Millions of Indian children, in India and abroad, are familiar with the tales of the Panchatantra. These ancient stories are a kind of desi Aesop's fables. Often starring tigers, jackals, elephants and other animals these stories had morals such as: "Wit is superior to brute force" or "Don't listen to the advice of your natural enemy" or "Too much of greed is harmful" (see online versions of these stories, with almost uniformly poor production values, here and here).
One way in which these stories became popular in recent decades is through comic books such at the Amar Chitra Katha series (a comic imprint with hundreds of titles and easily available online at ACK-media.com). Here, for example is the cover of "How the Jackal Ate the Elephant and other stories." In a fit of nostalgia, just before my kids were about to be born, I bought about two dozen titles online, including some of the Panchatantra and Jataka tales editions, and as they have grown older, the kids have loved having the comics read to them.
But why should my kids read the same comics I grew up reading? It turns out that Virgin Comics, the Deepak Chopra/Shekhar Kapur/Gotham Chopra/Sharad Devarajan venture that is updating various comics and creating new ones ("Sadhu" is being made into a Nicholas Cage movie), has sets its sights on the Panchatantra.
This new version, called "Panchatantra: The Tall Tales of Vishnu Sharma" is certainly not my kids' father's Panchatantra. Done in the style and sensibility of high-end graphic novel (see examples below and at this link), the result is a rich, deep fascinating story that can keep the attention of today's teens.
From the press release - note they call it a "magazine":
“With Panchatantra The Tall Tales of Vishnu Sharma, we continue our mission of looking to India as a source of innovative creativity with a vault of stories that should be brought to the world,” commented Sharad Devarajan, CEO & Co-Founder of Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation. “The young Indian creators behind this series stand at the forefront of redefining a new golden age in Indian storytelling and shifting the country from being an outsourcer to being the source.”
In Virgin’s new monthly magazine, a nefarious multinational conglomerate is deliberately silencing the mythologies of yesterday. In an effort to stop the erasing of old fables, the characters from the Panchatantra myths emerge from their story-world into modern India to recruit the living descendent of the man who originally created them, a teenage Mumbai native, named Vishnu Sharma. In young Vishnu, they find a teenager consumed with ipods, cell phones, video games and modern entertainment – not exactly the champion of ancient stories they were hoping for.
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The comic book series is being written by leading Indian fantasy and comic book writer, Samit Basu ("Devi," "The Gameworld Trilogy") and illustrated by rising comic book star, Ashish Padlekar ("Dave Stewart’s Walk-In").
[An aside: I took a copy of the comic, er, magazine, with me to a SAJA event this week and passed it around for the journalists to see. Someone really liked it, because it didn't get my copy back and didn't get to finish it!]
See the full press release below and post your comments.
Journalists interested in review copies on in setting up interviews with the creators should contact PRESS Michelle Gomes, press[at]virgincomics.com
Earlier on SAJAforum: "Virgin Comics to launch teen horror genre in India."
PRESS CONTACT: Michelle Gomes: +1 212 584 4052; press@virgincomics.com
VIRGIN COMICS LAUNCHES NEW MAGAZINE
INSPIRED BY INDIA’S “PANCHATANTRA” TALES
“Panchatantra: The Tall Tales of Vishnu Sharma” continues Virgin’s mission to tap India’s greatest stories and bring them to the world
New York, NY —January 16, 2008 — Virgin Comics announced today the launch of “Panchatantra: The Tall Tales of Vishnu Sharma,” a new comic book series inspired by India’s ancient Panchatantra fables.
“With Panchatantra The Tall Tales of Vishnu Sharma, we continue our mission of looking to India as a source of innovative creativity with a vault of stories that should be brought to the world,” commented Sharad Devarajan, CEO & Co-Founder of Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation. “The young Indian creators behind this series stand at the forefront of redefining a new golden age in Indian storytelling and shifting the country from being an outsourcer to being the source.”
In Virgin’s new monthly magazine, a nefarious multinational conglomerate is deliberately silencing the mythologies of yesterday. In an effort to stop the erasing of old fables, the characters from the Panchatantra myths emerge from their story-world into modern India to recruit the living descendent of the man who originally created them, a teenage Mumbai native, named Vishnu Sharma. In young Vishnu, they find a teenager consumed with ipods, cell phones, video games and modern entertainment – not exactly the champion of ancient stories they were hoping for.
For the ancient story world is at war with the modern fables of "boy wizards" and "anime monsters," that are leading the efforts to exterminate these old stories and the characters that populate them. Can the classic characters of old, including the Lion, Bull, Monkey and Jackal, convince Vishnu to take on the mission of insuring their very survival? Can this modern Mumbai teenager find a way to make these old stories relevant to the modern world again?
"Tall Tales, as much as anything we have created at Virgin Comics, speaks to the innovative emergence of our creators. This is a story that is directly relevant to them and the rapidly changing and globalizing times in which they live, a true allegory for what old cultures are facing while mass media prospers," commented Gotham Chopra, Virgin Comics Chief Creative Officer.
The comic book series is being written by leading Indian fantasy and comic book writer, Samit Basu (Devi, The Gameworld Trilogy) and illustrated by rising comic book star, Ashish Padlekar (Dave Stewart’s Walk-In).
"Tall Tales has been a fabulous project to work on because of the collective madness it's spawned, both in its pages and among the team producing it. Taste its fuzzy, furry frenzy once and we guarantee you'll come back for more," Basu commented on the series.
The series was launched throughout comic book stores in North America today priced at US$2.99 and is also available online as a digital comic starting next week at www.virgincomics.com <http://www.virgincomics.com> .
About Virgin Comics
Virgin Comics is a global character entertainment company creating original stories and epic myths for worldwide audiences. The company was founded by Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Group, alongside author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan, Gotham Chopra and Suresh Seetharaman. Virgin is developing new stories with acclaimed filmmakers, actors, celebrities and musicians including John Woo, Guy Ritchie, Terry Gilliam, Dave Stewart, Ed Burns, Nicolas Cage, Priyanka Chopra, Duran Duran, Sachin Tendulkar and others. Feature films based on Virgin Comics’ characters are also in the works, including an animated feature The Secrets of the Seven Sounds and theatrical live action feature films based on The Sadhu, Gamekeeper and Virulents. The Company is also working with Sony Online Entertainment to develop a new online video game based on their hit comic series, Ramayan 3392 AD. Virgin Comics has also formed strategic partnerships with NBC-Universal to create new science fiction properties for graphic novels and television. Similarly in India, Virgin Comics recently established partnerships with Studio 18 and UTV to pioneer new content genres in publishing, TV, film & games. For more information visit: www.VirginComics.com
PRESS CONTACT: Michelle Gomes: +1 212 584 4052; press[at]virgincomics.com
