Utter
the words ‘Internet’, ‘comics’ and ‘free’ in the same breath, and the
words ‘online piracy’ crop up inadvertently. But don’t worry; we’re not
urging you to download off Piratebay. We’re talking about graphicindia.
com, a website dedicated to Indian graphic novels. The comic site
features works by writers Samit Basu, Samik Dasgupta and Siddharth
Kotian among others. But here’s the best part — you can read an ongoing
series for free, one chapter a week.
Author
Samit Basu says, “The model of free comics is nearly 60 years old. In
America, since the beginning of the genre, you’d get free promotional
comics. DC even has a ‘free comic book day’. The idea is to take the
same model online.” Samit’s newest novel, titled Unholi, is a sort of
apocalyptic take on Holi. Brilliantly (and somewhat eerily) illustrated
by artist Jeevan Kang, it depicts a zombie attack in Delhi on the day of
the festival. For now, you can read the first four chapters online,
while Samit works on the rest of it.
Other
interesting reads worth a look include a Ramayana set in the year
3392AD and a horror series called Untouchable. There’s also Devi, a
graphic novel about a goddess who looks more like a superhero in her
leather overalls. A comic by Stan Lee (who co-created Spider-Man,
Ironman and Thor, among others) about a superhero in Mumbai is one of
the most awaited novels on the website.
So,
if all the content is available for free, how do the novels (and
publishers Liquid Comics, who run the website) make money? “In a digital
age, the greatest value for any content company is to build loyal
audiences,” feels Sharad Devarajan, CEO and founder of Liquid Comics.
Sharad and his team intend to build their audience-base through free
content and hope to have them buy a physical copy or the e-book
subsequently.
With
the launch of specialised comic book libraries in the city and the
Comic Con taking place in three cities across the country, has the
audience for the genre grown or does it remain as niche in India? Sharad
says, “Five years back, comics were still perceived to be kids
products. Now, a new generation of Indian creators have begun expanding
the boundaries of the medium.” Samit adds, “Right now, the market is
building slowly. It’s free, so the readership is big. When you have to
pay for it, it’ll be a whole different story.” Irrespective, for those
of us who love a good graphic novel, there’s no reason to complain.
Graphic Details
Source | http://books.hindustantimes.
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