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Saturday, September 20, 2008

16 Review O1: Iceberg Comics-1st Issue - XIII

Dear ComiRades,

Thanks for visiting my Blog & a BIG Thanks for all those who made a Comment or mailed me. I just make a simple request to all of those who mailed me - Kindly do your postings in the blog itself, unless untill they were personal info's.

In this post we are about to review a Tamil comics which is not from Tamil Nadu,Not even from India. Yes Am Talking about Iceberg Comics, A Wonderful Comics from a Wonderful Country (Comments inspired from Australian Cricket Writer Mike Coward when he Commented on Damien Martyn's Debut Series in the Famous 1991-92 Boxing Day Test of the Frank Worrel Trophy).

No,We are not talking about The Amalgam Comics Character who was part of JLX. When we say Iceberg Comics, We are referring The Comics from the Scenic Sri Lanka, Neighbour of India.Circa December 2005. That was the time when Editor Nisha Haran's 1st issue of Iceberg Comics Was released. Like a Mother Giving Birth to her Baby, Nisha Haran was so Happy on that time that he can still remember that incident. The 1st issue title was "Karuppu Surya Naal (கருப்பு சூரிய நாள்): The Day of the Black Sun" featuring XIII. Have a Look into the cover of the very first issue of Iceberg Comics.

Iceberg#1-Front

For those who came late, XIII is a Franco-Belgian Comic Series Written and Drawn By Belgians Jean Van Hamme and William Vance, Respectively. the Plot revolves around an amnesiac protagonist who seeks to discover his concealed past with a possible charge of Assassinating the President of US of A. XIII was initially serialised in 1984 in Spirou, and was later published by Daragaud. The series consists of 19 Albums with each one of them being off 44 pages. The cover scan of that & the original XIII Cover in French are given Below.

XIII French Cover Ludlum The Bourne Identity Cover 06 Rathapadalam 1

ComiRades will remember that the same series is been published by Prakash Publishers' Thighil Comics way back in the Mid 80's as issue no 6.The success of this Comics was so much that there were rumours that Actor Kamal Haasan's 1987 film Vetri Vizha was based on this. Not only that, the 2002 Salman Khan Film "Tumko Naa Bhool Paayenge" is also based on the plot. Actually Speaking, the Plot for XIII was inspired from the Robert Ludlum's Best selling 1980 Novel the Bourne identity, which was later filmed in 2002 with Matt Damon donning the Lead character in all the 3 Bourne series: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.

Coming back to the 1st issue of Iceberg Comics, The feeling was so Great to have a Book of that size (it was of a Size Bigger than Indrajaal Comics). It was of 48 pages and Priced as Rs 85/- (Sri Lankan Currency). The Inner cover Features a Trailer for the upcoming Comics & write up by the Editor Nisha Haran (A La Hot Line) where he shows off his anger on Stereo-typing of "Comics-is-For-Children" mentality.  Have a Look.

Iceberg#1-Front-InnerThe Rest of the Book was in Black & White (it will cost a Bomb to print them in Full colour at that size). Take a Look at the 1st page of the story and notice the way Abe is Pronounced over here.  Typical Sri Lankan Way. By the way, My Mother says that the Puppy-Dog in this page (Pronto) is very similar to My Puppy Named Bujji.
Iceberg#1-Page-01 
Now, More on the Pronunciation. Look into Page No 24 where Pocket is Pronounced as Poccket, Purse is Pers, Police Polis etc. No Wonder, Many Poets Call Sinhalese Tamil As a Beautiful Language.For Starters, Watch Kamal Haasan's Tenaali where he speaks The Same. The best part is that the Editor has not tinkered with the names of the Characters as often happens with many publications.
Iceberg#1-Page-24 
The final page of the story whereby XIII gets into the train. This is one of the Classic Moments in the history of comics where he says His Name which reveals the kind of a person he is.
Iceberg#1-Page-46 
These are the pages where the announcements on Subscription and other attractive schemes were mentioned. have a Look into the prizes available for Subscribing.
Iceberg#1-Page-47 Iceberg#1-Page-48
Here, The Inner covers of the Back wrapper. These feature trailers of the forthcoming books. One is a periodic & the other being a Spy Adventure called Secret of Islamabad Racket. They seems to be very interesting.

