and answer a question from this uninformed, mythologically-challenged, unfortunate lesser soul: Name one person that Ravana supposedly raped.
Ask your grandmother and she'll tell you that Ravana never even had any eye-contact with Sita, forget rape. He would go up in flames if he laid a finger on her. And she always looked at a blade of grass while addressing him, because she didn't want the hassle of killing him herself with her gaze. Obviously someone didn't recommend their kids to scriptures a few years ago.
In the name of the freedom of thought and speech, we are seeing good old values being set to trash. Ravanayana? The comic book title indicates the perverse mentality of author, for the sake of attracting eyeballs and attention through controversy. It has become a fashion today to indulge in glorifying villains of the past - and Ravanayana is a product of that fashion. Lets not forget the fact that Ravana was responsible for the loss of dignity of thousands of women in his time. Is this a model that parents want their children to set heart on?
@Raj: Two things -- Firstly, there was no rape by Ravana in the Ramayana. Secondly, it is funny how you have decided to not recommend Ravanayan to others even before you have had an opportunity to see what the book is actually about.
@ Raj. Would you consider recommending throwing one's wife into a fire to check her purity and later abandoning one's wife and kids in the forest? Those were the elements in the conduct of the character of Lord Ram. Ravan was known to be a great king who made his country prosperous enough to be made of Gold. When Ravan fell, Ram sent Laxman over to learn from Ravan. Ravan lost to his ego more than to Ram. I think his story needs to be heard.
For all this diversity of thought, I think the comic artists need to get their heads checked. I wouldn't really recommend a 'ravanayana' over the original because one can't forget elements of woman-kidnapping and rape in the conduct of the character (Ravan) in question. I wouldn't even consider recommending kids around me to this.
Yes, Elementory school Kids here in New Jersey, US are reading fiction books based on Greek and Egyptian Mythology by Rick Riordon. It would be great if we can introduce our rich mythology to kids worldwide with these rich graphic comics that provide information, instill values and at the same time develop interest in reading.
Please Email the Editor