Return of the comics

Pages After a decade-long hiatus, the Indian comic industry is showing signs of revival, writes Ashwaq Masoodi

Be it the wit of the red turbaned Chacha Chaudhary or the bravery of super commando Dhruv, the Indian comic characters seem to have successfully revived their popularity, after a hiatus of nearly a decade.

The Indian comic industry saw a decline in sale and readership from around the mid 1990 to early 2004 but now the major publishers of comic books in the country are hoping better days.

"From 1997 to around 2003, because of the introduction of newer forms of media, our sale was affected...even our advertisers shifted. I wouldn’t say the industry is seeing a massive boom now...but it is growing steadily," Chairman Diamond Comics, Gulshan Rai said.

Indian comic characters like Billoo, Pinki, Doga, Maha bali, Bankelal, Chacha Chaudhary, Supandi, Dhruv, Nagaraj and many more have been entertaining the Indian audience for long now but after the entry of newer media like cartoon channels, internet, their demand fell.

"Sales went down from 5 lakh an issue to almost 50,000-60,000 and we are now again witnessing an upward trend," Raj Comics owner, Manoj Gupta said.

Full report here Tribune