Comic writer tackles daughter's autism with humour

Award-winning Spanish illustrator Miguel Gallardo has overcome the limitations imposed by his daughter's autism by doing what he does best - drawing.

Gallardo's sketches over 12 years led to a beautifully etched and very funny comic book, Maria and I (Maria y Yo), explaining everyday life with his daughter and its challenges

That book has now become a documentary film of the same name, which opens in Spain this week.

"You could say I had a debt to pay (to my past) or something like that. The drawings came from a diary I started when Maria was born ... but really it took me 13 years to find the right voice to tell a difficult story," he said.

Full report here DNA

Comic fable probes the foreigner's life in India

Don McKellar and Lisa Ray star in Dilip Mehta’s Cooking with Stella, a comic fable set in the split world of New Delhi, India.

Ray plays a newly installed Canadian High Commissioner and McKellar’s her stay-at-home husband, who each have a tough time adjusting to the class system in their own home.

They live in the relative luxury of the diplomatic compound staffed by servants who live in the real, down and dirty New Delhi, including a cook named Stella who runs a black market business with Canadian supplies.

“It was great to be in India and have a job and a reason to be there,” says McKellar. “It’s not the easiest city to explore; it’s a chaotic city, but it’s a sensual city. The cliché about India is true — it is very sensual with smells and sounds and noise. And touch! People touch you, there is no personal space. It’s sort of overwhelming.

Full report here Metronews

Feluda for the young

“Our aim is to introduce the new generation to the genius of Satyajit Ray by bringing his stories of Feluda, the professional detective with a super-sharp brain, in comic book form,” said Subhadra Sengupta at the launch of Murder by the Sea at Eureka Book Store in DLF Mall, Saket, the other day. The comic book is targeted at children in the age group of nine years and above and is the third in the series that has been launched by Penguin in the last few months, with two more in the pipeline.

The launch was attended by a group of enthusiastic children with their parents in tow, out for a fun-filled Sunday afternoon. To make the occasion interesting, an interactive session was introduced where children were given a series of illustrations with blank boxes. They were asked to interpret the dialogues and “make their own comic".

Their work was evaluated by Tapas Guha, who has done artwork for the comic book. Said Guha, “Ray had already illustrated the character of Feluda and other prominent characters in the series, like his cousin Topshe and friend Lalmohan Ganguli; I kept these illustrations in mind while giving it final shape.”
Full report here Hindu

Michelle Obama set to appear in biographical comic book

US first lady Michelle Obama is set to appear in a biographical comic book called 'Female Force: Michelle Obama', according to a PTI report. According to Bluewaters Productions, this latest installment in the series 'Female Force' offers a biography of President Barack Obama's better half "as she secures her place in American history", USA Today reported.

The story is written by Neal Bailey and drawn by Joshua LaBello with a cover by Vinnie Tartamella.

The first two books in the 'Female Force' series, featuring Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, are currently on their third printing.

"The reaction has been insane," Bluewater president Darren Davis told the Chicago Tribune. He expects Michelle's book to outsell Clinton and Palin's.

Three more 'Female Force' titles, featuring Caroline Kennedy, Princess Diana and Condoleezza Rice, are in production and scheduled for release in the coming months. The USD 3.99 comic will hit the stores on April 29.

Priyanka as comic strip heroine

Priyanka Chopra is to feature in an international comic book. She becomes the first Bollywood star and the second in India after Sachin Tendulkar to be featured in an international comic series.

British businessman Richard Branson, who recently showered accolades on the actress, is keen on turning her into a comic strip heroine for his publishing house. The character will look like her and will also be named after her.

Hillary is comic book star

Women are definitely the comic book flavour of the season, says a CNN report.

No capes, no tights: Female Force stars Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Caroline Kennedy. Washington-based publisher Bluewater Productions released a series of comic books featuring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on March 11. The company says it has already sold 7,500 copies of each to distributors. "We really want to show strong, independent, female role models in comics," said Darren Davis, president of Bluewater Productions.

The first two issues in Female Force, already released, feature Clinton and Palin. The next two will feature Caroline Kennedy and First Lady Michelle Obama.The Michelle Obama comic is expected to be released in April, and has pre-sold 28,000 copies.

