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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

17 2008 - Comics Round Up: A TCU Exclusive

Dear ComiRades,

Welcome to the Special Year End Review Post of Tamil Comics. When we say Review of Tamil Comics in 2008, we literally mean the Comics published from the famed "Prakash Publishers" or the "Sunshine Publications" (as they are known elsewhere) and their Publications include Lion Comics, Muthu Comics and the Comics Classics. The Year 2008 was a far better Year for Tamil Comics Ulagam (As compared to the Year 2007) for the simple reason that we saw all the three brands in the stands and that itself was a motivating factor.

The following table illustrates how we have going down Year-On-Year on the "Number of Issues" per Year. The motivating factor could be the fact that we have seen the Nadir (Year 2007) Since the "Come Back" of Prakash Publishers in 2002 & there could be no horrific Year than that. As referred classically, 'the only way from here is - UP". 

 
  Year Lion Muthu Classics

Total

  2002     6     5      2   13
  2003     8     5      1   14
  2004     6     4      3   13
  2005     4     4      4   12
  2006     4     4      1   13
  2007     3     2      0   5
  2008     4     3      2   9
Total    35    27     13   75

The Poet in Yours Truly has woke up and here is a stanza from Robert Browning's Rabbi Ben Ezra:

"Grow Old Along With Me,        

The Best is Yet to Be:

The Last of Life,

For Which the First Was Made".

Well, Don't go mad on Me. (By the way, the other quote from the same poem is more famous - What i aspired to be, and what i am not, comforts me). We will see how the Love towards Poetry got rekindled in yours truly later in some other post. However, the fact remains the same - the love towards poetry is ignited again. As mentioned, this year saw 9 Books from Prakash Publishers hitting the stands and the list is here:

No

Series Title Month Sale Date
1 Classics நாச அலைகள் + எத்தனுக்கு எத்தன Jan 22-01-2008
2 Lion மேற்கில் ஒரு மாமன்னர் Jan 28-01-2008
3 Muthu கதை சொல்லும் கொலைகள் March 26-03-2008
4 Lion மரணத்தின் முன்னோடி June 16-06-2008
5 Muthu சித்திரமும் கொல்லுதடி July 06-07-2008
6 Lion காற்றில் கரைந்த கழுகு Aug 09-08-2008
7 Classics காற்றில் கரைந்த கப்பல்கள் + மூளை திருடர்கள் Sept 15-09-2008
8 Muthu பொன்னில் ஒரு பிணம் Oct 29-10-2008
9 Lion

எமனின் எல்லையில்

Nov 19-11-2008

Here is a Short Review of all the books with Cover scans and Editorial. Forgive me for not going in a chronological order of Publication as am going ahead with brand wise. As Usual, Lion Comics is the first and it had 4 releases this year (Technically 2 Stories) and the Heroes were restricted to Cow-Boy Genre: Lucky Luke and Tex Willer. Have a Look:

Jan 2008 Lion 202 Front Cover

Jan 2008 Lion 202 Editor's Hotline

The Year started with Lucky Luke's Merkil oru Maamannar and let me say this straight: The cover art work left a lot to be desired. A Specialist like Ayyampalayam Venkateshwaran would have done a Lot better work than this, to say the least. However, The best part of this is that the price of the Book - Full Colour for 66 pages and the price was Just Rs 10/- The editor has requested the ComiRades not to support People Like the Pondy Comics Fan who made money out of Scans of the Golden oldies of the same publication. Story Was Good and so was the packaging. A Little birdie whispers that this is the final Lucky Luke Story with Lion Comics and they need to buy new stories to publish anymore. Am keeping my fingers crossed

King Viswa's Verdict: 8 / 10.

June 2008 Lion 203 Front Cover

June 2008 Lion 203 Editor's Hotline After a 4 Month Break, the second issue of Lion comics appeared and what an issue. Mind Blowing Cover and let me tell you something - Yours truly haven't seen a Terrific cover than this in the last 4 to 5 years. Kudos to the local artist and the fact has to be mentioned that this cover was inspired by the original one in Italy. Here the editor tries out his concept of Batch Sales (a batch of books once in 3 months, a-la Euro Books). Contrary to the previous hotline, the next issues after this series becomes "Chick Bill, Modesty and Corrigan". Note that XIII Special is planned for a Jan 2009 Release then itself. Hopefully, we'll have that special in 2009.

