The Odayan - Desi graphic superheroes

Hyderabad: While graphic novels about the adventures of caped and masked crusaders from the West will always be popular, Indian superhero titles are finding their own fan following. The latest among these latter type of titles is the Odayan series, graphic novels that tell the tale of a warrior, rooted in the kalaripayuttu tradition of Kerala.

The series is being discussed on online fan boards and forums, not just for its complex storyline but also the cool artwork. The second title in the series — Yuddham — is now available in paperback, and co-creator and artist Deepak Sharma tells us that it is carrying forward the story of the vigilante protagonist Odayan in a compelling way, while keeping in mind the changing social milieu in the Kerala of that time.

Deepak and the author of the story, Suhas Sundar, wanted to invest their pictorial rendering of this tale with as much authenticity as possible and spent a lot of time researching the culture of Kerala from that time. “Things like politics, architecture, culture, and dressing (in the book) are almost true to the source material from that time and we created the characters who would fit in such a tumultuous time period. Their motivations, their ambitions were also tailor-made to suit their environment.

This was the 16th century, which saw the arrival of the Portuguese and the social structure of that region was highly motivated by both economics and military ambitions of the rulers. It was a highly martial society where it was not unusual to settle mutual conflicts through combat.”

Suhas and Deepak plan to complete the story within five installments, and through all the books, the style of artwork — monochromatic, with the only splashes of colour seen on the painted mask that is the vigilante Odayan’s face — will remain constant. Deepak says the choice to keep colour to a minimum was a deliberate storytelling device, to balance out the rich detailing in the panels — also, in a sense, to highlight the violence in the narrative.

“Odayan is a vigilante imparting justice and exacting revenge at the same time. He is not a boy scout and certainly not above committing crimes. He is definitely not an idol or a hero; he is flawed,” says Deepak. “This is what has attracted readers, I think.”