At a time when the idea of a Munna Bhai MBBS comicbook hits the news pages, Fireworks Productions’ CID, after ruling Sony Entertainment Television for nine long years, is already set to hit the newsstands. CID’s timeless characters will shortly come alive on the pages of comicbooks. Characters ACP Pradyuman (Shivaji Satam), Sr Inspector Abhijeet (Aditya Shrivastav), Inspector Daya (Dayanand Shetty), Inspector Fredricks (Dinesh Phadnis), forensic doctor Dr Niyati (Shweta Kawaatra) among others, will now be seen as illustrated characters.

Says producer-director of CID, B.P. Singh, the man of the moment, “We had conceived it long back, and the work was on. Our Business Head, Yash Patnaik, was ready to take on the challenge. And in a matter of just six months, we are ready to roll.” With over 500 stories in the bank, and the on-air supporting system of Sony Entertainment Television, CID will have no dearth of story ideas. It was not an easy task, though. First came an international research, studying the current market and trend of comicbooks and the statistics.

“We met everyone from the makers to the market, and everyone was excited with the idea of CID comicbooks. That encouraged us a lot as the show is still going strong on-air,” explains Yash Patnaik.

The blueprint was drawn and the task of converting television stories into comicbooks was set into motion. “Research shows that over 80 per cent of comicbook content, the world over, is about crime and larger-than-life heroes. From the Indian perspective who else but CID, a nine-year-old show that has made its place in the psyche of Indian audiences, could be more apt to also turn into comicbook heroes?” asks Yash Patnaik.

Adds Singh: “CID comics will be released in a 44-page, all-colour format, with an international standard packaging. This is a show that glorifies our police force. And this move is another step in the direction of our unsung heroes, who live in stress to let us live in peace.”