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Sunday, September 28, 2008

20 Review O4: James Bond Comics 1-Adhiradi Ulavali

Dear ComiRades,

In This Post, we are going to discuss about The Ever Green Spy - 007 James Bond. What More appropriate time than now when we are eagerly awaiting the theatrical Release of "Quantum of Solace"?. The moment i say James Bond in Tamil Comics, ComiRades would have jumped in Joy hoping that am going to start a Series on Rani Comics (An Indian Publisher of 007 Stories in Tamil Language). Excuse me, Gentlemen. There are other comics also which have printed James Bond in Tamil (Rani Comics' Sister Concern Devi'n Kanmani Comics etc); However, am not talking about them over here. Am Referring about a Comics started just for James bond stories itself in Tamil, from Chennai titled as Secret Agent James Bond Comics. Here, Have a Look at the Front cover of the 1st issue & first page of the Rare Book.

01 03

Amazing, isn't it? Unbelievable, But true. Mr.S.Rama Jayam was the editor for the above mentioned Rani Comics till issue no 92. After which, he started his own comics named James Bond Comics. However, he didn't use the Regular newspaper strip stories of James Bond that were the norm of the early Rani Comics. The Background Story is Quite interesting; However, i will brief it Shortly. After the demise of Ian Fleming's Widow in 1981, Swedish Publisher Semic Press was allowed to start their own comic series based on the Character (ComiRades may recall that at this same time, British Writer John Gardner started James Bond Novels). The English rights of these were given to Bulls Press, Sweden - And Glidrose Publications, London. Mr Rama Jayam acquired the Official Rights & this can be referred by the credits in the last page of the book itself. Here is the scan:

34-1

 
The 1st issue of this series was Adhiradi Ulavaali (Loosely Translated as The Dare Devil Spy). This was published sometime in 1987 as part of the Semic Series of James Bond Stories as The Spy Trap (This Publication House were as notorious as some of our own Home-Brewn Publishers in not maintaining Issue Numbers, Delays and Regular Releases). Movie Buffs should no way confuse this title with the 1992 Arthur Sherman Directed Hollywood Film.The story was penned by Jack Sutter (Famous for His Super Villains Against Bond & One-to-One Combat Storylines) and was illustrated by Sarompas. Be a Judge & rate these Sketches of Page No 4, 10 & 23:

04 10 23

Well, the story line in Tamil is something like this (Hey what do you mean by Tamil Story Line? Wait till the end of this post): A Scientist is kept as a prisoner in Alps Mountain & a mysterious man 'saves' him from there by indulging in Daredevil activities only to Hand over him to the Chinese. Meanwhile, Bond is Resting with his new Flavour Anna in Greece. Both of them receive individual Telegrams making them to separate from each other. Bond collects a video tape in which he receives Instructions from Mr M about the new Chinese Spy whose image was captured by an American in a camera Film which got destroyed while flying.

26

Bond has to recover that Film to identify the new Super Spy. Bond Gets in to the sunken Flight underwater and hands it to the Consulate only to lose it to the Chinese Super Spy who destroys the embassy to recover it. Then begins the chase which Takes Bond in Land (Bikes), Water (Swimming), Land Again (Car), Sky (Flights), Land Again (Walk, Cycle & Truck), Sky Again (Helicopter).

Take a look at Page 23, where you can Almost hear Bond saying "எப்படி இருந்த நான் இப்படி ஆயிட்டேன்!" as he rides the bicycle. Finally Bond destroys the film as the Super Spy escapes from the clutches of Bond. The story ends with Bond meeting Anna Again to tell the truth that he indeed is a Spy & left her only to capture the Chinese Super Spy;

Anna in Turn says that she is an American Spy who was ordered to capture the same Chinese Super Spy. Both of them decide to Capture the super spy.

This is the last page of the Story. This is How the Tamil story line was. Actually, the original story by Jack Sutter was something like this: It was the Russian Super Spy who Took the Scientist & James Bond's New Found Interest Anna is Actually the Russian Super Spy (Look at the Bruises and Bandage that she has in the last page).

