Vandu Mama’s Bale Balu in English: Balu the Bully

Hi folks,

Apologies! Apologies ! Apologies and more of that. (is there a free soul kind enough to copy this and paste it for 1, 67, 000 crore times for me to make it up for all the delay and disappearance from the blogosphere? If so, let me know). I was almost non existent in this part of the world and with my designing work blossoming to a new level with lots of “Happening” things actually happening, am kind of allowed to disappear.

now, i was reading my regular dose of blogs and suddenly i read THIS post from Viswa and thought of breaking my ‘vrat’ from blogging. The only problem with that wonderfully written post was that it was in Tamil language instead of the regular English. Why am saying is, these are the posts and research works should be made available to most of the foreigners to Tamil language. I strongly believe that Tamil language has failed to give the due honour to people like VanduMama, Mullai Thangarasan, Charu Nivedita etc

As today is the birthday of the greatest ever story teller for children of all ages, am going to post one of my favourite childhood stories. Now, most of you would have thought that i will be posting something like Charu the smart (Oh, no – not this charu nivedita). However, i liked Bale balu a lot more than Charu the smart. Hence one of my all time favourite episode from that story line. Iam fortunate enough to have this story line in both the languages (Tamil & English) in my collection (Bless my chithra aunt for the collection idea). before it is a tad boring with my blabbering's, Friends, countrymen and bloggers, here i present – Balu the Bully in Tamil.

Now, this particular story was published in English in the English version of Gokulam from the year 2000 onwards. Let me narrate why this particular incident was more favourite than some of the better written stories of the same series.

I was studying in the 2nd year in my UG and during the summer vocations we travelled to our Aunt’s home in Vellore and there we had my nephew named balasubramanian doing almost the same tricky things that i used to do in my younger days – a la Bale Balu. so, when everyone else was calling him bala, i started to call him balu and he was curious to know why am calling him differently and i explained to him about the Balu character with my stories and also the latest Gokulam was available in the Mani aiyyar shop (next to that big pharmacy, oops i forgot the name of the pharmacy) and this was the story which was published in that particular issue of Gokulam.

Later on, he became almost a bully just like myself. now, let me get rid of those old memories and present Balu for the 1st time in English in the blogosphere. here is the same episode as that of the Tamil version.

Now, here is a BIG thanks to a person who made my childhood sweeter than anybody else. He is my companion, my knight in shining armour, my bed time story teller and my 4 AM friend in all those days when i was growing up. Thank you Mr Vandu Mama, You are my best teacher. In fact, You are the University from which i graduated with flying colours. Thanks for everything.

New Year Special post - Another small comics

Hi folks,

now that i got an answer for the last post's queries, am recharged to do more posts of such kind. these comics stories were lesser known and hence not much of information can be shared about these. Thanks to Viswa, now i know more about deviyin kanmani magazine (even my aunt couldn't remember those stories or the books in which they appeared).

Here is one more of such kind. this book was also in our shelves with lots of dust and there was an inland letter inside this book and hence this book was used as a latter bag for more than 27 years and last week only i dusted this off and found out that there was also a small comics story in this magazine. Now, again i do not know much about the artist or for that matter the author. even about the book itself. So, the usual request is also here: kindly share more info about the book and the creators behind this story.

As a story, this is very Senti type of question whereby the son longs to be rich and the reality is something else. Sacrificing mother and change of heart fro the son is the usual trend in those stories and the same is applicable here. Today being the new year, i thought of starting this year with a post on this. have a read.

Don’t laugh, now. Have a closer look at the title and you will understand that the font used is that of the old script and not the new one (என்றல் Vs என்றால்) and also the style of panelling (without any gaps between the panels in a page) – all old copybook style.

Have a blast for this year and will be back after watching tees mar khan, today.

Comics By N.C Mohan Doss

Hi folks,

it’s been almost a year since i returned to normality & the last 6 months am getting adjusted to the new house Home. Going is good and lets hope everything is good, as aamir khan says, All eez well”. Now, as mentioned in the beginning, i was getting adjusted in the new home and been placing things in one place and then in the next hour am not satisfied with the placement and i re adjust them to another place and after one day, all i do is place them in the original place. while doing so, i was getting most of my old books and magazine collection in the new study room and while looking in one of them, i found about 8 pages which were torn from a Tamil magazine (the middle 8 pages, from a centre pin magazine, a la rani comics).