King Viswa's Verdict: 8.5 / 10.

Aug 2008 Lion 204 Front Cover

Aug 2008 Lion 204 Editor's Hotline

The second installment of the 3 part saga came within 2 months time and that has to be appreciated. As usual, the cover work was stunning and dare i say that it was better than the original (The colouring helped - really).

The editorial clearly mentions that only, ONLY 327 people have booked for the XIII Special and imagine the situation of the publisher when the top selling book in the world has got only this much of takers in Tamil? where are we going with our reading habit? The next issue following the series is now "Corrigan, Chick Bill". Where is Ms Modesty?

King Viswa's Verdict: 8 / 10.

Nov 2008 Lion 205 Front Cover

Nov 2008 Lion 205 Editor's Hotline

What is the best way to better the Best? Bring on something Great. Yes, the cover work was so stunning that Our Comics Doctor got mesmerized and forgot to add his relevant comments on this topic.This issue raised a very serious issue of Change in Price/Size/Package and it was left to the ComiRades to take the action and click here to know on this post. This post has got the maximum comments for a Blog post related to Good Tamil Comics. Thanks Guys for the support that made TCU Very Proud.

King Viswa's Verdict: 9 / 10.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, Lion Comics Issues were terrific as the storyline was strong and so was the art work. No questions about that. The Actual credit for making them an enjoyable experience to read must go to Mr S Vijayan who has taken additional burden to translate them. ComiRades must be proud of the Fact that we are the only ones to read Tex Willer stories in a Language other than Italian. Hats off to The Editor of Lion Comics and the editorial staffs including Mr Prakash (Mr Vijayan's Brother) on whose name the publishing house functions.

The Next year looks good with the next three issues (Featuring Phil Corrigan, Chick Bill, Modesty Blaise) holding more promise than ever. As told by Linda Hamilton in T2, The future Holds more promise than ever, NOW.

Mar 2008 Muthu 308 Front Cover

Mar 2008 Muthu 308 Editor's Time

The first issue of Muthu Comics for the year was Kadhai Sollum Kolaigal featuring Agent John Steel (A Sixties thriller). What many felt was that the title revealed far too many and the Mystery which was supposed to hold you was missing. The Title art work seems to be inspired from Share Hunter's Favourite Hero: Johnny Nero.

The Editor says that the following are the next issues: Ponnil oru Pinam, Norungiya Naanal Marmam, Chthiramum Kolludhadi followed by Reporter Johnny stories (2 In fact). So, in the beginning, there were 6 Books planned to print and it ended with 3. Not Bad .

King Viswa's Verdict: 6 / 10.

 

 

 

 

July 2008 Muthu 309 Front Cover

July 2008 Muthu 309 Editor's Time

Surprise, surprise. What we had as the next issue was not the Ponnil oru Pinam (as mentioned in the previous book) and instead we had Chithiramum kolludhadi Featuring Nick Rider A.K.A Detective Robin (One more hero from the bonneli clan).

The cover art work was somehow interesting and the same goes for the storyline. there may be a quite few ComiRades (Share Hunter) who may not like Robin (Kindly Read Video'vil Oru Vedigundu), However, there are many who love his style of action.The Next issue is now "Ponnil Oru Pinam, Norungiya Naanal Marmam, Reporter Johnny, Mandrake". Let's see.

King Viswa's Verdict: 7.5 / 10.

 

Oct 2008 Muthu 310 Front Cover Oct 2008 Muthu 310 Editor's Time

The best of the muthu comics in the year 2008, without doubt. Ponnil oru pinam turned out to be the Surprise hot of the year with a very strong story line coupled with reality. The Cover art was so good and the innovation of having the tower as the background must be appreciated.

The editorial clearly says that read the story twice to understand that the same will be the advise from Yours truly as well. The Next issue is as per the last issue order only. The editor has to be praised for serving this complicated storyline in such a simple manner. Hats off to You Mr Vijayan. Good work.

King Viswa's Verdict: 9 / 10.