Many ComiRades will not accept that Bond is Outsmarted by a Lady & Because of this, the change in the storyline for the Tamil Version. Am Planning to meet the Tamil Publisher to clear the air.

Title: Adhiradi Ulavali (The Spy Trap)

Cover Design: Art By V.Chinnaiah,

Cover Type: Soft Cover, Non-Laminated.

Serial Number: No. 1.

On Sale From: 1st May 1988 Onwards.

Total No. of Pages: 16cmx24cm, 36 Pages (Story 24 Pages), Black & White.

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


Partner in Crime: Kovai Dr Sathish.

This is Editor's Corner where Mr Rama Jayam Expresses his view on Tamil Comics (Series on the First ever Single Hero. Correct Me if am Wrong).There were other gift announcements like HMT Watch prize, Rs 50/- prize for the best comment (a la Rani Comics). The story Amma Aasai iravugal By Chithra Manalan started from where it got ended abruptly in Rani Comics.Many a ComiRade will recall the fact that the Next story Rocket Ragasiyam got published in Rani Comics Later.

27 28 31

The next thing in the book was a pleasant surprise for all the avid readers of Tamil Comics. It featured two Legends of the Tamil Comics Industry, Namely Mullai Thanga Rasan and Chellam.

For those who came late, Mullai Thanga Rasan was associated with many a Tamil Comics Publication and Chellam is the Greatest Tamil Comics artist. Period. No more questions on the authenticity of these Legends. These two combined to give a Series named Vengala Silai Marmam.

Here are the scans of the 3 pages from the 1st issue of James Bond Comics.

32 33 34

The inner covers of the issue carried out another Surprise for us. Judge Dredd as Judge George. ComiRades must note that Judge Dredd was published in another Tamil comics Publisher more than a decade after this. Who is that? that's for me to know & you to guess and comment in the comments section.

02 35

The back wrapper featured Night Visit Vivek (Story by Gnani and art work by Chellam). Have a Look at these.

36Well, That's all for the time being. The next posting will be on the 2nd issue of James Bond Comics itself. As usual, post your comments in the comments section using the link just below my Signature.

P.S: Kindly do not send any mails regarding the Old issues Scanned copies, Book sales, exchange etc. As for as Scanning is considered, am doing it for promotional purpose only & have no intention in violating the Copyright law.

Thanks & Regards,
King Viswa.

20 comments:

  1. Well me first again :), and a wonderful post for all those James Bond Comics Fans, who were unaware of this edition in Tamil. I actually possess the first edition mentioned in this thread, picked up way back in a second hand book shop, and used wonder why these Comics were not available when I used buy those Rani Comics.

    Overall, it was a revealation to see James Bond in A4 size (First time for me) and that too in Tamil. The artwork was pretty different from the Rani Comics editions, and I know the reason of it now. Eventhough, many could see that James Bond's facial and anatomy is kept the same as from the Newspaper versions. Overall, it was an action packed series.

    Never knew that there was another issue too by the same publication. How many more are there Viswa ?

    I never realised that the Continuation Story from Rani Comics was actually continued in this series. Thanks for making that connection. Chellam was one of my favorite Tamil Comics Artists. His work on the Bale Baalu, and Siruthai Siruvan with Vaandumama, is one of the greatest artworks I have seen from a local comics artist.

    Hmm... you already gave a clue as Judge Dredd (and the pictures are a bigger clue even).... so it is no big wonder to link it upto the 2000 AD UK character. I remember Lion Comics printing 4 of his stories in their Millenium Special, titled as Needhi Devan. Kudos to Vijayan's translation.

    Rafiq Raja
    CómicólógY

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Viswa

    Yet another surpirse blog from you .Hardly had no idea such comics was published till reading this post by you .

    As Rafiq as said in his post , it was Needdi devan making his debut in lion comics during the millenium special. Though i liked them personally , many of the comics reader felt it was too short story .

    ReplyDelete
  3. hi,
    nice post on the james bond comics. They had 4 issues in Big size and if i recollect well, one of those issues was in full colour.

    Unfortunately i do not have those books now. Your blog has rekindled the nostalgia.

