Desi Ambassadors? Comic creators delve into the Indian universe

In 1938 Jerry Siegel created Superman Since then comic book superheroes have become a global phenomenon Mark Millarrsquos latest creation The Ambassadors for Image Comics brings a new iteration of these heroes into the spotlight The first edition released earlier this week on April 5 saw a South Korean superhero The seriesrsquo next edition Code Name India will be released on April 12 with an Indian superhero from the heart of DelhiAlok Sharma writer director and cofounder of Indusverse comics is familiar with the Indian vision of Millarrsquos work ldquoHe wanted to be authentic and understand how Indians would react or capture the ethos unlike beforerdquo Sharma says Indusverse published the Hindi version of the first bookBridging the gapIndia has been a part of international comics before From Deadpool and Nick Fury to Batmanrsquos India connection the country has had mentions in the comicverse But they often had stereotypical descriptions notes SharmaSharma explains his role as a cultural bridge ldquoFor instance Millar was curious if the superhero was to save miners from a collapsed mine would they call him lsquoSupermanrsquo I explained that the more likely reference would be Shaktimaan I also had to explain how a store employee would typically live in Jamna Paar East Delhi not Greater Kailash These facets add to authenticityrdquo he remarksInternational attentionMillar is the New York Times bestselling author for titles such as Kingsman Jupiterrsquos Legacy and KickAss He also created the cult classics Civil War and Old Man Logan for Marvel This new series revolves around a scientist who has cracked the genome to create superheroes and wants to give them to the most deserving individuals It has been referred to as lsquothe Willy Wonka of superheroesrsquoThe legacy of the creator and the attention to detail makes it a key moment for the Indian superhero It is also a sign of Indiarsquos potential market power ldquoMarvel has already realised the potential marketrdquo he saysIt might soon be time for the Indian superhero to riseLog on to imagecomicscomTime to evolve India had a nascent comic culture in the rsquo80s Now we are seeing writers and illustrators doing good work But one has to understand that comics are a relatively new medium in India As creators we are experimenting with the form its nuances and create our own style In some ways we are waiting for a Todd McFarlane or Mark Millar to emerge from IndiaMy recco Doga remains the most complex and nuanced Indian superhero and deserves a film to his nameAlok Sharma writerillustrator cofounder Indusverse comicsNostalgia thrives I donrsquot agree that we have not had the same popularity as Marvel or DC I suppose there has been a generational shift The rsquo90s saw characters such as Nagraj or Doga sell out four lakh editions every week The new generation has access to more international comics multimedia forms and entertainment which has affected readership The habit of reading comics in Indian languages or otherwise is also falling Despite that the legacy of the characters and their nostalgia is unaffectedMy recco Nagraj remains a great character With his deep connection to Indian mythology he would be great on the big screenSanjay Gupta studio head Raj ComicsBuilding a new universe In terms of books Indian comics are fairly popular Publishers like Raj and Diamond Comics created the awareness we have today As for the craze or penetration once even Marvel was considered lowbrow The recent upsurge is a resulting product of the movies which have had their share of failures Also the vibrant Indian mythology is something the West had to recreate through comics So every creator since has had to compete with them However one has to capture the essence of epics like the Ramayana or Mahabharata to truly create a new universeMy recco Shaktimaan is the perfect superhero and might soon be coming out on the big screenSaumin Patel Illustrator