As a Whole, The year was Good for Muthu comics in terms of Story selection. However a Lot was left to be desired with the number of issues being only three in this year. Let's hope and pray that the count increases. The Next Releases will Be Detective Julian, Reporter Johnny and Mandrake.

Jan 2008 Classics 22 Front Cover Jan 2008 Classics 22 Back Cover

After a Gap of nearly 2 years, Comics Classics reappeared with this title which was never ever got advertised. However, No one is complaining for the fact that it came.

Two of the Greatest heroes of Prakash Publishers together in a single issue that happened to be the first one for the year signals something: Hey, we are Back.The Story line may be very odd for this generation of Comics Readers. However, they were golden oldies and the Only thing missing is the Editorial called "Old is Gold".

 

 

 

 

 

Sep 2008 Classics Cover 2  Sep 2008 Classics Cover 1

well, well. Here is the next issue of the comics classics which was advertised well in advance and it also had no editorial feature and we were left wondering what could be the next issue of the series.

Those who were wondering why there was no rating from yours truly should know that am in no position to judge some of the best stories which we used to read while growing up and am in no mood to sadden the thoughts of many others by rating this golden oldies. They are piece of gold, and grab them before you lose them completely.

That's it People. Am signing of with Couple of Announcements. Judge is Yours Truly and please raise your Queries by Comments on this Awards:

The Best Blog: There were Quite a Few. Apart from the two Long-Running Horses (Muthu Fan & Rafiq) there were new entrants like Comics Doctor, Ayyampalayam, Ka Ko Ka ku, Kanavugalin Kaadhalan, Bruno Brasil, Siv, Greatest Ever Comics, Share Hunter, Rani Comics and list is going on (The Next one will be our Chithira Puthaga Maha Rasigan). However, the one Blog that stood tall among others was "Comics Pookal" for the sheer effort of content strength. So, the award for the Best Blogger Award Goes to Mr Ayyampalayam Venkateshwaran Sir. Keep up the Good Work.

The Best Blog Post: Somehow the other, C.I.D 333 became an integral part of our life and hence there is no other way to look other than going to Greatest ever comics first post on Blogosphere. On a More Serious note, the Best post for the Critic's Award Goes to Mr Kanavugalin Kaadhalan's First Post which Brought Tears from Yours Truly's Eyes. And Hence it gets the Nod. Click here to read that awesome Post.

The Best Effort: This award goes to Mr Siv who has No system in his home (And Hence No Internet Connection, obviously), No scanner and still goes on blogging about New Variants of Comics. He happens to be the youngest of the Comi-Bloggers and way to go Siv.

The Best Looking Blog: Who else? Mr Rafiq has no competition over here and just have a look into the kind of effort he has put on his blog (Technically, Now a Web Site). He is one person who is the envy of the rest of the bloggers for the kind of changes he has made. Keep it up Rafiq.

Predictions for The Year 2009:

(1) There will be about 3 new Tamil Comics, If everything goes well as per the plans. Touchwood. If that happens, then the year 2009 will turn out to be a Red Letter Year in the annals of Tamil Comics, As important as 1972 or 1984. The best part is that Yours truly will be involved in all the three projects. Kindly do not question me more on this. When the right time time comes, and if everything goes well, we will have them hitting the stands.

(2) The Blogging interest for most of the new Bloggers will come down (Some of them may get married and hence the interest level going down).

(3) There will be either a Documentary or a Book that will be published from a leading publisher on the history of Tamil Comics.

(4) One more Cartoon Channel will be Launched in Tamil.

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 sidebar. The next Old Review Post will be on the 6th issue of James Bond Comics (Pending). There are certain other surprise posts also waiting in the wings to be published on Jan 1st week.

TCU Wishes all the readers a Happy and Wonderful New Year.

Thanks & Regards,

King Viswa.

Monday, December 29, 2008

12 News 10: Zombie Comics (Times of India) & Mr Majestic (The Indian Express)

My Dear ComiRades,

Am Back. After a Long Hiatus, Yours Truly is really back & this week you will see all the postings that have been pending for the last 4 weeks. Before starting to the latest topic, let me say that the prolonged absence has nothing to do with the so called waning effect on the Blogger's; instead this forced absence, in fact, has increased the appetite towards Comics and Blogging about that. What else can bring you more joy than just writing about what you love the most?