    Judge Dredd was made as a Hollywood movie as well (Sly stallone). it was pathetic to say the least. Judge Dredd was named as Judge George in James Bond & Needhi Devan in Lion Comics Millenium special. Somehow the other, i do not like this small strips.

    Thanks for the trip down the line. now, i feel 20 years younger again.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi vishwa,congraduate to you.
    I am very happy to look james bond in adhiradi ulavali rather than Rani comics. Thanku- D.Aslam basha

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hiya,

    Eventhough u didnt post on rani comics, you redeemed yourself by posting about james bond comics. i do have these issues. the second james bond comics was published in rani comics moths later when James bond comics stooped publication and eased out of market.

    Hence u cannot blame rani comics for that. Even after ramajayam's exit, they were publishing quality comics in tamil. only their pronounciation got worser and worser. sherif became serif and marshal became marcel etc.

    they re-invented themselves by introducing phantom (mayavi), mandrake (mantrik), rip kirby (only in 2-3 stories) etc. the intital 40-50 stories of phantom were some of the vintage collection. only after issue no 250 or so, they started faltering on all aspects such as story, style, content, editing etc.

    Anyways, nice post. still there is no response from your end on rani comics. do post them fast.

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow! wrappers of james bond comics are awesome. waiting to browse more posts.

    ReplyDelete
  7. THE JAMES BOND COMICS IN A3 SIZE WAS PUBLISHED UPTO 4 ISSUES. IT CAME SIMULTANEOUSLY IN ENGLISH ALSO. THEN THE SIZE WAS REDUCED TO A5 AND IT WENT IN TAMIL ONLY MAY BE UPTO 8 ISSUES AND THEN HALTED.

    ReplyDelete
  8. (1) Dear Rafiq,
    Thanks for being the 1st. You have always been. ERB has answered your query already. Will do an individual post on all of these issues including the English ones which were in full colour.

    As for as the question is concerned, you were right. By the way, your kind of active comments are what that fuels me to do more and more research work. Thanks for being my catalyst.

    (2) Arun Prasad: Thanks.
    The power of distribution makes or mars a publication. That's were Rani comics scored. Through their daily Thanthi circulation network, they had a base set up & they maintained the 1st & 16th off the month issues till they were out of print. Consistency always scores. Thats where James bond comics, Lion Muthu comics were faltering.

    Talking on Judge Dredd: We were fed with the constant diet of 64 / 122 page stories over some decades by our most prominent publishers. That could be the reason for us to rate the small serious stories very lowly. The only exception being Zip Nolan (and the reason was Clues & identification of them). Apart from the horror stories, none of the small stories were liked very much like the small stories which were funny.

    (3) Anony: Thanks for the visit.
    Yes, i have seen the Movie starring Sylvester stallone and diane lane.
    By the way, kindly do comment on your original Name / ID as my partner in crime (Dr Sathish) thinks that it is actually yours truly that is making these comments under the mask of Anony.

    (4) Madurai Aslam Basha: Thanks for the cisit.
    Yes, many of us felt the same with James Bond Comics. May be we were bored with the same size of Rani comics when this came. May be that could be the reason for Prakash Publishers Experiment with different sizes for their books.

    (5) Blogger: Thanks for the comments. I never blamed rani comics for publishing the same story.

    Agree with your P.O.I on the spelling / pronounciation part in rani comics. that was the period, the rot started (Probably after issue no 92).

    However, i do not subscribe your P.O.I on the 25o issue benchmark. May be, they hit the nadir after that issue; But they were not that great as they used to be till issue no 92. The Phantom / Mandrake stories were no contest to the golden oldies. Anyways, you need to wait some more period as i have to complete 2/3 mini series to complete before i touch Rani comics.

    (6) http://www.luckylookonline.com: Thanks for your visit & comments.

    (7) ERB: Thanks for the visit & comments.
    Yes, they had 8 issues as said by you & the english books were in full colour. will be posting one by one in this series.

    Mails - Queries & My Answers:

    (i) Muthu Fan to me:sep 30 (today)

    = Reply
    Dear Muthufan, thanks for the mail. Your mail content will the bone of contention in my next post in this series.

