01-24-2006, 02:14 AM
<b>Classic Indian myth to become comic book</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->This is the brainchild of the newly launched Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation, an entertainment partnership between British billionaire Richard Branson, best-selling New Age author Deepak Chopra, film director Shekhar Kapur ("Bandit Queen" and "Elizabeth") and India's leading licenser of comic books, Gotham Entertainment Group, which has brought "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" to Delhi and Bombay, as well as launched an Indian version of "Spider-Man."
"The Ramayan is the Eastern equivalent of the 'Odyssey.' It is our 'Lord of the Rings,' " says Gotham Chopra, Deepak's 30-year-old son, a former Channel One TV personality, author and producer, and the venture's chief creative officer.
The new companies, in New York and Bangalore, India, are using largely Asian-influenced comics as the platform to build a global media company.
"We felt that interest in this Asian-edged content, this is the growing wave," says Chopra. "Richard, as a big Western billionaire, recognized that the future of entertainment is in the East, not necessarily in Hollywood."
Comic books are a thriving arena in America, and have been the springboard for many Hollywood blockbusters.
"The growth of the comic market in America has been spectacular," notes Adrian Sington, executive chairman of Virgin Books, who is supervising the multimillion-dollar investment for Virgin. "It's been led by comics made in Asia. Despite the fact that India has a mature entertainment business, with movies and sports, it's had no comic business. They're leveraging the talent of Indian creators and moving them like manga into the West. We're looking to help them do that."
According to news reports, comic books saw their sales jump 9 percent in the United States last year. Still, Marvel, one of the industry's giants, made twice as much money licensing superheroes to the movies as on the sale of comic books. The comics business here is a fraction of what it is in some countries. According to Forbes, manga -- a style of Japanese comics -- is a $5.6 billion industry.
Virgin Comics is already in development on three lines of comics: Maverick, based on the work of songwriters; Director's Cut, working with film directors (John Woo has signed on); and Shakti, which will focus on Indian content.
Shakti means "power" in Hindi, and titles in the line include "Devi," which means "goddess." Chopra describes the character as "Asia's first superwoman."
.........................<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I hope they are not planning to make this a big joke.
Myth, spider woman, Superwoman etc mind set can be a disaster.
"The Ramayan is the Eastern equivalent of the 'Odyssey.' It is our 'Lord of the Rings,' " says Gotham Chopra, Deepak's 30-year-old son, a former Channel One TV personality, author and producer, and the venture's chief creative officer.
The new companies, in New York and Bangalore, India, are using largely Asian-influenced comics as the platform to build a global media company.
"We felt that interest in this Asian-edged content, this is the growing wave," says Chopra. "Richard, as a big Western billionaire, recognized that the future of entertainment is in the East, not necessarily in Hollywood."
Comic books are a thriving arena in America, and have been the springboard for many Hollywood blockbusters.
"The growth of the comic market in America has been spectacular," notes Adrian Sington, executive chairman of Virgin Books, who is supervising the multimillion-dollar investment for Virgin. "It's been led by comics made in Asia. Despite the fact that India has a mature entertainment business, with movies and sports, it's had no comic business. They're leveraging the talent of Indian creators and moving them like manga into the West. We're looking to help them do that."
According to news reports, comic books saw their sales jump 9 percent in the United States last year. Still, Marvel, one of the industry's giants, made twice as much money licensing superheroes to the movies as on the sale of comic books. The comics business here is a fraction of what it is in some countries. According to Forbes, manga -- a style of Japanese comics -- is a $5.6 billion industry.
Virgin Comics is already in development on three lines of comics: Maverick, based on the work of songwriters; Director's Cut, working with film directors (John Woo has signed on); and Shakti, which will focus on Indian content.
Shakti means "power" in Hindi, and titles in the line include "Devi," which means "goddess." Chopra describes the character as "Asia's first superwoman."
.........................<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I hope they are not planning to make this a big joke.
Myth, spider woman, Superwoman etc mind set can be a disaster.