Iceberg#1-Back-Inner
Now the Back wrapper of the 1st issue. It has some of the most downloaded comic strips in the world. And also the announcement of the second issue called "Sevvindhiya Kudiyiruppu - Where the Indian Walks".
Iceberg#1-Back
The Next post will be on the Second issue of Iceberg Comics.Meanwhile, Those who can guess the names of the trailers announced on the 1st issue of Iceberg Comics, can Mail me / Post as comments. The 1st Three Correct Entries will stand to get a Surprise Gift from Yours Truly (Separate Gifts for Those who reside in India & those who don't).

Brand: Iceberg Comics (Sri Lanka).

Title: Karuppu Surya Naal

Cover Design: Soft Cover, Matte Laminated, Normal Cover

Serial Number: No. 01.

Size: A4

On Sale: 15thDecember 2005 Onwards.

Total No. of Pages: 48, Black & White.

Price: Priceless for Comic Fans; For others, Rs 85/- (Sri Lankan Currency)

Continuity: XIII Part 2 As the Next Issue.

Editor's Note: On the Front Inner Cover

Scan Courtesy: Kovai Dr Sathish

Well, that's all for now guys. Feel free to post your comments and suggestions in this blog using the Comments link below my sign or send mail to tamilcomicsulagam@gmail.com.

Thanks & Regards,
King Viswa.

16 comments:

  1. Hi Vishwa,
    Nice Update on Iceberg Comics. I do wonder what happened to them after the 4th issue? Have they released the 4th issue?

    if so, what is the title? Kindly do update on the same. Expecting uy post on the shops of comics availability in chennai.

    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good One on Iceberg Comics.

    However, i do have a doubt on the publication of the book. Everybody knows that Lion Comics has the rights to publish XIII in Tamil.

    If so, how come iceberg can publish it? isn't it violation of copyrighted material?

    Clarify.

    ReplyDelete
  3. From The Desk Of Rebel Ravi:

    Vishwa,

    Thanks for your mail. I request you to have a Subscribing Gadget like Feedblitz etc so that i can get info the moment you post a new one.

    Nice Update on the wonderful comics. It was such a pity that the war torn country can produce a superb comics but cannot sustain it.

    Rebel Ravi,
    Change is the Only constant thing in this world.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Viswa.... you are yet to get me the first 2 releases of Iceberg Comics, you promised, and now you are putting up a teaser for that with your blog.... how Mean :)

    By the way enable to Feed Burner/Atom option in the blog, so that people would be able to subscribe to your new posts.

    Malta: Most of the time Copyrights are issued only with a country-specific condition. Iceberg is from Sri Lanka, and they have done their own translation and copyright. So there is no copyright infringement.

    I would expect to see Iceberg coming back to the fold, but with the present political situation in that country, it's hard for any Tamil based projects to be active for long.

    Rafiq Raja
    Comicology

    ReplyDelete
  5. viswa
    really a nice blog on star comics. Hope in future you will come up with a separate blog on metha comics that featured John Steel as their top hero . Coming to the contest ,
    i reckon the second part of it was an "Code name Minnal " story . No idea on the first one . Hope i will get half of the prize atleast :)

    adios amico

    ReplyDelete
  6. oops sorry . I meant to say Iceberg comics not star comics.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Udhayam: Am posting a Series on Iceberg Alone & Hence Your Queries will be answered by the Man in the Hot Seat: Mr Nisha Haran Himself in the near future (Very Very Soon in My Comics Editors Interview Section).
    The post on the availablity of comics in chennai will be done by this week end thereby solving most of the queries like where it is available? etc.

    Malta: As pointed Out By Rafiq,Prakash Publishers hold The rights for India & Hence their is No Violation of Copyright issues, i Guess.

    Rebel Ravi: Thanks for your visit & suggestions. Am working out on the Feedblitz kind of Subscibtion to your mailers.

    Rafiq: Thanks for the visit. Am extremely sorry; But additional copies of those 2 issues are yet to be received by yours truly. Will speak to Nisha Anna tomorrow on the status of those first 2 issues. You must be knowing that iceberg do not have any sales point in India & they have to be personally bought from SriLanka.

    Arun: Your Request is already in my working list. Work is in Progress & the cover scans of Ashok / Metha are very tough to get as they were prone to damage. Anyway that will be done very soon.

    Am not saying that your answer is right over here. Anyway, for your Enthusiasm, you will get a Gift on the completion of the Contest. Keep Trying.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hiya,

    Buddy you say that news for rani comics is also in your list by having the Header. Till now there is no update on Rani Comics.