    (ii) Vijay kr to me:Sep 25 (5 days ago)

    Hi,
    i m a old fan of lion,muthu, comics.Recently i visited ur site which was a treasure of all info regarding comics.

    Regards
    Vijey

    = Reply
    Dear Vijay, Thanks for the mail Have replied to you individually. At present am in no position to help you out. Apologies on that. Will start a section for that very, very soon.

    (iii) Eugenio Cavaliere to me:Sep 28 (2 days ago)

    I have visited your very interesting blog.
    Grazie.

    = Reply
    Thanks Grazie. Have obliged to your request.

    (iv)
    SHANKAR VISVALINGAM to me:Sep 27 (3 days ago)

    நன்றி விஸ்வராஜ்[கிங் விஸ்வா] உங்கள் வலைப்பூ அற்புதம், ஜஸ்பேர்க் காமிக்ஸ் இதழ்கள் பற்றிய தொடர் அருமையாக இருந்தது பாராட்டுகள்,உங்களது போட்டியில் உள்ள வரல்லாற்று கதையினை தேடிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறேன் மற்றவை

    1 -aldebaran(please visit www.mondes-aldebaran.com) though its in french you will like this
    2 -insiders (darcaud editions) கோட் நேம் மின்னல்
    i attach a picture with this mail, may be you will find that interesting. please keep continuing your wonderful blog on tamilcomics

    regards
    shankar

    = Reply
    Dear Shankar,
    Thanks for the Photos. Will be using them very shortly. Yes, you are also in the line to get the prize. the contest is till open & guess the correct one so as to win the prize.

    (v) naveen kumar to me:Sep 27 (4 days ago)

    Hi Vishwa,

    I think this is one of the greatest finds on the net for me.

    I am a childhood fan of lion & muthu comics.

    You are doing a great work......Keep it up!!!!!!!

    I love your blogs.....Please post about the older comics also.....like classics of tex viller, lucky luke etc.,....

    -
    -
    -
    Thanks & Regards,
    Naveen
    = Reply
    Dear Nveen,

    Thanks for the mail & visit to the blog. Let me complete these mini series and come back to our Family of Lion group.

    Will oblige to your request very very soon.

    (vi)malai chamy to me:Sep 26 (4 days ago)

    Dear king viswa,

    Kindly give your contact address and phone number.
    Thanking you.
    Yours friendly,
    Malaichamy

    = Reply
    Dear Malaichamy, Thanks fot the visit & comments.

    Wait till i open a section for your queries.

    (vii) chinnappa raj to me:Sep 23 (7 days ago)

    Hi,

    thanks Viswa. can give the details where i buy this iceberg comics in tamil nadu.

    Kindly send the details who is the dealer of iceberg comics in TN.

    Thanks

    Chinnapparaj. J

    = Reply
    Dear Chinnapparaj,
    Thanks. I Have given the details of Iceberg comics. They are from SriLanka only & they do not have any distributor over here. Wait till they send me some of their remaining copies so that i can hand it over to you people.

    (viii) sam rad to me:Sep 23 (7 days ago)

    Dear sir,

    Where can i get your publications here in coimbatore.?

    If there is any distributer at tamilnadu coimbatore, Please reply thru mail. I will get it.

    Thanks & Regards,

    K. Selvakumar.

    = Reply
    Dear Selvakumar,
    I Have given the details of Iceberg comics. They are from SriLanka only & they do not have any distributor over here in Chennai / Coimbatore. Wait till they send me some of their remaining copies so that i can hand it over to you people.

    (IX) baali iyengar to me:Sep 23 (7 days ago)

    Hi

    Thanks for the nice site

    All the best

    Baali here.

    = Reply
    Dear Baali,

    thanks for the visit & comments. In future, it will be appreciated if you could kindly do post them in the blog itself.

    (x) sundar Shunmugam to me:Sep 23 (7 days ago)

    dear king,
    saw ur homepage, really amazing and simple superp , contd.. and pls start book market to purchase old books without cheating.

    how are u, i saw ur homepage daily, sir, i need your help, i need iceberg comics 4th issue lucky luke in ennai vayal padam, how can i get it, reply sir.