In fact, am getting Phone calls and Mails stating that am the one behind the (so called) Comics-Interest-Revival in Tamil and in particular, in Blogs. I will be truly happy if that is the scenario. Consider this: Three months ago when yours truly started to Blog, there were only 2 Comics Blogs related to Tamil Comics. Now there are more than 10 and if this has something to do with “Tamil Comics Ulagam”, then am truly happy.

Getting into this post, this was a true filler post whereby I just wanted to update the blog, which was inactive for the last 30 days. On Friday (Boxing Day – 26th Dec 2008), yours truly came across a news paper strip (Times of India) which carried a comics review which was no way related to Tamil Comics. However, the reason for posting this News Paper article is that there is comics’ interest active with people (When I say Comics, I mean it). Ever since I saw the Quentin Tarantino’s Grind House Project Movie Planet Terror (Directed by Robert Rodriguez), I had a liking towards the Zombie movies. Hence, I thought of posting this in TCU.

The same book is already been reviewed by Backfromthedepths.co.uk and the link for that is here: Click.

 

To quote BFTD, “Presenting a mix of voodoo victims, creepy somnambulists, and flesh eating, rock n roll deadheads, “The Mammoth Book of Zombie Comics” brings you the best the graveyard can give. From film sources and literary sources to some very strange sources, here over 20 of the best zombie comics ever produced. They include the first Vince Locke “Deadworld” comic, Scott Hampton’s awesome adaptation of RE Howard’s “Pigeons from Hell”, plus stories from Steve Niles, Darko Macan, and many, many more. If it’s dead, moving and hungry, you’ll find it here! Praise for “Mammoth Book of War Comics”: ‘Whether read cover-to-cover or dipped into at random, it is exactly what anthologies should be: rich, varied and endlessly rewarding. And the best thing is that it is available in Landmark Book shops.

And the second news paper article came the very next day, albeit in a different news paper: The Indian Express (Which many, rightly, considers the only news paper with a spine of its own and just like the review title, A No-Nonsense News Paper).

This article was so nicely written by the Ms Sneha Ganesh, that your truly, A Hater of American Based Comics, Began to like the concept and started to search for this particular title. Here is the complete article: Kindly take some f your time and read this article. It is an absolute lesson to all the budding writers on how to sell a concept with writing. So nice to read and keeps you interested and makes you to look out for the book at the end of the article.

And of course, there were some other snippets on other comics-reviews which I have given below:

 
As a Pattern, Yours Truly will Be sharing the Happenings of Comics Houses in the cyberspace. Here are they:

(1) Rafiq Raja has started a Tamil Blog exclusively dedicated to Rani Comics Alone (How Nice). He has 3 posts so far and even though the offer is lucrative to join the gang, yours truly has enough projects in Hand and hence let us be a reader for this, at least for the time being.

(2) Our Beloved Friend and Member of the Dreaded Gang W.A.M, Mr Kanavugalin Kaadhalan has also fallen in Love with the Comics Blogging concept and has started a Blog Called Kanavugalin Kaadhalan -
கனவுகளின் காதலன் (The Lover of the Dreams). Kindly visit the blog & post your comments by clicking here:

(3) The News is that Comics Doctor (Who is not to be seen anywhere – Be it Comments or Posts) will surface again tomorrow with a Brand New Post.

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 sidebar. The next Old Review Post will be on the 5th issue of James Bond Comics (Pending). There are certain other surprise posts also waiting in the wings to be published on Jan 1st .

Thanks & Regards,

King Viswa.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

26 News 9: Batman's Death in Deccan Chronicle & Times of India

Dear ComiRades,

Nature Wrecked Havoc in the form Unprecedented Rains in Chennai City Where Yours Truly Lives - Chennai City In Tamil Nadu - India. The Worst affected was The People Who Travel a Little Bit Longer to their Respective Offices. The Traffic was Affected so much that it Took More than 6 Hours for Yours Truly to reach Home on Thursday Night, which in Normal Heavy-Duty Traffic will be covered in 45-60 Minutes. As Our Organisation is all set to Expand, Yours Truly was Busy to an level whereby I Couldn't even Update the News Content which was ready by 26th Morning in My Blog-Draft. Apologies for the Late-Posting, Which has become a Habit of Sorts with Yours Truly - just Like Lion Comics and Muthu Comics.

