8 Chennai Book Fair 2014 – The Count Down Begins

Dear ComiRades,

Welcome back to TCU. Let me take this opportunity to thank one and all a warm and wonderful 2014. For those who are in the southern India, Advance wishes for Happy Pongal and Sankaranthi.

It’s been a long Very Long time since Yours sincerely blogged in these parts of the world. So, here is what you will be getting in the next fortnight or so.

• Lots of updates on the Chennai Book Fair 2014 (in Short CBF 2014).
• Lots and Lots of Updates on CBF 2014.
• Even More updates on CBF 2014.

For those who came in Late, here is a brief history on how & Why CBF was formed, Others who are not interested, kindly skip this section without mercy.

• About 37 Years ago, Mr Mathew (of B.I. Publications) wanted an organised community for the Publishers and Book Sellers of Southern part of India.
• So, along with some of the publishers and friends, he formed and officially started the 1st CBF on 24th Aug 1976.
• Since the inception, CBF was held in the same campus of the initial Fair (Quaid E Millath Govt College for Woman) for 28 Years. i.e. From 1979 to 2006
• From 2007 onwards, the venue was shifted to St George Anglo Indian Higher Sec School
• In 2013, the venue was again shifted for Traffic and parking related reasons to YMCA Ground in Nandanam,
• This year, CBF is organised with a space of 2, 00, 000 square feet.
• The dates are: 10th Jan 2014 to 22nd Jan 2014 (Weekdays 2 PM – 8.30 PM & Weekends/Holiday: 11 AM – 8.30 PM).

Here is the detailed map of this years Book fair. Our Comics stall is indicated with Yellow coloured route.

 

Now, Every year people complain of certain things in CBF. This particular year, an young and dynamic team has taken charge of CBF very recently and they have promised the following (Thanks to Badri):

# வாசலிலிருந்து கண்காட்சி இடம் வரை செல்ல இலவச வாகன வசதி

# கணினி டிக்கெட் வசதி

# மொபைல் எண் கொடுத்தால், தினமும் அந்தந்த நாள் நிகழ்ச்சி குறித்த தகவல்கள் தரப்படும் (Link)

# புத்தகக் கண்காட்சி அரங்கில் பொதுமக்கள் உட்கார்ந்துகொள்ள இடவசதி

# கண்காட்சி வளாகத்தின் உள்ளேயே ஒரு ஏ.டி.எம் வைக்கப்படும். அதில் பணத்தை எடுத்துக்கொள்ளலாம்

# ஸ்டால் அலோகேஷன் கணினிமூலம் செய்யப்பட்டது

# சிறுகதைப் போட்டியில் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்படும் கதைகளை பபாசியே பதிப்பிக்கும்

# 1500 கார்கள் நிறுத்த இடம் ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது. அருகில் உள்ள மிலிடரி மைதானத்திலும் கார்களை நிறுத்திக்கொள்ளலாம்.

# நம்ம ஆட்டோவுடன் இணைந்து உள்ளேயே மீட்டர் கட்டணத்தில் ஆட்டோ எடுத்துக்கொள்ளலாம்

# கழிப்பறை வசதிகள் அதிகம் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன

# கழிப்பறை வசதிக்காகக் கிட்டத்தட்ட 3 லட்சம் ரூபாய் செலவழிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

# உள்ளரங்கில் எழுத்தாளர்-வாசகர் சந்திப்புக்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது

# ஏழு லட்சம் இலவச டிக்கெட்டுகள் பள்ளி மாணவர்களுக்குத் தரப்பட்டுள்ளது

# சென்னை புத்தகக் காட்சிக்கு ஆப்பிள் ஐ ஓஎஸ், ஆண்டிராய்ட் ஆப் உருவாக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன

# மருத்துவ வசதி உள்ளேயே ஏற்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது

# மாற்றுத் திறனாளிகளுக்கு சக்கர இருக்கை ஏற்பாடு செய்துள்ளார்கள்

# புத்தகக் கண்காட்சி தொடக்க விழாவுக்கு அமைச்சர்கள் வருகிறார்கள்.

# நுழைவுக் கட்டணம் ரூ. 10. பன்னிரண்டு வயதுக்கு உட்பட்டோருக்கு டிக்கெட் கிடையாது

# சென்ற ஆண்டு சுமார் 3.5 லட்சம் டிக்கெட்டுகள் விற்கப்பட்டுள்ளன

# இம்முறை, சென்ற ஆண்டைவிட 50% அதிகம் பேர் வருவார்கள் என்று எதிர்பார்க்கிறோம்

# வேலை நாட்களில் 2-9, விடுமுறை நாட்களில் 11-9 நேரம்

# சென்ற ஆண்டு 10 கோடி ரூபாய் விற்பனை நடந்துள்ளது, இந்த ஆண்டு 15 கோடி ரூபாய் விற்பனை ஆகும் என்று எதிர்பார்ப்பு

# 800 அரங்குகள், 400 பங்கேற்பாளர்கள், தமிழ், ஆங்கிலம், மலையாளம், தெலுங்கு, வட மாநிலங்களிலிருந்து பதிப்பாளர்கள் பங்கேற்பு. இரண்டு லட்சம் சதுர அடி.