    = Reply

    Dear Sundar,

    Will oblige to your request very very soon By starting a individual section for that.

    (xi) Balamurugan D to me:Sep 15

    இப்போதுதான் பார்த்தேன்..நன்று.. ஆனால், தமிழில் இருந்தால் இன்னும் நல்லா இருக்குமே..
    என்னவாயினும்,
    உங்களின் முயற்சிக்காகவே என் மனமார்ந்த பாராட்டுகள்.
    சிறிய பிரச்சனை.. Google Reader ல் தங்களின் RSS feed stream ஆக மறுக்கிறது..
    நன்றி,
    தெ.பாலமுருகன்.

    = Reply

    Dear Balamurugan sir,

    Thanks for the reply. Will eradicate the error. Now, uploaded Subscription through mail option as well.
    In future, it will be appreciated if you could kindly do post them in the blog itself.

    (xii)Tamil K to me:Sep 15
    Hi,
    From where are u buying lion comics in chennai. plz tell me. I am in anna Nagar. plz tell some shoe which are selling lion comics. plzzzzzzz

    --
    Thanks & Regards,
    Tamil K

    =Reply

    Dear Tamil,
    i have replied to you by mail Wait till saturday when am going to do a psot on the comics availablity in chennai post.
    In future, it will be appreciated if you could kindly do post them in the blog itself.

    ReplyDelete
  9. தமிழிலேயே எழுதினால் இன்னும் நன்று..

    http://tamilcomic.blogspot.com அல்லது "தமிழ் காமிக்ஸ் உலகம்" என்று கூகிளில் டைப் செய்யவும்.,..

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dear Viswa,

    Yet another intriguing post on Tamil Comics. Looking at the cover scan I got reminded of those days when I was in possession of this particular book. And you are right about Rani Comics, after Mr.Ramajeyam departed and Mr.Kalyanasundaram joined in - their translation quality dipped to all time low. During those days I was so annoyed and I even shot a letter to them complaining of this [back in those days I was a young boy and I REALLY hoped that they will publish that letter and take necessary action... ha ha ha]

    Nevertheless there were some occasional Phantom stories which had a very good translation...

    Best Regards,
    Karthik S S

    ReplyDelete
  11. அம்மா ஆசை இரவுகள்ன்னு படத்த மட்டும் பெருசா போட்டுட்டு கதைய பத்தி ஒன்னும் போடல?

    பேரப் பாத்தா ஏதோ மேட்டர் கதை மாதிரி இல்ல இருக்குது!!!

    ஒரு வேளை அதான் போடலியோ?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Isn't this the first time, I see ERB posting on any comics blog... Hmm... I had been requesting him to visit and place his reviews in my blog right from its inception, but never had that privilege. Atleast, good that he has started to feel at home with the new blogs :).

    I will reserve my comments about Rani Comics, when the post is actually made. It is a publication house which deserves its place on the web for sure, for the mere reason that it was in publication non-stop for a little over 2 decades. Not a small achievement.

    Anony: இது வரை பதிவான கருத்துகளிலேயே Top One உங்களுடையது தான். நீங்கள் இது வரை ராணி காமிக்ஸ் படித்தது இல்லை என்று எண்ணுகிறேன். அந்த தொடர் கதை பெயரை எத்தனையோ முறை படித்து இருக்கிறேன், ஆனாலும் இப்படி ஒரு கோணத்தில் அதை சிந்தித்து பார்த்து இல்லை :)

