Just a few weeks after I wrote about the 'True Brit' collection, I walked into a bookstore and staring me in the face was a stack of Commando comics. But the format was wrong, I noted. These seemed larger. Picking up one, I saw that these were indeed a far cry from the Commando comics of yore. A closer look revealed that these were printed on higher quality paper as well. In keeping with the earlier Commando series, these had colour covers, with black & white illustrations inside. Priced at Rs.60, this is the latest offering from Euro Books to hit the market has 24 titles on offer. Instead of picking up a single, you might want to pick up the '3 in 1' compilations, which are available at Rs.150 each. I couldn't help myself as I picked up five compilations! Having read 'True Brit' some time back, I've become truly hooked again.
There is, however, one major goof-up that I spotted: one of the stories was not complete. In the 'Journey to Freedom' compilation, the last story 'Battle Shield' is incomplete… or at least I think it is. Unlike every other Commando story that I've read, this one seems to end in failure. Perhaps it’s a satire, which I very much doubt. If its supposed to be a story in two parts, then it'd have made sense to put them both in one compilation. Or, from a marketing/sales perspective, another compilation with the second part would have made readers buy that one as well. But that's not the case. There's no second part.
The other thing that bothered me was the quality of the stories themselves. I don't know about other readers, but I felt they weren't as good as the older ones. While the majority of the stories dealt with WWII, there were a couple that were stories of brave tribes (like the afore mentioned Battle Shield). Perhaps Euro Books could select better stories next time. After all, the name 'Commando' hardly brings feathers and war paint to mind. But, all in all, I must say that I'm pleased to see Commando books back in the market.
The New Commando Comics
Ramayan 3392 A.D.
Very few cultures in the world can boast to have an 'epic'. In India, we have not one, but TWO great epics - the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. While these masterpieces have succeeded to capture the interest of both, scholars and children, for generations, they've met with severe competition in the last decade. First, there are the badly produced and widely dubbed 80's television series which I think continue to play on some TV channels , and are no match in quality when compared to today's epic fantasy sitcoms. Second, there's a whole generation of superheroes whose powers, thanks to great illustrations, seem more awesome than those to be found in yesteryear's Amar Chitra Katha's.
Virgin Comics, in conjunction with noted film maker Shekhar Kapur, has brought out a series of comics based on the Ramayana. Based in 3392 AD, these are stories centered around the same characters in a post-apocalyptic future. Since the earliest edition I found was #2, it took me a bit of research to catch up with the story.
The stories take place after World War Three, which was a nuclear war. The world is divided into two continents: Nark and Aryavarta. Nark is where the demons reside, and Aryavarta is home to Armagarh, the last kingdom of humans. The kingdom is governed by a council headed by a man called Dashrath, who has four warrior sons - Rama, Laxman, Shatrughan and Bharat. With two strategically important outposts under attack, Dashrath sends his sons to help; Rama and Laxman go to one, and Shatrughan and Bharat travel to the other.
Having suffered heavy losses, and unable to defeat the demons, Rama makes a deal with them: the town in exchange for safe passage of its civilians. Back home, the council is less than pleased with this, and banishes him into exile. Dashrath passes away and Laxman dons the mantle of Council Leader. Unable to cope on his own, he decides to seek out his other two brothers - Shatrughan and Bharat - for help. On the way, he meets an ascetic, Vishwamitra, who guides him to Rama instead. Then on, the two brothers take off on a quest to find the fabled city of Mithila.
I'll spare you a spoiler since this series is definitely worth a read, especially for those of us familiar with the Ramayana. All in all, an excellent answer to the western fantasy genre.
