Earn money from film-making and other side projects and plough it back into setting up a publishing house only for ?graphic novels?. A novel and noble idea to offer unknown talents a chance, open up the graphic novel genre in this country and perhaps even make some money. But will it work? Friends and collaborators Sarnath Banerjee and Anindya Roy will find out soon.
The duo has just set up Phantomville, a platform for aspiring comics creators ? or comicists as they would please. Functioning out of Delhi, Phantomville?s first output, The Believers (picture inset), tells the story of two brothers brought together by death but separated by belief. A complex and sensitive tale told in pictures and words.
?For the past five years we had been thinking of a platform for comics. Two years ago we had started the South Comix Collective with an NGO to talk about social issues like child labour and infanticide. We wanted to take that forward,? Anindya (picture above), a mathematics graduate with a film-making background, told Metro from Delhi.
Sarnath, of course, is the author of India?s first graphic novel, Corridor. ?Anindya and I realised that if we are to bring about a real change as to how comics are created and perceived in India we have to take a more active approach,? Sarnath explained via email from Frankfurt.
Graphic novels, or ?long-form comic books with complex story lines often meant for mature readers?, have found it difficult to turn mass in India. ?It?s a cultural form in the West, in Latin America and in Japan,? pointed out Sarnath.
Not to mention one of Hollywood?s favourite idea storehouses, be it with past adaptations like Alan Moore?s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to the more recent V for Vendetta, Frank Miller?s Sin City or the upcoming Watchmen (Moore again).
?They are expensive and have a niche market. How many can buy a comic book worth Rs 700 or 800? But we still see a potential with graphic novels and have been stocking them for the past few years,? said Gautam Jatia of Landmark, a favourite comics haunt.
Anindya and Sarnath plan to turn Phantomville into a ?vehicle for graphic storytellers? to publish the new narratives emerging from India. ?We are encouraging narratives that originate from the local, yet avoid the mythological, and supporting stories that seem to be real in the times that we live,? explained Sarnath.
Why Phantomville? ?Ghost town, imaginary neighbourhood, uncertain place, pick your choice. But it has nothing to do with Phantom, the ghost who walks, who is one of my favourite characters,? said Sarnath. ?It?s more like a house of mystery. You never know what?s coming out of it next,? felt Anindya.
What has come out for now is The Believers, written by Keralite Abdul Sultan PP and illustrated by Partha Sengupta. Up next is Kashmir Pending, which deals with, among other things, the militancy in Kashmir and is written by journalist Naseer Ahmed, with illustrations by Saurabh Singh.
The expectations from the first publication are modest. ?Corridor sold around 4,500 copies. I?d be happy if The Believers sells 4,000,? said Anindya, who is working on his debut novel.
Sarnath?s second comic book The Barn Owl?s Wondrous Capers is due later this year from Penguin.