Another company released comics about President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain during the presidential election. Then they decided that Hillary Clinton's story needed to be told. "She was the first [major] female presidential candidate, so we just started with [her], and there was so much interest in it," said Jason Schultz, executive vice president of Bluewater Productions.

Superman on a high

A rare copy of the first Superman comic book sold for $ 317,200 at auction, according to AFP reports.

This is a super hero sized increase on the original 10 cents paid back in 1938.

Bids in the online auction, which started two weeks ago on http://www.comicconnect.com/, immediately topped $200,000 and a last-minute surge crossed the $300,000 mark. There were 89 bids and Comic Connect extended the deadline by several minutes to catch the late interest.

The book is a rare and unrestored copy of the first issue of Action Comics, with a cover showing Superman in his familiar red cape, hurling a green car past terrified onlookers.

Neither the seller nor the buyer were identified.

Chacha Chowdhary, Pinki, Sabu to reinvent themselves

License India, which claims to be India’s first complete licensing solution provider, is all set to provide a licensing platform to the Diamond comic characters – Chacha Chowdhary, Pinki, Sabu, Billoo, etc through character licensing and animation. Diamond Comics, a pioneer in Indian Comic industry will soon enter into a related tie-up with License India, a division of Franchise India Holdings Limited. The plans will be unveiled at the Brand Licensing & Merchandising show 2009 in Mumbai.

As per the agreement, the characters of Diamond Comics will now be seen in cartoons, animated films, mobile games and would also have licensed merchandise in children’s properties – clothes, toys, stationary, etc.

According to Gaurav Marya, President- License India, “Animation & Character licensing industry in India has bright prospects due its large population that accounts for a major chunk of the world's population. Also, the vast majority of India’s $75-$100 million in retail sales comes from licensed merchandise in children’s properties. “

The global animation market (demand perspective) was estimated at US $59 billion in 2006 and is expected to reach US $80 billion by 2010. In India, the animation industry value is pegged at Rs.1, 595 crore in the FY 07, registering a growth of 24% over the previous fiscal year, with the entertainment segment contributing nearly 68% of the total market in India. Exports, mostly to US and Europe, accounted for more than 70% of the revenues in 2006.

Gulshan Rai, Chairman & MD, Diamond Comics said, “India is a very big country and is manufacturing large number of children oriented products. In the present scenario, our characters can be used in stationary products, Bubble-gums, Candies, Ice-Creams, Shoe Industry, Cycle Industry etc. and also on school children oriented products like school bags, their T-Shirts, Tattoos, Transfer Stickers and so on. We have heard much about Disney cartoons, Disney clothes & Disney stationary; now is the chance for the Indian comic characters to have their visibility worldwide through License India”.

“There has also been a steep increase in the number of ways to consume animation content than ever before. Increasing number of TV channels, greater accessibility to Internet, proliferation of mobile devices and increasing popularity of mobile, video & computer games, offering humongous potential for the Animation & Character Licensing in India”, adds Rai.

According to Anupama Bindra, Business Head, License India, “The Indian animation industry is growing rapidly with about 300 animation companies employing 12,000 people and 3,000 freelancers in India. The potential of Indian character licensing, especially, Diamond Comics characters, is great as people can easily recall these characters. We see tremendous potential in Indian character licensing industry and have aggressive plans to harness the same”.

A slew of players have entered the Indian markets for licensing merchandise and character franchise. Disney Consumer Products occupies the foremost position, with the characters of Mickey and Minnie alone generating 43% of its revenue. Over the last three years, merchandise-licensing business in India has been growing at more than 50 per cent, and total character licensing sales in India are estimated at Rs 500 crore.

Manmohan Shetty on Marvel's international advisory board,

Comic-book publishing company Marvel on March 10 formed an international advisory board to explore opportunities for expanding Marvel's character brands overseas.

Indian film producer Manmohan Shetty will represent India on the board. Shetty, president of the Film and Television Guild of India, is the founder and former chairman of Adlabs Films Ltd. His new media company, Walkwater Media Ltd., produces film and television content. Marvel started makingfilms last year with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, said it plans to capitalize on the global visibility its films are bringing to its characters.

The board, which is comprised of executives from key international markets, is chaired by Marvel Director James Halpin. Marvel has appointed a board member for China, and is looking out for other members.

Spider-man is Marvel's most popular character. marvel has not spelt out how plans to localize its characters in India.