# பேச்சுப்போட்டி, கட்டுரைப்போட்டி, ஓவியப்போட்டி, சிறுகதைப்போட்டி.

So, all the more reasons to get yourself to CBF 2014. Here are some of our posters and banners which we are going to place in the stall. Here is the main Banner designed by our in house designer Mr Ponnan, Sivakasi.

 

This one is for the Side, i.e. On the right hand side of the stall we are placing this. Lucky luke is the lucky mascot for us and he will be guarding our Collection table.

And facing head to head against Lucky luke is our own vicious Iznougoud with his crooked smile. this one is an original art piece from the maestro Tabary.

And finally, the one that we are going to place in our table: The man who stormed into the hearts of ComiRades in 2012 – Danger Diabolik.

 

Now, these are the images which are clicked with my Nokia Mobile and do consider the fact that when the images were clicked, the lights were not switched on and hence the lesser level of clarity.

 

The same main poster in another click. Hopefully i’ll get a better camera tomorrow and click some nice images to present you folks.

 

Iznogoud looks really crooked with his vicious smile and ‘that’ trademark expression of his. Really awesome work.

 

An finally, the lonesome cowboy who is the real hero not only in the Franco-Belgian comic circles, but also in South India, especially in Tamil Nadu where he has huge fan following.

Well, that’s all for this post and  as we are going to launch 4 new titles in this CBF 2014 & We shall see a quick review of one of those 4 books tomorrow here in TCU & Our coverage will also continue for tomorrow as well. Remember that the Editor will be on stall from evening onwards.

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 section or Click Here.

Thanks & Regards, 
King Viswa

16 Danger Diabolik – Operation Tornado Lion Comics No 223 Dec 2013

Dear ComiRades,

Welcome back after a long, long sabbatical from yours Truly. This particular post is warranted because we have received a bunch of 4 books for the second time in the year. Considering the comics drought we had couple of years back, this is not only a welcome change but also making the ComiRades choking for space with such array of breath taking titles.

Incidentally, the previous time we have received a set of 4 different books was in the month of June 2013, when this Smiling assassin from Italy made his re appearance in Tamil Language in India. For those who came in late, here is a small intro of Danger Diabolik (This introduction was published in Lion Comics Issue No 219, Issue Dated June 2013 Title: Kutra Thiru Vizha – Crime Carnival).

The Most amazing stat about this particular character created by the Guissani sisters is the sales figures. Including the Re print sales (Which constitutes about 15 lakh copies a year), the total sales for these wonderfully scripted comics books is a Mind boggling 55 lakhs per annum.An we are talking only about the Italian market alone. Imagine what could be the sales figure if this series is published again in English?

Danger Diabolik – A Small Introduction: Just like Yours Truly, the Co creator of Diabolik Angella Guissani used to  commute a lot in Train. Her thought process got tuned a lot on the reading habits of the train commuters and she planned to launch a character based on the mystery Genre. Train also played a part in the The size of these books. Yes, The size was designed based on an abandoned pocket mystery novel in train. Thus the super villain Diabolik was actually born in Train and saw the daylight in 1st Nov 1962.

Forget about the readers, Even Diabolik doesn’t know his original name. He was raised as an orphan in a secret island by a crime syndicate. He grew up to become the criminal mastermind that he is now. Initially his character was that of a typical villain. Later on, to tone down the amorality of the character, he was shaded as a later day robin hood, never ever killing the police or the innocent. Diabolik is aided with a Mask with which he can disguise as, Practically, anybody. This particular mask is Diabolik’s USP.

No Hero is complete without a Heroin (After which he is completed ot Finished – This punch dialogue is dedicated to Our beloved MF) and this concept forced the creators to launch a new character in the series in March 1963. From then onwards this character, Eva Kant, has gone on to become a more and more dominant partner and aide.

If the hero is actually a villain, then the series requires a honest cop who always ends up as the second best. This is the unwritten rule in script writing. Without violating any such, the characters created Inspector Ginko. He doesn’t have a surname to go with. But has a girl friend named Altea.

Danger Diabolik in India: This month’s edition is actually the 3rd book to be published in Tamil, rather in India. Also in Asia & in Asia Pacific. Here are the images of the previous two issues:

1. Danger Diabolik – Lion Comics Issue No 44 – Dec 1987

 2. Kutra Thiru Vizha – Crime Carnival – Lion Comics Issue No 219 – June 2013

 3. Operation Sooravali – Operation Tornado – Lion Comics Issue No 223 – Issue Dated Dec 2013

The cover image of this book was first made available in a Fan club page of Diabolik in Italy. Then only it was revealed to the Indian readers. Such is the interest for this character and the respect shown by the editor to send it to Italy first and then later on to be revealed in India. 

