02 April,2020 07:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Dalreen Ramos
It has become rare to live through a day without receiving a panic-inducing message on WhatsApp. Despite verified information that isn't hard to find, via a newspaper for instance, people do not hesitate to think before taking to rumour. The Attack of Coronaman, a seven-pager by Delhi-based Raj Comics, offers a dose of reality and hope.
The comic, written by Ayush and Manoj Gupta and illustrated by Aswin Amarnath R, was conceptualised a week ago. "Social media was flooded with messages, and at first we only passively thought about the issue at hand. Then, we decided to make a comic. We put it together in 72 hours, which makes it the fastest comic we've made," Ayush says. In the story, the iconic superhero Nagraj is tasked with defeating Coronaman who is infecting the city with a virus. Eventually, he learns that there is no need for him to get into a physical fight; the people of the city are already well-equipped to face him. No, they don't have any super powers but simply follow the guidelines issued by the government and the World Health Organisation by staying home and washing their hands. Now all Nagraj needs to do is amplify this message.
Ayush Gupta
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Having received good feedback on social media, Ayush says that the point of the comic was to reinforce the information conveyed by officials. "We already know what to do. But we have to keep following the rules with honesty," he asserts. The effort has been dedicated to the true heroes in this fight: health workers, medical researchers, grocery store owners and cleaners, among others. Although an immediate sequel isn't in the making, Ayush adds that they intend on making one once all of this is over. "That one will have a happy ending," he reveals.
Manoj Gupta
Log on to Raj Comics on Facebook to read the comic
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