Graphic ideas

Karanvir Arora, managing director, Vimanika, has been passionate about comics since childhood. Currently, he's on a mission to present Indian mythology to the young generation in the form of comic books. His latest book, The Sixth 'The Legend of Karna' is one such effort. CS caught up with Karanvir to know more about his passion:


Growing up with comics
When I was a kid, my elder brother used to read out the Lord of the Rings trilogy to me at bedtime. He was an excellent narrator, and that helped me visualise things as they were narrated. I could see the hills, forests, characters and the works. Later on, I started reading series like Batman, Superman, etc and was totally hooked.

Mythology re-invented
The western mythology, though it's not very ancient has been well presented to the youth. However, when it comes to telling our youth about our heritage, we have only one source Amar Chitra Katha, and many kids can't relate to it. We need to tell our children these great stories in a format that's both entertaining and educative. So, I decided to launch a mythology series through Vimanika. These comics have facts, action, fantasy and spiritualism all rolled into one.u00a0

Crazy about Karna
Karna is one of the most enigmatic characters of the Mahabharata. While the Kauravas and Pandavas had the backing of their royal families, Karna was brought up with a low-caste charioteer. He had the drive to succeed, something the youth can relate to. He's very human and people can identify with him.u00a0

My favourite cartoon characters
Batman: He is very human with zero superpowers. The character has a lot of heroism as he fights crime and uses money to help the poor.u00a0
Hulk: The character has a very emotional Gothic feel to it.
Superman and Spiderman: They lead simple lives with no complications. And they are always there in times of crisis.u00a0