9 Preview of Lion Comics Issue No 210–Lion Come Back Special 2012

Dear ComiRades,

Welcome back to TCU. Let me wish you a wonderful and happy 2012, which is to be spent joyfully by reading a lot of Tamil comics books. The previous post (which was supposed to be a special post on account of it being in the number of 100) kindled a lot of sagging sprits and the response that yours truly received (from a humble 17 year old school boy to the editor of No 1 selling Tamil weekly) was remarkable considering that it was a post well after a gap of more than 6 months. Contrastingly, during the last 6 months, this particular site has received a lot of hits with couple of months topping more than 50k visits (courtesy Vikatan.com & Times of India). The indirect reading from the above stats can be inferred as “if I don’t write, I shall get a lot more visits”, is that so? How misleading these readings can be.

However, the claim for the Numero Uno position for the Tamil comics blogs is slowly shifting from Muthu Fan to Editor S.Vijayan Sir’s own blog (http://lion-muthucomics.blogspot.com/). Of course we all know that Muthu Fan is not actively engaging in the blogosphere and he himself would love to see Editor’s blog getting the coveted mark. We wish and request MF to post more and more informative and useful posts in the near future. Actually, it was very nice of MF to post about the Cisco Kid collectors edition book (http://muthufanblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/come-back.html) in his blog. My new year wish list begins with the request that MF should post at least 2 posts per month in this year.

Moving on, here is the preview post on the forthcoming “Come back special” of Lion Comics. The very first thing that strikes me the most is the aptly titled title itself.How else can you explain the audacity of the Editor to camouflage his weakness into a title itself thereby moving it to his strength side. Hats off to him. Now, then; As someone who has seen how the book will look like, here are the updates on the stories and the details about the book.

• Size of the book is like the previous special editions – A4.
• No of pages in this book is – 200 Pages.
• No of Multi Colour pages in this book – 100 Pages
• Quality of the Paper used for the Coloured Pages – Very High Quality Art Paper (100 GSM)
• No of Pages in B & W – 100 Pages
• Quality of the paper used in B & W Pages – Definitely not the regular News print papers,Better.
• Cover design – Thick, Laminated cover with artwork generated by graphical interpretation.
• Book package – Weighs as much as the 400 page Mega Dream Special.
• Cost of Buying – Priceless for ComiRades, for others, INR 100/- Only

With all these info, here is how the cover image looks like (Courtesy:Editor S.Vijayan)

Lion Comics Issue No 210-Come Back Special Jan 2012 Front Cover	Lion Comics Issue No 210-Come Back Special Jan 2012 Back Cover

Though the design may look anachronated, The cover looks stunning to say the least. Even the staunch Anti-Prakash publishers gang member will vouch for that, and there are so many of them masquerading as connoisseurs. TCU always felt that the colour combination of our books,though they may be re-productions of the origin source, much better than their source material themselves. Hats of to the designer and the man who got the job done from them.

The stories which are going to appear in the book are as follows:

1. Bernard Prince 18 – Danger on the River (கானகத்தில் களேபரம்) Multi Colour
2. Lucky Luke 76 (Cine Book 31) – Lucky Luke Vs The Pinkertons (ஒற்றர்கள் ஓராயிரம்) Multi Colour
3. Steel Claw adventure – The Wraith – Valiant 1970 – B & W Story in 24 Pages
4. Steel Claw Adventure – Dr Magno – Valiant 1974/5 – B & W Story in 54 Pages.
5. Agent X-9 Adventure – Phil Corrigan – B & W Story

Here is the most awaited story in the come back special – Bernard Prince Story no 18: Menas Sor Le Fleuve (Loosely translated as Danger on the river). This one is amongst the latest in the story arch which was published only couple of years back and hence the storyline boasts scenarios where Prince no longer uses the old boat, but uses Gadgets and stuff like MMS, Video transfer are all used in the following storyline. Hermann is at his very best with the kind of artwork which many will believe done by painted artwork. Editor himself has written a lot about this story in the hotline and read it from the lion’s writing itself.

Language of Origin: French

Story Series: Bernard Prince (Wikipedia Link)

French Title: Menas Sor Le Fleuve (bedetheque link)

English Translation: Not yet translated

Author: Yves H. (bedetheque Link)

Artist: Hermann (bedetheque Link, Wikipedia Link, Official Site, Fan site)

Official Album Released on: September 2010.

Bernard Prince Story No 18-Danger on the River (Menace Sor Le Fleuve)	Captain Prince - Bernard Prince Kaanagathil Kalebaram Ad
Bernard Prince Story No 18-Danger on the River: Story 1st Page	Bernard Prince Story No 18-Danger on the River: Story Sample Page

Thanks to publishers such as Tara Press, Cine Book, Euro Books etc, Lucky Luke is a well known name amongst the Indian Comic book readers. It is altogether a different scenario for the Tamil ComiRades who have tasted this nectar long before the English speaking Indian populace can catch it up in the new millennium. Over a period of time, this particular character has grown so much that people have started to use Lucky’s name as pseudonym. In fact, the most popular pseudonym in Tamil Nadu happens to be that of Lucky. In fact, many of bloggers have also registered their pseudonym as that of lucky (http://www.luckylookonline.com/). It is great to know that we are going to get the best of this series in Tamil.

