Comics get cyber savvy

From Shikari Shambu and Suppandi to Aghoris and Zombies, the Indian comic industry’s resurgence over the last few years has been marked by huge shifts in style, form and content. However, taking this change a step ahead, the industry now seems ready to embrace the digital world and is taking its content directly to its younger target audience.

While the Internet and digital media, as far as comics are concerned, has largely remained a playground for amateur artists and web comics, even a number of traditional publishers such as Amar Chitra Katha are now not far behind in adapting to the new media. Driving this shift is Comic Con India, which has played an important part in bringing about this resurgence.

Comic Con India will be hosting a ‘Comic Book Week’ this month along with workshops, across Indian cities — including Chennai — where comics from major publications will be made available online and through apps, websites and platforms such as ReadWhere for free or cheaper rates. However, this has only been a culmination of concerted efforts from major new age and traditional publishers for comics in the country to go digital. With dozens of apps across platforms dishing out hundreds of titles every week, it seems interesting times are ahead!
Jatin Varma, the founder of Comic Con India, talks about why it took so long for the event to organise something in namma ooru — “We were keen on doing something in Chennai for a while; including the city in our Comic Book Celebration Week with workshops etc. certainly seemed appropriate. The workshop is for students at IIT Chennai, and we are excited to bring over artist Abhijeet Kini to conduct it. It will be a great experience for them.”

When asked whether the main event plans on making its way to the city, he responds, “We don’t have any plans to host one of our shows in Chennai in the near future. But we certainly do plan to organise more workshops and small fan outreach events in the city in the near future. Our workshop will be held at IIT Madras on July 9.” Apart from the advantages new media offers, going digital is the only way forward for the comic industry, which is grappling with several woes, contends independent comic artist and creator of Angry Maushi, Abhijeet Kini who will host the workshop. Abhijeet says, “A primary hassle that has held back the comics industry is distribution. Traditional methods of distribution such as getting your work to the bookshelves hardly work anymore. Firstly, finding a distributor is difficult, but more so is to market the comics and get them to the end user.”

However, this shift towards digital doesn’t necessarily mean the end of printed comics, adds Girija from Campfire Comics, which is pioneering the trend of new-age content with comics on topics as far and wide as superheroes and The Beatles — “The traditional form of printed comics will never disappear. I think the online comics will be more of a new vertical in comics and there is definitely a new audience for it.”

A huge advantage of going digital is that there are more options of how to deliver the content, says Girija. Campfire Comics, apart from revolutionising its content, is also looking at bringing new technology to the digital comics set up, she quips,  “As of now, we are preparing to launch a new interactive set-up for reading comics online. While we can’t reveal what it exactly is, we are hoping that it will serve as a middle ground between reading comics and animated content.”

The biggest advantage however, is the reach, adds Abhijeet — “Let’s face it. Not many people read books or newspapers on paper anymore. And getting content directly to an iPad or a Kindle makes sure that it reaches your end user immediately. Also technology has made sure that reading on phones, Kindles or iPads is as close to the experience of reading on a book as possible. While I still feel that the feeling of holding a hard copy of a comic is irreplaceable, many are content with what technology provides.”

He is also excited about the workshop in the city for Comic Book Celebration Week, “My workshop will detail the process I follow in creating comics. There will also be a short ideation session after which all the participants will be making their own comics so they can have a hands-on experience.” While new-age comic artists and publishers are going gung ho about the digital platform, traditional players such as Amar Chitra Katha are also not too far behind. However, Reena Puri of ACK Media, which publishes Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle among several other titles contends that the trick is to move with the times but at the same time not leave behind the existing audience, “The last generation would read comics in school libraries and at home, but that’s gone now. Now, there are two types of audience that we cater to. While the digital arena is an important space and most of the young demographic leans towards using technology, this is only in the urban areas. There are still several young kids in Tier II cities that still read hard copies.”

In terms of content, it is also necessary to change and shift to suit the times and the medium, says Reena. “The audience is getting more and more aware and are always politically correct. This is not just for the Internet, but outside of it too. So we have to move with the times. We will be sticking to our roots of taking from India’s heritage, but we also need a modern approach. For example, we are now bringing more representation for women in comics unlike earlier. Even in borrowing from history, we are becoming contemporary. For example, instead of the usual historical figures, we will be bringing stories of people like Salim Ali or a Varghese Kurien.”

(Inputs from Kaavya Pillai)