    Rafiq Raja
    CómicólógY

    ReplyDelete
  13. "when you cant tell your friends from your enemies its time to go"!
    -quantum of solace-
    ராணி காமிக்ஸ் மூலம் தமிழில் அறிமுகமான பாண்ட்டை இன்னொரு தமிழ் காமிக்ஸில் மற்றொரு முகத்துடன் பார்ப்பது ஆச்சர்யம்.அட்டைப்பட,உள்பக்க ஸ்கேன்கள் தெளிவாகவும், தரத்துடனும்.கிங்விஸ்வாவின் அர்பணிப்பு நிஜம்[இதழ்களை அற்புதமாக பராமரிக்கீறீர்கள்].ராக்கெட் மேல் ராஜா போல் ஜேம்ஸ் வருவதை david greg பார்த்தாரெனில் அடுத்த பட ஒப்பந்தத்தில் கையொப்பமிடுவாரா,இதே ஜேம்ஸ் சைக்கிளில் சலித்துகொண்டு வருவதையும் நண்பர்கள் கவனிக்கவும். கடைசி பக்கத்தில் கூர்ந்து கவனித்தால் அன்னாவின் இதயத்தின் மேல் தமிழ் ஓவியரின் ஜில்பாங்ஸ் தெளிவாகும்,அனைத்திற்கும் சிகரம் வைத்தாற் போல் உடம்பே ரணமாகி உயிரே போனாலும் அனாவுடன் அடுத்த ரவுண்டிற்கு தயாராகிவிட்ட ஜேம்ஸ்ஸின் கடமையுணர்ச்சி புல்லரிக்க வைக்கிறது
    நன்றி

    ReplyDelete
  14. david greg அல்ல daniel craig என திருத்தி வாசிக்க வேண்டுகிறேன்

    ReplyDelete
  15. From The Desk Of Rebel Ravi:
    Vishwa,
    Very good post on James bond comics. if i remember well, this comics had about 9 issues & the last 4-5 issues were of the rani comics size. (i am speculating on this. I do not have the issues with me now).

    Anybody who has these comics, kindly do mail me. Am willing to buy those vintage classics of the Spy who has become the craze of the world for over 50 years. The storyline of these stories were actually not so good.

    I never thought that these stories were edited/modified by the editors (Ramajayam in this case). I used to think that these comics were merely translated in tamil and the exposures were covered by local artists. The cover artwork of these comics were so good that even though i do not have these issues with me, i can vividly recollect the cover scans of issue no 4 (Marma Kottai), which i rank as the best cover of these issues.

    The rights for these swedish james bond comics were later bought by rani comics and they started releasing them one by one (even the same story got published once). However, these stories were of average quality compared to the classic ones which got published earlier (they were from the strip stories). These strips are available for downloading. check the net.

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

    ReplyDelete
  16. is it available for download? if yes, kindly help.

    ReplyDelete
  17. download link for thes story: http://rapidshare.com/files/168663260/James_Bond_007__Everest_Publication__001___Super_Duper.cbz

    iam also giving links to other posts in this blogs.only english links

    james bond links:

    2. secret agent james bond comics 2 = http://tamilcomicsulagam.blogspot.com/2008/10/review-james-bond-comics-no2-rocket.html

    3. secret agent james bond comics 3 = http://tamilcomicsulagam.blogspot.com/2008/10/review-o6-james-bond-comics-03-cheena_26.html

    the links are given in the respective posts.

    also,

    rahtap padalam links:

    1. Iceberg comics issue 1 : http://tamilcomicsulagam.blogspot.com/2008/09/iceberg-comics-srilankan-tamil-1st.html


    2. Iceberg comics issue 2 : http://tamilcomicsulagam.blogspot.com/2008/09/iceberg-comics-2nd-issue-xiii.html

    all the links are putted inthe respective links.

    enjoy

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks :)
    --
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    для сайта tamilcomicsulagam.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. I am an American who collects all things James Bond. I'm starting to document my collection and came across this rarity, Super Duper, not in Tamil, but rather in English! My copy also is in color. I believe the original Swedish version was black and white as seen here. Do you know who the colorist might be? I bought it years ago, no idea where. Thank you so much for providing this history, it is very valuable to me to know where this episode fits in the grand scheme of things.
    John M.
    Roswell, Georgia, USA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi John M,

      Good To See Your Comment & Happy To Meet Another 007 Collector.

      I Have Met the Editor & Publisher of the Tamil (And English) Publisher in 2008 itself while doing this Blog Post.

      The Colourist was the in House Artist named V Chinnaih.

      Do let me know if you need further information on this.

      Kindly contact via this Mail ID: Prince.viswa@gmail.com

      Delete

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