Lets Get into the News Coverage of Comic-Related News of this week. First it was on Deccan Chronicle whereby, Quoting www.contactmusic.com, they have informed that the Iconic Character of Batman / Bruce Wayne is all set to die in the November 27th issue of Batman R.I.P Magazine. Thanks to My Brother who SMS' ed me the Same on the morning itself & couple of other overseas ComiRades who tipped me the Same. Here is the Scan of the News Paper Article (By the Way, Kindly note that Yours Truly's Brand New Scanner was Repaired and these Scans were the First one to be churned out of it. A Big Big Thanks to Fellow ComiRade Ayyampalayam Lakshmanan Venkateshwaran Sir who Helped Yours Truly on Colour Correction and other Gimmicks in Photo Shop Works).

Couple of Days Later (29th November 2008 - Saturday), after the Official Book got released, Time Of India Carried out an Article on the Reaction of ComiRades about the Death of Batman. The Correspondent Ms Lakshmi Venkateshwaran has covered this topic in a manner which will make many a Die-Hard ComiRade Proud. Normally what happens in such situations is that the author may not have adequate knowledge on the topic (When it comes to a Matter of Skewed Interest) and hence as a result, the Article suffers. However, contrary to the opinion, Ms Lakshmi Venkateshwaran covered the topic in such a Coherent way that implies that there could be a ComiRade Hiding inside (Need to Verify the same).
Times Of India 29-11-08 
ComiRades May Recall that This is not the first time that a Comic Character is Killed (Invariably to increase Sales of the Magazine). There was this peculiar Case where the Author (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) was fuming on the prospect of His Character (Sherlock Holmes) getting more Fame than the author himself. The End of this situation was on the expected Lines leading to the death of the Character itself. In the Batman series itself, Bruce Wayne's BackBone was Injured and a Temporary Batman Replaced him for certain perod. However, there was a case when mortal loss was happened in the Batman series and that leads to Robin. Here are the cover scans and the Page where Batman carrying the Wonderboy's Body.























On a Fine Sunday when Yours Truly was answering calls pertaining to Office, A SMS of Interesting Matter reached His Personal Mobile. That was from Fellow ComiRade Mr Pathy who informed about the News Paper Article on The Comics Reading Habit. Many a Thanks to Him. Later on When Another ComiRade (Ayyampalayam Venkateshwaran Sir) Visited Yours Truly after a week of outstation visit, He came with the Same News Paper,Coincidence To say the least.

This particular Article was such a Joy to read as it hit the Bulls Eye with the concept of "You Can Always Make a Man Out of a Boy; However, You Can Never take the Boy Out of a Man" advocating the basic nostalgia factor which is driven by the fountain of Youthfulness-Comics Reading. This Particular Author, Anuradha Varma, has gone to the mature Graphic Level after touching the Happy-Go-Lucky kind of comics. Way to go with so many articles pertaining comics as a hobby.

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 sidebar. The next Old Review Post will be on the 6th issue of James Bond Comics. After Which Yours Truly will Review another set of Comics just like what we did in TCU with Iceberg Comics, James Bond Comics.

Happy Reading. Thanks & Regards,

King Viswa.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

14 Review 08: James Bond Comics No 5 - Parakkum Gundu பறக்கும் குண்டு

Dear ComiRades,

Here comes the fifth instalment of the James Bond Comics in Tamil Language Edited By Mr RamaJayam titled as - “Parakkum Gundu - பறக்கும் குண்டு – The flying Bomb”. Incidentally this happens to be the first issue in the new size B 5, After the first four issues were printed in the A 4 Size. The Editor & the publishing house has to bow down to the pressures of the Distributors and the Basic Law of Comics (The Godzilla Law) which was discussed in the previous post, relating to the Size of the Comics Book and the Sales related to that book in Tamil. Here are the Cover scans of the Tamil James Bond Comics and the corresponding Cover Scan of the Semic Press Publication issue.

Title: Parakkum Gundu (பறக்கும் குண்டு – The Flying Bomb)

Semic Title: Code Name -Romeo

Cover Design: Art By V.Chinnaiah

Cover: Soft Cover, Non-Laminated.