This Book also has some other interesting features. Particularly the glowing intro by the editor about the fan club of Diabolik in Italy and their enthusiasm to order this book, in spite of the fact that this is published in Tamil Language. Click on the image to read / see the scans in a larger format.

 Though this character was published only once before this june, the name is quite popular in South India. Ace film comedian Vivek used to promote this character through his film dialogues. In fact i have seen in couple of films where he names the villains as Danger Diabolik.

 Danger Diabolik is all set re appear in 2014 Summer in Lion Comics. Watch out for this space for the official announcement.

Well, that’s all for this post and TCU will be back with another post on Monday and will try to be as regular as possible from here onwards. 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 section or Click Here.

Thanks & Regards, 
King Viswa

33 Comic Cuts 53 – News 53: A Discussion on Tamil Comics & Latest Advertisement

Dear ComiRades,

Welcome back to TCU. Though the first 100 Posts were in the language of our earlier masters, It’s been Almost 2 years since we blogged in English. May be this is the right time to come back to that in order to cater to a larger audience. When we say larger audience, what we mean by that is the comics reading community from places like UK, France, USA, Singapore and Sri Lanka etc etc.

For a blog like this, language can be a double edged sword. Ideally it should be in the regional language or the language of the content (That is, Tamil, since we talk mostly about Tamil comics only). However, when we sculpt articles on characters that cut the national and linguistic barriers, people want to know more about that and Google is not helping in that area as Language converter from Tamil Language to others is only in the initial stage.

When Yours truly wrote an article on Modesty Blaise some time back, it reached many researchers and they are still in contact through mail and update on their front whenever there is a news about Modesty Blaise. That was made possible because the article was penned in English language and hence it catered a wider target group. Later on, when we did a similar post on Chick Bill , we did it in Tamil Language and the reason being our change in blogging style, Some of our fellow ComiRades mailed me stating the fact that though they could enjoy the Pictures in the Post, they were unable to comprehend the post with language being the barrier. One ComiRade went to a level saying that seeing the post & unable to read is like getting nectar and realising that your mouth is sealed, thereby preventing you from drinking it.

Throughout our visits during the Comic con in Mumbai, Delhi etc, people started sort of complaining about the language barrier. To start a new blog and trying to translate the same content in Tamil language was one of the ideas suggested to yours truly. However, such a task will be not only improbable at the moment but humanly not possible as well. So, from now onwards, you’ll find our posts being in English only. Apologies to my Tamil Reading friends.

Deccan Chronicle – Chennai Chronicle Cover Story: Today’s Deccan Chronicle news paper (Chennai edition) has a wonderful cover story in the Chennai Chronicle supplement. Thanks to Kedar Koushik, Reporter / Sub Editor, we have this news article on Tamil Comics. Yours truly Thanks the Editor and the management of DC for such a honour. Here is the cover page of Chennai Chronicle. You can click on the image to enlarge it or go to this link to see it online.  Here is the detailed cover story with fantastic interviews from Artist / Creator Gaman and Mr S.Vijayan, Editor / Publisher of Lion & Muthu Comics, Sivakasi. To read it, You can click on the image to enlarge it or go to this link to see it online. For those who came in late, Here is the link to Editor S.Vijayan’s Official Home page and his Blog.

Without sounding like promoting myself, which will be tough for a third person to realise the difficulties, i’ve been trying to paint a sketch and pave a small way for Tamil Comics’ awareness. Under such circumstances, articles like these do really Help. A Big Hug, Brother Kedar, Thanks a Ton.

Comics Advertisements: Last paragraph was about non promotion and this one is about promotion. Though the idea was to create awareness about the re launch of Tamil comics, the write ups in magazines, interviews in TV and more than 60 blogs to promote Tamil comics, we felt that the sum is not equal to the individual parts. Hence the idea to give advertisements in print media. With that in our mind, the 1st comeback advertisement of Tamil comics was published in last Saturday (27th September 2013) in Junior Vikatan, Tamil’s No.1 Political investigative Bi weekly magazine.

The logic behind choosing Junior vikatan was simple. The Kid who was reading comics in the 80’s would have graduated to reading Novels (Both Tamil & English) in the 90’s and by this time he would have been in his mid-to-late thirties or 40’s. So the gradual reading curve would have taken him to this type of reading habit and hence the choice of Junior vikatan as our advertising medium. Here is the initial design of the advertisement.

This initial design was later on changed to this final design with the addition of the evergreen super star of Tamil comics, Steel Claw and the latest entry in to the ever growing world of Tamil comics heroes, Kid Lucky. The re launch concept was highlighted with “Comics in Full Colour” being the Tag line of the advertisement.

Response for the Advertisement: Though initial response for such an advertisement will be tough to analyse, the number of phone calls and new enquiries to the publishers office indicate that the investment was really worth it. Keeping with this in mind, the next few advertisements will be released in this month and early part of next month, with Diwali festival being the  focal point of our advertisements.

 

Well, that’s all for this post and TCU will be back with another post on Monday (Comics Time 3) and will try to be as regular as possible from here onwards. 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 section or Click Here.

Thanks & Regards, 
King Viswa.