Language of Origin: Belgian (Obviously Franco-Belgian category)

Story Series: Lucky Luke (Wikipedia Link), Official Website in French

French Title:  Lucky Luke Contre Pinkerton

English Translation: Translated & Published in Cine book title No 31 (Cine Book Link)

Author: Daniel Pennac and Tonino Benacquista

Artist: Achdé

Official Album Released on: 2010. English Version Released on: Oct 2011

Lucky Luke Story No 76 – Lucky Luke Contre Pinkerton (2010) Cover	Lucky Luke Otrargal Orayiram Advertisement Page
Cine book No 31 - Lucky Luke Vs The Pinkertons 01st Page	Otrargal Orayiram 1st Page Proof Reading Copy

Here comes the King of Tamil Comics Ulagam – The Steel Claw, immortalised in Tamil as இரும்புக்கை மாயாவி. It’s been a while since we read a complete, unpublished story in Tamil and here we have, not one but two complete stories of Steel Claw.It is as if the Editor is asking:”கண்ணா,ரெண்டு லட்டு திங்க ஆசையா?”. Enjoy the nostalgia. Have a strong cup of tea and enjoy the evening with your old pal – Steel Claw.

Story Series: Steel Claw (Wikipedia Link, International Hero link)

Story Title: The Wraith

Author: Carlos Cruz

Artist: Jesus Blasco (Wikipedia Link, Lambiek Link, Dan dare link)

Story Appeared in: Valiant Weekly as a series with 2 Pages per week (07-02-1970 to 25-04-1970)

No Of weeks: 12 Weeks, 24 pages

2nd Story Title: Dr Magno

Author: Tom Tully (Wikipedia Link)

Artist: Jesus Blasco (Wikipedia Link, Lambiek Link, Dan dare link)

Story Appeared in: Valiant Weekly as a series with 2 Pages per week (26-09-1964 to 27-03-1965)

No Of weeks: 27 Weeks, 54 pages

Both the above stories are yet to be serialised and published as a single volume collection and Lion Comics is the proud publisher to do so. In fact, most of the stories deserve that respect.

The Steel Claw Adventure – The Wraith – Story 01st Page	The Steel Claw Adventure – Dr Magno– Story 01st Page

As previously reported in this blog, the Agent X-9 story is not சாத்தானின் தூதன் டாக்டர் செவன், but an altogether different story. We wont be complaining as a rose by any other name smells the same, right? As usual, This story is also an offering from the unmatchable duo of Al Williamson & Archie Godwin. There is an interesting story behind this particular story and that one will be shared by MF in this blog in the review section. For that reason, that story will now remain anonymous.

Moving on, Here is the cover image. Kindly note that the spelling errors being corrected and changed in this cover. Have a closer look at the 1st photo.Can you identify couple of fingers holding the sheet in the top right corner? With regards to the rightful owner of those fingers, Your guess is obviously as good as mine.

Lion Comics Come Back Special Cover Image Sheet	Lion Comics Come Back Special Cover Image Sheet 2
Lion Comics Come Back Special Front Cover – The 01st Book	Lion Comics Come Back Special Back Cover - The 01st Book

Here is the 1st copy of the book and let me tell you something, This book weighs the same as that of the 400 page Mega Dream Special. Other fortunate members can lay hands on this beauty from the 2nd week on Jan 2012.

Lion Comics Come Back Special Front Cover – The 01st Book	Lion Comics Come Back Special Front Cover – The 01st Book

For those who want it to be delivered to their home, kindly take a DD or Cheque favouring “M/s Prakash Publishers” payable at sivakasi and immediately send it to the following address:

Prakash Publishers,

No 8-D/5, Chairman P.K.S.A.A Road,

Amman Kovil Patti, Sivakasi 626 109.

Phone Number: 04562 – 262749 (Weekdays, Morning 10 AM – 5 PM, IST).

In the pink of their health, both Lion comics and Muthu comics used to boast a huge number of advertisements about the forthcoming issues. Here are some of the coming soon advertisements from the book.

Lion Comics Come Back Special – Coming Soon Ad – Green Poison	Come Back Special – Coming Soon Ad – Code Name Barracuda

Come Back Special – Coming Soon Ad – Lucky Luke Stories: No 18 In the Shadow of The Derricks + No 29-Barbed Wire on the Prairie

Well, that's all for the time being. As usual, post your comments in the comments section. For those who want to Pen their thoughts in Tamil, Kindly Use the Option Provided in the Widget in the Blog.

Thanks & Regards,

King Viswa.