Serial Number: No. 5.

On Sale From: 1st September1988 Onwards.

Total No. of Pages: 64 Pages (Story 48 Pages), Black & White in Tamil.

Price: Priceless for Comic Fans; For others, INR 2/- for Tamil Version.

Story: Sverre Arness

Original Artwork: Joseph Gual.

Cover 8101_4_1985.01

This particular issue was the 13th James Bond Adventure to be printed by the Semic Press in 1985. The Story credits goes to Sverre Arness and the artwork is done by Joseph Gual (Yes, the same Gual who was the artist for many of the Commando Comics and Creepy Comics over the years). Many a ComiRade will straightaway put down Gual by saying his artwork was un-inspiring, to say the least. Apart from this story, Tamil Comics fans have come across Gual in Rani Comics stories such as “Paadhi iravil oru Parakkum thattu - பாதி இரவில் ஒரு பறக்கும் தட்டு – Operation UFO”.

Now, moving on to the storyline: Across the world, two major terrorist attacks are carried out by flying bombs, which the assassins have code named, after Shakespeare’s much acclaimed Drama Character, 'Romeo'. 'Juliet' is a small transmitter planted on the target and when the assassins release the bombs from a small plane 'Romeo' will seek out 'Juliet' with deadly results, causing mortal destruction. Regular ComiRades may recall a similar storyline featuring James Bond Himself: Eri Natchathiram – எரி நட்சத்திரம் - Rani Comics Story in which the villain himself plants a transmitter on the Targets in the form of a Pen, or a Locket or a Chain and then sends his helium based Balloons to finish them off.

The head of the CIA will be visiting London in three days time and James Bond is assigned by his agency to track down the assassins and stop them before they can strike at this tempting target. James Bond does this in his and gets injured a tad in the end. This is an okay, but rather generic action story. There is nothing really 'James Bond'-ish about the actions of the hero in this particular story & even if you replace James Bond with another Action Hero, Say, Remington Steel, You will not find much difference, and the weak artwork by Joseph Gual does nothing to lift the storyline.

03 50

The Norwegian author Sverre Arness has a penchant for writing such action packed stories. His other story, Operation – blucher was never meant to have starred James Bond. And as a matter of fact, the story was later turned into a Norwegian movie, without Bond. Imagine such a situation whereby you make a Phantom Movie even without the Character of Phantom. Goodness, Gracious me. The story on its own is pretty thin, but with the added complication of having to have a British agent as the main protagonist, it falls completely apart.

 The editor defends the decision to change the size of the book by saying that he actually has obliged to the requests of the readers. If it is true, then Hats off to the editor who gives the Due respect to his readers opinion. At a Time when the Tamil ComiRades also facing the same issue with reference to the Change announcement of Lion Comics, this page is relevant in many ways.

01 02

The next issue in the Tamil James Bond Comics is Paalaivana Por - பாலைவன போர் – Dodande Sand – The Desert war”. By the way, have a look at the name of the person who has won the prize for the best review: it is our own Long Time ComiRade Mr S Suresh John of ulundhurpettai (உளுந்துர்பேட்டை  சுரேஷ் ஜான்).  Suresh, if you happen to Read this, Kindly mail to yours truly. And in the letters to the editor section, the first letter that got featured was that of R.Amudha of Vadugavirutchiyur (வடுகவிருட்சியூர் ஆர்.அமுதா) who has a penchant for writing to the comics publications in those days & fellow ComiRades may recollect his (Yes, His) letter about Lion Diwali Super Special 1987 in the next issue.

51 Next

The Back cover features the Art work of the “Greatest ever Tamil Artist” Mr Chellam.BackWell, 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 sidebar. The next Old Review Post will be on the 6th issue of James Bond Comics.


Thanks & Regards,
King Viswa.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

27 Review N4: Lion Comics No 205 - Yemanin Ellayil எமனின் எல்லையில்

Dear ComiRades,

This Year is the Best Year for Tamil ComiRades as for as Number of Issues are concerned. To Topple that, we Have Yet Another Issue from M/s Prakash Publishers. Yes, Am talking about Lion Comics Issue No 205 - Yemanin Ellayil (எமனின் எல்லையில்), the third and the concluding installment of the Current Tex Willer Series, arrived on 19th Nov 2008 (Which Happens to Be One of My Favourite RJ Ophe's Birthday. So Yours Truly Take this opportunity to Wish Her - Happy Birthday Imsai Arasi). Here is the Cover scan of the latest issue of Lion Comics: Instead of Being a Vertical Cover, This time we Have a Horizontal Cover, something which has not been done since the cover of Nizhal Onru Nijam Onru.

