Growth of comic books in India

Take a look at the growth of comic books, their resurgence and future in India.

The growing popularity of indigenous comics and graphic novels came into sharp focus with the holding of the first Comic Con India in Delhi in February 2011. Since then it has become an annual feature in the capital and has been held in other places too, such as Mumbai and Bangalore

The event, inspired by Comic Con International, which has been held in San Diego for many years, is organised by Jatin Varma of Twenty Onwards Media. A number of new comics have also been launched at the successive Comic Cons

Rakesh Khanna is Co-founder of Blaft Publications which brought out The Obliterary Journal, Vol. 1, an anthology of comics by different artists. Vol. 2 is due shortly

A host of new publishers have sprung up to publish comics and graphic novels. Apart from Blaft, there are also Pop Culture Publishing, Manta Ray, Campfi re Graphic Novels, Level 10 Entertainment, Vimanika Comics, Rovolt Entertainment, and Libera Artisti, among others

Established publishers such as Harper Collins India are also bringing out graphic novels while the heavyweights of yesteryear such as Amar Chitra Katha and Diamond Comics continue to thrive

While comic books popular in the West have always sold well in India, comics with local content are said to have begun only in the 1960s. One of the earliest and most successful local comic strips was Chacha Choudhury, created by Pran aka Pran Kumar Sharma in 1971, in Hindi, but later widely translated.

But it was the Amar Chitra Katha series which saw indigenous comics really take off. Shocked to discover that many Indian children knew more about Greek mythology than Indian, Anant Pai decided to make the latter more accessible. From 1967, he began publishing comic books on Indian mythology, the Indian epics, Indian fables and folkfore, biographies of great Indians and so forth

Amar Chitra Katha comics have since sold 110 million copies, introducing generations of Indians to their own culture and history. It still sells around 3 million copies a year

The sale of comic books reached their peak in the late 1980s, with some of the popular ones selling around 500,000 copies.

The rise of TV channels catering exclusively to children dealt a death blow to comic books. Their sales rapidly declined from the 1990s

There has, however, been a resurgence of interest in comic books in the past decade. Much serious interest has been sparked off by the rise of graphic novels

The first Indian graphic novel was River of Stories by Orijit Sen in 1994, based on the struggle against the construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam over the Narmada river. But the genre really came into its own with the publication of Sarnath Banerjee's Corridor in 2004

A number of exciting graphic novel writers have risen including Vishwajyoti Ghosh (Delhi Calm and This Side, That Side), Amruta Patil (Kari and Adi Parva) and Appupen (Moonward)

Ajitha G.S, Commissioning Editor, Harper Collins India. A serious art form is emerging. It is an interesting experiment and there is no doubt that the industry will grow. It will stay relevant for a long time

Although Manta Ray's comic books division is not breaking even, co-founder Pratheek Thomas too believes comics have great potential

Comic books with mythological themes remain as popular as ever. Among those who swear by mythology is Jason Quinn, Creative Content Head, Campfi re Graphic Novels

The digital platform is also emerging as a medium for experimentation. Manta Ray sold about 200 copies of digital versions of the comic book Mixtape #1 before it was printed

Not all, however, are enamoured of mythology. Among the dissenters is Blaft's Khanna

The future of the comic books industry looks bright