    Anyways, Its nice to know that within this month you have posted 7 postings which need to be commended.Keep updating regularly.

    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey,

    Ulaga Nayagan Kamal Haasan is not a person to be inspired by some comics story. He is a Great Visualiser & Thinker.

    If you have any doubt, Watch Dasavadharam now which he wrote & acted on. Don't throw comments just like that. Do you have any prrof that Vetri Vizha was inspired From The so called Comics? Change the words.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks Viswa for the reply. You also should be knowing that the reason I am bugging you to get the first 2 editions, is because of the very fact that Iceberg doesn't have a direct retail option in India. Which I believe, is one of the reason main reason they couldn't sustain their publishing.

    Blogger: Rani Comics was always one of my favorite comics along with Lion & Muthu. I had been thinking of posting about it in my blog Comicology for a long time. Now that Viswa is onto that I can concentrate on other topics.

    Mr. Annony: Your aggression is uncalled for, and only shows your ignorance. Everyone who is linked to Novel Biz and Comics/Graphic Novels, know that Vetri Vizha was inspired by Bourne Series. Refer to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vetri_Vizha.

    By the way, that was a movie made by Pratap Pothan, so no one was blaming Kamal Haasan for it. Moreover, being inspired by a famous novel or storyline and making your projects on the line is no crime. The only problem is that Indian Cinemakers don't publicly acknowledge the fact, which often leaves to speculation and rift.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Download
    XIII VOL. 1: DAY OF THE BLACK SUN
    http://browsefiles.blogspot.com/2008/09/xiii-vol-1-day-of-black-sun.html

    ReplyDelete
  12. as the above blog is no longer in availablity,

    here are the links for the 1st part: http://rapidshare.com/files/116917140/XIII_01_-_The_Day_Of_The_Black_Sun__Dargaud___1984___scanlation_.cbr

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Viswa,
    This blog brought me back to my teenage where I had live with these comics stories. At this age of 40 as well as a father of 2 kids still I'm loving the world of comics but the workload & responsbilities restrain me to read those books. When I see my kid (just joined LKG), I would like to give him a gift of these comics books. But when I could not find them. When I called Prakash publisher about XIII series, they told that it will be ready by Jan-2010. Can you please tell me where can I get Lion or Muthu comics story books with heros (XIII, Irumbu-kai, Vedalam Mayavi and so on). Or does anyone ready to sell their commics collection as second-hand sales? Waiting for your reply,so that I can make my kid more happy.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dear Ganesan,

    As Viswa is Out of Station, Am answering on his beahlf.

    // Can you please tell me where can I get Lion or Muthu comics story books with heros (XIII, Irumbu-kai, Vedalam Mayavi and so on)//

    In the lion comics office itself they have the reprints of the irumbuk kai and XIII stories apart from the regular dosage of olden goldies in the form of comics classics, which are also available with them.

    vedhaalan (phantom) stories are a piece of history and may not be available.

    //Or does anyone ready to sell their commics collection as second-hand sales?//

    we are not in a position to offer you any answers.

    By the way, Mr ganesan, it will be advisable for you to enter your queries with your mail id so that to reply you even after some time back, it will be easy.

    ஒலக காமிக்ஸ் ரசிகன்,
    100% உண்மையான பதிவுகள்.
    Greatest Ever Comics-தலை சிறந்த காமிக்ஸ்கள்

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for your reply.
    You said that XIII & other comics stories are available in Lion Comics Office. Can you please provide me their e-mail Id or any other contact details. So that I can contact them to get the same. My email id is KGanesan@IndiaInfo.com. Again thanks for your time to reply me in time.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Ganesan,

    The Contact details of the Lion Comics office are given in this Site's Side bar itself.

    Anyhow, for a Comics fan like you, am telling it again: 04562 - 272649 is the telephone number and you can ask for one Mr Radha Krishnan (in charge for subscription and books) and ask for the books that you want.

    by the way, don't forget to send the DD/Cheque while doing so to their office. You can take the reference of Viswa as it helps out a lot.

    Happy reading.

    ஒலக காமிக்ஸ் ரசிகன்,
    100% உண்மையான பதிவுகள்.
    Greatest Ever Comics-தலை சிறந்த காமிக்ஸ்கள்

    ReplyDelete

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