As per the Season In Tamil Nadu, India whereby every one of the Cinema Heroes are Acquiring a Tag Name Themselves (Now our Beloved Hero J.K Ritheesh should be called as "Rising Star JKR"), Our comics editor has also given a Name to Tex Willer (Top Star Tex Willer), although he must be called so because, he is, infact, the Top Star in Tamil Comics. Kindly Have a Look at the first page where the synopsis of the previous part is given. That is Followed by Page No 88 from which the cover art is inspired off. Finally, we have the last page of the story.


02_EmaninEllaiyil_Wrapper-IIBrand: Lion Comics (Prakash Publishers,Tamil Nadu, India).

Title:
Yemanin Ellayil (எமனின் எல்லையில்).

Subject: Claudio Nizzi e Fabio Civitelli

Script Writer: Claudio Nizzi

Original Artwork:

 Fabio Civitelli

Cover Illustration:

Claudio Villa

Cover Design: Hard Cover, Laminated.

Serial Number: No. 205, Part 3 of Tex Willer's 3 Part Saga.

On Sale: 19th Nov 2008 Onwards

Total No. of Pages: 116 (Story 110 Pages), Black & White.

Price: Priceless for Comic Fans; For others, INR 10/-

Next Issue: Phil Corrigan (Agent X-9) in Maandavan Meendaan (மாண்டவன் மீண்டான்)

Scan Courtesy: Avadi Venkateshwaran

For those who came in Late, here is the complete Review to make sure that you catch up the previous happenings:

Part 1:Lion Comics Issue No 203 Maranathin Munnodi (மரணத்தின் முன்னோடி) Tex Issue No 475 - IL presagio: The vindictive Navajo witch doctor, Yanado, with a false omen, makes the rebel Orso Veloce (Swift Bear) believe that he will kill Aquila della Notte and annihilate the “blue coats”. The rebels thus begin to massacre the farmers and the army goes into action. Tex rushes to Fort Defiance to avert an Indian war but is arrested by Major Wellman, enemy of the Native Americans. An enormous flood of the Puerco River sweeps away the stagecoach that carries Tex to the Holbrook jail and the ranger saves himself by a miracle! Meanwhile, a military column moves towards the central village of the Navajo reservation.


Part 2: Lion Comics Issue No 204 Kaatril Karaindha Kazhagu (காற்றில் கரைந்த கழுகு) Tex Issue No 476 - L'uomo venuto dal fiume:  Carson and Kit Willer look for Tex, refusing to believe him to have died in the Puerco River flood. And, in fact, Tex is safe, at the ranch of the widow Sydor, whose husband had been killed a few days earlier by Orso Veloce’s rebels. Having eliminated Sciacallo Danzante, one of the leaders of the revolt who had shown up at the ranch to complete the slaughter, in a duel, Tex learns that it is the merchant, Overend, who arms the Navajos. And while Piccolo Falco and Carson go to Gallup to seize the trafficker, Tex returns to the reservation to punish the infamous witch doctor Yanado.

Part 3: Lion Comics Issue No 205 Yemanin Ellayil (எமனின் எல்லையில்) Tex Issue No 477 - Sfida selvaggia: The arms merchant, Overend, who has stirred up the rebellion of Orso Veloce (Swift Bear)’s Navajos, in order to sell his guns, corrupting the witch doctor, Yanado, tries to reach an agreement with Major Wellman of Fort Defiance who intends to sweep the Indians away from the reservation in order to be able to seize their gold deposits of the Navajo’s. But Carson and Kit Willer intervene, sending their plans up in smoke. Orso Veloce, after having massacred the village of Ala Rossa, guilty of having abandoned the revolt, challenges Aquila della Notte (இரவுக் கழுகு ) to a duel in order to regain prestige. Tex wins the duel and offers a chance for swift Bear & instead of taking that offer; he foolishly tries to attack The Ranger & dies in that process. The rest of the warriors who were involved in the massacre were taken to fort defiance as prisoners. Tex then visits the Vindictive Navajo with Doctor Yanado and burns down his place after narrowly missing from the Hypnotic spell of Yanado.

