Old story, new format

Several best-sellers are being re-launched as graphic novels. A look at what makes the genre click

The cover of "Prince of Ayodhya", Ashok Banker's graphic novel. Photo: Special Arrangement

After graphic novels were made into movies (“Batman”, “Iron Man”, “X Men”, “V for Vendetta”) and created as prequels for films such as “Inception” and “Ra. One”, another fast emerging trend is that of best-selling novels coming alive in their adaptations as graphic novels.

Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist , Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner , Agatha Christie's entire collection, Eoin Colfer's ‘Artemis Fowl' series, Rick Riordan's ‘Percy Jackson' series and ‘The Twilight Series' by Stephenie Meyer are some of the books that have recently been launched in the graphic form.

In India, the graphic novel adaptation of

Prince of Ayodhya, the first in Ashok Banker's Ramayana series is out on the stands. “I have always wanted to tell stories and explore all forms of story telling,” says Ashok Banker, “In 2003, the Ramayana series was published internationally and a lot of readers wrote in with their comments. Enrique Alcatena, an illustrator from Argentina, mailed me saying he was a fan of the series and we kept in touch. He offered his services if I ever wanted to make my series into a graphic novel. It was he who put the idea into my head. It wasn't a conscious decision. I tried it out because I loved his work. He could capture the essence of the series without even having been to India.”

And Banker explains that the trend is catching up because people would like to see their favourite books in all forms. “In the West, there is currently a huge resurgence in biblical literature and

The Bible has come out as a graphic novel ( The Manga Bible ). This form has become very popular among youngsters. It's colourful and I guess easier to relate to and read,” says Banker.

The concept isn't new says popular graphic novelist Sarnath Bannerjee. “I think reinterpreting books as graphic novels is a good idea, and it has been practised since ages, from converting Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe to comics. Although sentence by sentence retranslation of a book is a waste of time, it should be treated like cinema, where the director reworks on the narrative and uses the language of his own medium to recreate the film. It should be the same with comics. I am interested in reinterpretation not just illustrating a text.”

Mahesh Rathnam, a graphic novel enthusiast, thinks novels are best left as they are.

“Graphic novels have a way of grabbing people's attention since they come across like a storyboard for a movie. While it could help decide whether a novel has potential to be made into a movie, I think adaptations of books into graphic novels are unwarranted. Converting either medium into films is a better way of adapting them.”

Ananth Padmanabhan, vice president — sales, Penguin Books India, says “Graphic novels have a niche market here, something like a cult following. When a suitable book comes along that can be envisioned not only in text but has potential to become a graphic novel, we'd like to exploit the market. A lot of books would look wonderful if they are illustrated well. Wouldn't you like to see your favourite book illustrated?”

He adds, “It is a new way of delivering cult classics. This is also because a lot of youngsters are reading off devices like an iPad or Kindle; it makes it easier to read a story.”

Ashok Banker believes that there are other genres that this trend can explore. “Most of the work that has been adapted into the graphic form is fiction. I think non-fiction also lends itself to this form. People would like to read true stories easily told through pictures, making the book entertaining and informative. But it must be our own kind of graphic novel, something indigenous.”