Love manga? This start-up is creating Indian versions of Japanese-style comics

Updated On: 29 May, 2025 09:29 AM IST | Mumbai | Nandini Varma

A start-up in Pune is creating comics for readers who enjoy Japanese-style manga with Indian stories that come to life in outer space and more recently, on cricket grounds

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A panel from PowerPlay. Illustration courtesy/Hirak J Talukdar

Pune-based start-up Qissa Comics has been creating manga-style comics since June 2024. Their latest series is called PowerPlay and will excite cricket lovers. In addition, they have two other ongoing series — each with multiple chapters. They release a new chapter serially, every two-three months to keep their readers gripped to the stories. While the first series is a space-inspired comic, the second is based on six paths of Hinduism that Vishwesh Shetty, founder of the start-up and author of the comics, stumbled upon.

I started writing the script for my first comic in June last year, and released the first chapter in October,” Shetty tells us. This was to participate in the Indie Comix Fest in New Delhi. “It was the first event for which I completed my first book, and got it printed.” He also started his website, thereafter, and began selling copies online. While he offers his readers the option of a digital subscription to the comics, he encourages them to read them in print. “It’s very difficult to read and enjoy them digitally because they are in PDF format,” he shares, informing us that it can make the font and images look smaller than intended and take away from the experience that physical versions promise.

The Pune-based studio’s published works. PICS COURTESY/VISHWESH SHETTY