Review | Ravanayan

Some of my fondest childhood memories involve my Pati  and her bedtime stories. Each night I would hear about how a child lost his head and was given an elephant head in return or how asuras and devas fought a tug of war on either side of a turtle while a beautiful apsara walked in from the ocean, much like a Bond girl, holding a potful of eternal life. Mythology pervades our everyday Indian life which makes it ironic how little magic there is in our books or movies. I am sure we can debate that for hours.  It's not lack of interest on part of the reading public- The Kingdom of Melua has been a huge success.  Holy Cow is tapping into that same audience with their series of comic books based on the life and journey of the greatest villain in Indian mythology, Ravana. They state in their introduction that : Ravanayan is not the opposite of Ramayana. It is only a different shade.


See the trailer for the series here. The art is very compelling.

And with that they embark on retelling the story of a misunderstood youngster who is caught in a moral abyss right from the very start. We begin with a very hollywood style narrative about men and their need to find out who they are. I can imagine Morgan Freeman or Amitabh Bachchan narrating it. I have to admit it confused me a little. Then comes a flashback which takes us to the beginning. For us comic book lovers, this is the origin issue and Ravana is our super hero. We meet his siblings and witness an event that gives us a peek into the contradictory nature of this twisted mind. I did not know that Ravana was called Dashanan as a child or that he was the son of a sage. Also do not know how many liberties our writer has taken with the storyline. 

It ends abruptly but with you wanting some more. I loved the look of Dashanan, white flowing hair that reminded me of Axl Rose. The art work is of a high quality with nuanced movement and some lovely facial expressions but completely let down by the printing. Much of my first issue was blurred and that is detrimental to a comic. Perhaps the glitch was only in my cop.  I very much hope so. I bought this via Flipkart but the Holy Cow website is offering me subscription to the series for Rs 500 which I will buy right after I finish this review. 

Vijayendra Mohanty and Vivek Goel are the brains behind Holy Cow comic books. The introduction gives us an insight into what inspired the series and almost a justification for why they are dedicating it to such an unlikely hero. As a child I was somewhat fascinated by Ravana and did think he was rather misunderstood as all he did was defend his sister, who I admit was a bit of bunny boiler.

To subscribe to all ten issues in the series visit Holy Cow Entertainment and Vivek Goel will give you the details. It costs  Rs 500 and includes a complimentary copy of a new series.  For just a taster you can buy the first issue from Flipkart like I did. Quite pleased that we have a graphic novel company to call our own now. 

Review | Frank Miller's Bad Boy

"Maybe it’s a dream or maybe it’s a memory. I don’t know which. I don’t know anything. The air’s cold and it cuts into my lungs. It makes me want a cigarette."

Ever had a nightmare where you’re running with nowhere to hide and the only way out is to leap out of a window or off a cliff? Jason’s living that nightmare. Only in his case it could also be real. Bad Boy, a graphic novel written by Frank Miller with art by Simon Bisley is an intriguing shorter than short graphic novel that lasts all of 15 minutes and what a good 15 minutes it is.

Jason is a young boy. Not older than 8 years if we’re going by size. He’s trying to escape from Sacred Oaks, a prototype world free of drugs, war, meat and to Jason’s distress – cigarettes. The captors look like dangerous robots built out of scrap metal. The doctor looks like a naked Amazon – a centerfold, he calls her – who needs him to obey in order to make Sacred Oaks the perfect place. Who is he? He doesn’t know. How did he get there? He doesn’t know. Why are they so desperate to keep him confined? He’s going to find out.

I joined a library recently. It’s the best thing, I tell you. It’s called Leaping Windows (for Mumbai only) and it’s got a vast collection of graphic novels, comics and Manga that are delivered to your doorstep. I haven’t read too many of these in the past save for the odd Tinkle, Archie and that one time, Watchmen. But I do know that as an ardent fan of the written word, the pictures don’t go a long way if the story’s too short. I can already visualize fans of the art form spitting at their screens and noting my coordinates to come conk me over the head. But that’s just my opinion. Or maybe I’ve just been a bit unlucky and unaware to order the right stuff.  

Since I joined Leaping Windows, I’m two books in, I’ve had the misfortune of ordering titles that are 40 pages or less. That’s a whole lot of art work and a wonderfully illustrated story but a short read nonetheless. And when you’re done with one short story, you need to get to the next one.

Then there’s the story itself. Bad Boy would have been brilliant had it been a larger story. It has a promising start – (You’re not my mommy, bitch!)—but it leaves a lot of gaping holes along the way. Jason proclaims they want his mind but to me it seems like the Amazon doctor just wants his compliance. It’s not the same thing, really, is it? Then there’s the matter with Rachel which doesn’t get explained entirely. Why did she try to convince him to go back like she couldn’t do so herself?.... Hold on... *15 minutes later* All right. That explains that I guess.

I like Jason. He a version of Calvin that smokes, swears, hurts and has a cat named Hitler instead of a stuffed tiger. But Mr Miller – this story needs so much more. I implore you to start with answers to the questions already raised, and questions to the answers that came too easily.

Know of any graphic more novels I should read? Please feel free to recommend a title or two. As of now I've got Marvel's Kick Ass in queue.