Raj Comics began publishing superhero comics in 1984, with Doga, Nagraj and Bediya being the earliest characters in the genre. Around the same time, Raj Comics also started publishing issues based on Indian mythology, focused on mythological figures such as Bhishma, Ravan and Balram. Some of the early comics had original stories set in early history, or medieval times. Most of the comics have only been available in Hindi, with Nagraj being a notable exception. Amar Chitra Katha has an expansive collection of comics based on Indian mythology, with 73 issues. Within it are stories from Ramayan and Mahabharat, as well as stories focused around individual characters such as Kuber, Prahlad and Surya.Amar Chitra Katha also has a number of comics based on historical figures ranging across all time periods, including Mirabai, Tansen, and Jim Corbett. Together, Raj Comics and Amar Chitra Katha dominated the comic book scene for decades in India. However, there are a new bunch of publishers coming up now.
Graphic India has published Grant Morrison's 18 days, Myths of India and Ramayan 3392 AD. The last of these is set in the future, but is a retelling of Ramayana to showcase the fact that the story is eternally relevant. Holy Cow Entertainment has Ravanayan, which tells the story from the perspective of the villain. Vimanika Comics has Dashaavtar, I am Kalki, Shiva and Durga. Campfire has a vast catalog of historical and mythological graphic novels, including Chanakya: Of Serpants and Kings, The Kaurava Empire and Sundarkaand: Triumph of Hanuman.Campfire does not restrict itself to only Indian mythology, and has graphic novels based on other mythologies as well, including Jason and the Argonauts, Zeus and the Rise of the Olympians, Legend: The Labor of Heracles and Perseus: Destiny's Call. Aayumi Productions has Kaal, the
allure of mythological and historical comics is easy to understand. Buyers can instantly understand what the comic is about, and are probably familiar with the story. They are also easy to market. However, despite the setting, these publishers can experiment and push boundaries. Some of these comics are decidedly for adults, and explore mature themes.Additionally, they might tell the story from fresh perspectives, or include characters that are not clearly good or evil. Almost all of them are set in the distant past, with the exception of Ramayan 3392 AD. Even when the stories are set in contemporary times, they have characters that are mythical in origin, such as Item Dhamaka which has an apsara and an asura teaming up with a kid to clean up the streets of Mumbai. All of this goes to show just how great a subject matter Indian mythology is. These stories do not get old no matter how many times they are retold. The audience also enjoys the content, so the subject matter is inexhaustible.New superheroes take some time to become popular after being introduced, and some of the Indian Publishers have started venturing into this space. Some of these publishers including Holy Cow Entertainment, Fenil Comics and Raj Comics have superheroes in a contemporary setting, working in a shared universe.
We got a chance to speak to Vivek Goel, the founder of Holy Cow Entertainment. One of the first questions we had was about the kind of subjects chosen by Holy Cow, “We basically started with our bestselling series, Ravanayan. Ravanayan was more or less was a passion project for me. After publishing Ravanayan, I decided that I did not want my company to be tagged as someone who only publishes mythology. Then we started to develop superheroes, who are acting in more contemporary styles. Then Aghori began, and actually became really popular. We recently completed the Aghori series. We have published 20 issues of Aghori, along with several other superheroes. Apart from mythology, we are majorly into the superhero business now. "
We then asked if Goel saw any other emerging themes in the industry apart from mythology and history. Goel replied, "I don't see anyone emerging (with such themes), because I think the problem is that there is no industry over here." The Indian comics industry is more like a boutique industry. There are hardly any new players coming in. I really hope that more and more people should start coming in, so that we get a variety of the kind of comics we are getting in India. The market is very untapped, and there is a lot of talent over here. "
We probed the creator about the shared universe. Goel replied, "Basically, it started with Aghori, then we started publishing another title called Shaitan Singh." Both origins go back much before World War I. Shaitan is also working in contemporary times. Then we launched another character called Caster, who happens to be India's first catholic superhero. Recently, we have released a book called The Last Asuran. The Last Asuran follows the journey of Desh, who is supposed to be the last remaining Asura on the face of the Earth. These are the characters which are operating in contemporary times, in the HCverse, which is also known as the Holy Cow Universe. "
Now, there are some comics that venture into new genres, but these have not been as long running or popular as the ones that are based on mythology, history and superheroes. Holy Cow Entertainment actually has a horror comic called WereHouse, which has three one shots set in the past, present and future. Graphic India has a sci-fi / horror comic called Virulents, where a Lovecraftian monster emerges from the sands near a terrorist camp in Afghanistan. Speech Bubble has a series called Taranath Tantrik, that follows the adventures of a paranormal investigator in contemporary Kolkata. The Caravan and the follow up series The Caravan: Blood war by Yali Dream Creations is a pulpy curry western, where a police officer has to take on a gang of werewolf dacoits, helped by a vampire.13 Days by TBS Planet follows a group of kids from Bengaluru who end up getting haunted after a trip to Bandipur forest. These are almost all the good comics with alternative themes, and they are all horror.
One of the comic book artists who has been in the industry for a long time, and definitely stays away from historical and mythological themes is Abhijeet Kini. Kini has had a long career working on commissioned comics for Tinkle, Penguin, Random and Dainik Bhaskar. Some of his self published comics include Angry Maushi, Fanboys and Rhyme fighters. His stories and characters are comics in every sense of the word, farcical, absurd and hilarious. We asked if this was because of his instantly recognizable art style, “I guess, my art style does lend itself to some humor. I focus on humor, spoofs and satire. And I feel that satire and spoofs are a domain that is missing, and I wanted to kind of make up for that, and provide people something to laugh at.Our political scene and social scene are so full of comic characters, in a way they are all cartoons, so it kind of gives me fodder every day to create something new like this. If you notice my comics, some of them are sociopolitical satires. "
Just before Mumbai Comic Con 2019, we asked Jatin Varma, the founder of Comic Con India about the new themes that Indian comic books were exploring. Varma responded by saying, "I have seen horror and action be genres where people have created new content. But as always Mythology and history rule the roost when it comes to Indian comics."