Finally Tex arrives at the village where the Widow of Sydor and her son are. She wants to say something and finally ends up without saying what she intended to say to Tex. Our Fellow Blogger Ayyampalayam Lakshmanan Venkateshwaran Guessed this even before reading the story. Hats off to Him.

Now that the story review is over, let us do a Poll on the issue as with the previous Muthu Comics Polling: Kindly do the voting in a democratic way & no Cheating's Please (கள்ள வோட்டு வேண்டாமே?).



The Previous Two Issues Maranathin Munnodi (மரணத்தின் முன்னோடி) and the 2nd Part Kaatril Karaindha Kazhagu (காற்றில் கரைந்த கழுகு) cover Art's had a Similarity with the Original Versions from Italy in terms of the cover art. Here are the Original covers of Tex Willer series No 475, 476 & 477.


And here are the covers of the Current series: Lion Comics Issue No 203, 204 & the supposed to be Cover of Issue No 205 which was later changed. The editor, in fact, set a precedence by publishing the next issue;s cover in the back wrapper of the current issue & he kept the same for the 2 issues & when yours truly expected him to follow suit, he just changed the pattern straightaway. However, the Art work By Lion Comics itself looks Good As well


Last, However not the Least, is the issue on the size of the next lion comics issue. In the editorial, Mr S.Vijayan has categorically said that he has 3 options as the increase in the rates of paper left him without any other option other than changing the present pattern:

Option 1: Keep the same Size and Format (100 to 114 Pages, Laminated Thick Cover) & increase the price of the Book to INR 12.00/- from the current Price of 10.00/- (A Price increase of 20% when you consider the fact that the paper cost has increased by 40%). The editor himself says that the increase in price will lead to a issue of Change when purchasing the books from the shop as the shop owner may not have adequate change.

Option 2: Keep the price a Constant thing (i.e Keep it As Rs 10.00/- itself, which is the present rate) and reduce the Number of Pages from 114 to somewhere along 82. Here also the Editor says that Most of the Tex willer stories are off 110 pages length and it will be tough to print them as a single issue.

Option 3: Keep the Price the same (i.e Rs 10.00/- per issue) and change the size to A4 or something like that in a Bigger size with 44 Pages and the cover will not remain thick and Laminated; Instead, the cover will be off Soft GSM Paper and Lamination also may not be there. Here, the editor also suggests that there could be another option to go for still smaller size.

The Editor requested for the inputs of our readers on the same. To help on this cause, yours truly has set up a Poll in which you can go and choose what size you want the next issue to be. Still, the better way of doing will be to Vote on the poll and then comment why you choose a particular option. the results will be sent to the Editor Himself so as to make his job much easier.

As a Pattern, Yours Truly will Be sharing the Happenings of Comics Houses in the cyberspace. Here are they:

(1) Rafiq Raja of Comicology has Re-Designed his Blog Kindly visit this and comment on the efforts made by him to make our reading better. And He also started to Cover Media Articles in his Blog, which is a welcome sign. May Be, he will post more as he has started doing so. Also to be noted is the fact that he is updating the older posts, which many of us are not noticing. Recently he has added a widget for that to make sure we watch what he is updating. The previous one that Rafiq updated was Thorgal post in which he added the coverage of Rani Comics.

(2) Our Beloved Friend From the Union Territory of Pondy, Mr Khaleel has also fallen in Love with the Comics Blogging concept and has started a Blog Called Mudhalai Pattalam (Based on the Evergreen Comic Hero Bruno Brasil). Kindly visit the blog & post your comments by clicking here: முதலை பட்டாளம்

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 sidebar. The next Old Review Post will be on the 5th issue of James Bond Comics. I Have Planned last week that The Next Actual post will be on a News Paper article about the 60 Years of Comics in Tamil; However as Mr Venkateshwaran Has covered that already, am working on a different story now.

Thanks & Regards,

King Viswa.

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