Desicritics Comments on Comics Review: Virgin Comics' Ganesha by Deepak Chopra

Comment by Saurav Mohapatra

Wed, 6 Jun 2007 10:23:47 EDT

Sanjay, Well it is a reimagining... set in a dystopic future and not a retelling. :) regards Saurav

Comment by Sanjay

Wed, 6 Jun 2007 00:50:13 EDT

And here's the link to Part 2 I'm sure you all know the story. The Pandavas take refuge in a village for a short time. Kunti devi learns from the villagers that they are being terrorized by a demon named Bakasura. She tells them not to worry, and that she will send her son Bhima to deal with him. Bhima gets hungry on the way, and starts feasting on the offerings meant to appease the demon. Hehe, poor demon don't get no respect while Bhima's chowing down. ;)

Comment by Sanjay

Wed, 6 Jun 2007 00:46:24 EDT

Saurav, well, if you know anybody involved in "Ramayana 3392", tell them that they're really deviating way too much from the original Ramayana. Bharat looks like Conan, and has his appetite for women. Shatrughan looks like a computer nerd. The whole story has the look and atmosphere of the movie "300", as we watch Rama slash his way through demons like a cuisin-art. Mithila is some kind of undersea kingdom, with Janak as its King Neptune. Sita, as daughter of Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth) has the power to give life and grow plants. Rama, instead of breaking Janaka's bow in a swayamavara contest, is gifted the bow to use as his ultimate weapon. Some of the demons look like Orcs from the Peter Jackon movie trilogy, while others are like the Taliban, strapping suicide bombs to themselves and yelling "God is Great! And Ravan is greater!" before detonating themselves. Anyway, here's a toon I liked - "Bhima vs Bakasura" - again in Spanish: Part 1

Comment by Saurav Mohapatra

Wed, 6 Jun 2007 00:31:26 EDT

@Sanjay There might be plans for other media adaptations of DEVI, but i am not aware of any right now. The style / tone of the art depends on the writer / artist's vision. Take batman for example. The 60's show was campy while Miller's take in DK and DK2 is uber gritty. @Deepti Looking forward to your comments on KALI. It comes out 13th june. Saw the print composite and it simply rocks big time :D

Comment by Deepti Lamba

Mon, 4 Jun 2007 12:39:30 EDT

Saurav, thanks for stopping by. Enjoyed the read and I am looking forward to other works by you. Sanjay, its waaaay better than Dora The Explorer;)

Comment by Sanjay

Sat, 2 Jun 2007 14:20:48 EDT

Saurav, I liked the overall style of the Devi comic, except that she's got a bit of a goth look to her in some scenes. Any chance it'll be made into animation?

Comment by Saurav Mohapatra

Sat, 2 Jun 2007 09:10:15 EDT

Deepti, Thanks for your kind words on Deepak Chopra presents INDIA AUTHENTIC #1 / Ganesha. I am the writer of that series and it feels nice to have the book appreciated by folks. Do watch out for INDIA AUTHENTIC #2 which is on KALI. As per DEVI a new arc titled "KARMAGEDDON: started from #11/Ateeta regards Saurav Mohapatra

Comment by Sanjay

Sat, 2 Jun 2007 02:12:57 EDT

Here, I've found part1: video The music is nice, and sounds a little more hip than the Yugo Sako anime version. I notice that Hanuman's attracting most of the animation interest these days. He's racking up more onscreen incarnations than Batman.

Comment by Sanjay

Sat, 2 Jun 2007 01:07:10 EDT

Hanuman finds senorita Sita in Ravan's garden. Being one mucho tough hombre, he then gets into a fight with los rakshasos, until Indrajit zaps him with the BrahmAstra (aye caramba!). Los rakshasos then take him in front of Ravana, and set his tail on fire (agua! agua!) video I dunno, sounds like a spaghetti western to me. Fortunately, there is no Mel Gibson version, where he has to outrun the jaguar while fleeing the human sacrifice ritual.

Comment by Sanjay

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 18:04:16 EDT

Preview trailer for The Warrior Twins: link

Comment by Sanjay

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 18:02:30 EDT

Speaking of colourfully illustrated mythology, here's a preview trailer for The Warrior Twins: preview trailer They're going to have a London studio doing the voice work, so hopefully that should turn out good as well.

Comment by Sanjay

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 18:02:19 EDT

testing, hello, hello?

Comment by Deepti Lamba

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 12:56:50 EDT

Does that mean no Ramayana festival? Yeah, past month it had become a bit too much;)

Comment by Amrita

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 11:52:27 EDT

Dee - that's an awesome review. I'm a little OD'd on Ramayana so I'm going to get this one instead.

Comment by Deepti Lamba

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 05:50:12 EDT

Tanay, nostalgia is always good for the soul. Most of our childhood memories are connected with Indian comics:) DG, I think adolescents can read these graphic novels though Sadhu was pretty violent. BrahmaRakshasa, I didn't much care for Sadhu or Devi but liked Ramayana. The initial series were more for the Western audience but I'm kind of hoping that they may redeem themselves with Ganesha.

Comment by BrahmaRakshasa

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 05:31:26 EDT

I read the Virgin series a bit I caught Devi, Sadhu and Snakewoman, and somehow felt letdown. The occasional reference to transient oddities such as Himesh Reshammiya make sure that these books will not last the test of time. I guess I'll review these sometime in the near future.I guess I expected more from the Chopra-Branson alliance.

Comment by DG

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 04:23:13 EDT

Where can I get my hands on a copy, Dee? And more importantly, what age group does this cater to?

Comment by Tanay

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 03:35:39 EDT

Good one, and also innovative way to show the kids of this generation about mythology. Deepti, guess the paper quality is also good as you mentioned in the post as it is coiffured for modern inking and aesthetic tastes. This is quite unlike the Amar Chitra Katha series which I have till date, the paper grows yellow, looks dampish, turns brittle and crispy and with time unfolding few pages makes the paper, crack crack... Amar Chitra Katha, Indrajal, Chacha Choudhury, Tinkle, Phantom , desi-comics series today reminds me of yellow teacup with a crack to arrest a few big drops that smell like big sky :)