A lot of good things happening.<\/p>\n
The mundane ( read “materialistic”) stuff first. A trip to Walden got me this month’s swag of Gotham comics. I never held Sharad Devarajan and his crew in high regard, except for the fact that they were bringing one of the best Marvel titles to India. Ultimate Spiderman<\/b> happens to be the particular title I am talking about, and really, any reader would find Brian Michael Bendis’s work on the book nothing sort of path-breaking. The best part about the book is that it concentrates so much on Peter Parker, rather than Spiderman. Think young, think a scrawny High School kid who gets these amazing powers. ( No, don’t think Tobey Maguire, he was much too old ) And this kid is trying to find his limits, trying to figure out what<\/i> he can do with his powers, and most of the time he’s screwing up badly. Granted, this was the premise of the original 1962 Spiderman series, but Bendis carries it a step, no, several steps further, by adding neat twists to the tale as we know it, by making Peter Parker more than a shunned Science geek. He actually has a life<\/i> here (not to mention a funky haircut ) and he’s not the “Yes, aunt May, I love you, aunt May” guy that used to be around. There’s another Spiderman title published by Gotham comics – called simply Spiderman<\/i> . It’s by John Byrne, and trust me, after reading Ultimate Spiderman<\/i>, it’s almost an affront to follow Byrne’s mediocre storyline. Suffice it to say ( and feel free to repeat after me ) – Bendis is God.<\/p>\n
OK, I cheated. I went to some review site and actually got the entire storyline upto issue 45, so that there’s no niggling sense of “what happens next?”. But it’s still a treat to watch the story unfolding in the comic book. I still maintain my stand – the comics medium is unparalleled when it comes to storytelling. <\/p>\n
And then I got a pleasant surprise. A very<\/i> pleasant surprise.<\/p>\n
Gotham also brings out a couple of Super-Specials every now and then. So far, they had been testing the waters, bringing out the previously released comics in collected format – standard Trade Paperback issue. And two or three Superman and Batman Elseworlds tales. But yesterday, I saw what was coming next. <\/p>\n
Wolverine: Origin<\/i>. Daredevil:Yellow<\/i>. Batman: Tower of Babel<\/i>. And believe it or not, they have started to reprint the Hush<\/i> storyline in Batman – which happens to be an ongoing series right now<\/i>!!!! <\/p>\n
Monsieurs and Mesdames, I think comics are beginning to come of age in India. I particularly like the mini-comic format in which Gotham is bringing these titles out, it’s small, godd enough to fit your pocket, and it’s cheap,so kids can afford it. And kids, I dunno, always seem to have this affinity for things that look small, know what I mean? The fact that I can’t find<\/i> older issues of Ultimate Spiderman<\/i> and JLA<\/i> ( another neat series, written by Grant Morrison ) goes to show that good storylines and writing is appreciated even here. I will forget the collectible aspect of comics for now, but the reading value of comicbooks, I believe, will not do anyone any harm.<\/p>\n
(Oh jeez, I sound so holier-than-thou up in this last paragraph. <\/i> )<\/p>\n
This is crazy, but I have this weird idea that by the end of next year, Gotham will be reprinting the Sandman<\/i> titles in India. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n
I also bought the Batman stash I had seen in Sec’bad. At 35 rupees each. And the guys there say that newer stocks are coming in by next week, with titles at 40 rupees. I told them that I would buy out the lot, if they get Batman. Let’s see.<\/p>\n
More good things happening in my life. Of course, it’s nothing to do with my everyday, ho-hum interests. I just don’t know where to start. Maybe I will just frame my thoughts properly and write down something when I get the time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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