Living Within Complex

Private Detective Kapil is a character close to my heart for many reasons. Most of the things I learned about writing and drawing comics were during this period. I suggest if you wish to be a Comic writer, start with a suspense story revolving around a certain character. You would learn how to start the story, how to rearrange different incidents in the middle of story, as to keep reader entangled and guessing, then to end the story with a twist which would stun the reader. Mind you, this twist has to be incorporated in the story from beginning or mentioned earlier, not to be concocted out of blue in the end, barring some exceptions and variations, of course. (like a clue from which stems out the whole theory of crime).

The toughest thing I faced during this period was; How to shake off influences both in writing and illustrations, from various quarters! I loved Artworks of so many artists and so many writers made me gasp. I should be drawing like him or I should be writing like her, and then that gnawing inferiority complex telling me that I am good for nothing! Then I learned, being influenced is not bad at all, rather it is good, just don't try to copy. It is similar to learn and memorize something and then reproduce it as your own version, in your own words during examinations. I made friends with my foes, and they became my virtual teachers. Whatever I learned to qualify as a professional was through Western Comics. Sorry to say, but Indian comic then did not try hard enough to imbibe professionalism.

I learned to my dismay that we always stopped short at the level of acceptability while Westerners try to achieve the level of excellence. Even to this day, our country has no place to go for those who either want to learn professional writing or professional Illustration, let alone sequential art.

Illustration is taught only as a small part of graduation curriculum in art colleges and that too without guidance. Learning Concept or fantasy art is left for winds to carry. Result being we become a nation for production doing nothing in Pre-production which comprises 60-70% of a project! Think, folks and if convinced take the issue to others and spread awareness and create demand. Let's become bosses rather than workers!

Oh, oh, oh! I went too far off tangent. Beg your pardon, folks.

Kapil did many things for me, I still want to revive him, but there is one thing he was not!

He was a fictional character but not a Fantasy! And Fantasy was the castle I wished to breach!

The opportunity came from a very unlikely quarter. One Mr. Maanvendra Singh Rathore (Sorry if I can't recall the name correctly) from Gwalior, with political background and intellectual leanings arrived at S. Chand & Company with a story called MAHAMAYA KI TALWAR !

Be back soon, folks!