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.