When i looked inside those 8 pages, i found a comics story of 9 pages and suddenly i remembered that story (somewhere in the late 1993 or in the early part of the 1994) which i liked very much and tore it from a magazine which my aunt used to buy quite regularly. The best part is, i told this story in my school story telling competition and felt very happy when i completed the story (was it the 7th standard or 8th, need to get it confirmed with Mom). It was also a story which got me into reading the stories of the author NC Mohan doss. he was a quite prominent writer in those days in the dinamalar magazine’s Sunday book vaaramalar. He used to write the thodar kadhai’s over there and also some monthly novels. most of them were used to be quite good. A quick google search helped me to find out more abut him: About NC Mohan doss Link. Read on, it seems he no longer living in India and he is quite settled in UAE. Now, enough of this boring anecdote and here is the comics story that i got it from my old collection:

What a nice story, isn’t it? Now, don’t get me wrong; it was on those school days that this story took a quite likening to my taste (making it correct for all the wrongs you commit). So, as you have read this, you need to do me couple of favours on this.

1. Which magazine does this story appeared in those days? (will help you with some clues – Tamil magazine, monthly or something like that, could be a women’s mag – remember, my aunt used to buy this-, quite popular on those days). People who are familiar with old books and magazines such as saathaan, comics kadhalan, Venkateswaran, muthu fan, viswa can look into this. others are also welcome.

2. Who is this rajini artist? any other information about him?

Now that i have posted a decent thing on my blog, i request you guys to solve this small riddle which was part of my childhood and growing up. Help me out, guys – am counting on you people.

Tatty Mane – King of the Jungle

Hi folks,

its been almost a month since the last post and am still getting accustomed to the new lifestyle of mine. difficult, but not impossible. lets hope that iam alive to make some comics posts here and there.

This time am going to talk about one of my favourite comics characters and unfortunately i have read that in my mother tongue only (Tamil). Here is the only one available version of that character in English in India, so far.

This character is called “Tatty mane – king of the jungle” and he was named aptly in Tamil as “Parattai thalai raja” which was more or less very much similar to the name in English. this character was used to appear in Tamil in Prakash publisher’s Lion comics, mini lion and this issue which were published in the English in the early 90’s.

Now, we have already discussed about this series in our blog here. so, here is the 4th book in the series and in that, we had a collection of many short stories. here are the cover scans.

This series had almost all of my fav comics characters such as X ray specs, steel claw etc in one book. here is one of the Tatty mane story in multi colour. I think that this story has appeared in mini lion in neelap pei marmam.

the scans are differentiated to make the readers understand the role of the photoshop in scanning. this story appeared in puratchi thee of mini lion.

Now, am wondering in which book this particular story has appeared. i have read this and still cannot remember the tamil version of the book. can anyone help me on this?

P.S. 1: Today is / was Tamil new year day and wishes to the fellow Tamilians everywhere.

P.S. 2: Today happens to be fellow comirade Viswa’s birthday as well. Happy birthday Viswa.

Cinebooks – Treasure Hunt in 2010

Hi folks,

it’s been long since i actually did something worthwhile in this blog. Ever since i started this blog, i have been on a buying spree and every new book that i see, i used to think “let’s introduce this book to my friends” and used to buy them.

Later on, i couldn’t even read all of them, let alone blogging about them. the major culprits are publishers like campfire, eurobooks and cinebooks. So, i thought of blogging about their forthcoming titles so that many of us can wait and buy them in advance. Or else, you may have to chase them in shops, once you miss the launch date – just like i did.

The year 2010 is gong to be a landmark year for the comics lovers as Cinebook publishers have planned to publish a minimum of 48 titles with the introduction of 5 new characters. here are some of the most awaited books in the next 2 months:

A Carrot for Iznogoud (Goscinny – Tabary)

Availablity : March 2010

Published in India: No (In fact it was advertised in Tamil in Lion Comics some 3-4 years ago, and yet to be published).

Pages : 48 in A4 Size

Price: 5.99$ / Rs 350 / Rs199

Introduction: Iznogoud is Grand Vizier to Haroun al Plassid, ruler of Baghdad. And he has only one dream: becoming Caliph instead of the Caliph. With the lazy assistance of his faithful servant Wa’at Alahf, he tries his worst again and again–to no avail. But the usually oblivious Caliph has finally caught a hint of Iznogoud’s evil reputation among the people. To help the one he believes to be his friend, he sets off on a quest to find the legendary vegetable that brings out a man’s kinder nature: the carrot!

To know more on iznogoud, kindly visit: Tamil comics ulagam

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Lucky Luke Adventures 22 & 23. (Don’t Miss these, as they are the Morris-Goscinny Issues).

The corresponding Tamil issue covers (Thanks to King viswa)

The beauty is that, i have already read these two books in my mother tongue – Tamil. yes, and iam looking forward to see how these will be in English as the Tamil translations were simply superb.

A small request to all the fans: there are the famed goscinny-morris team books and hence you will never regret buying them. kindly buy.

To read the review of emperor smith in tamil, Go here.

To read the review of Cure for Doltons, Click Here.

Availability – Apr 2010        Price – 5.99$ / Rs 350 / Rs 199

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Team – William vance & van hamme

originally published in – 1984

Tag – Possibly, the world’s best graphic novel.

inspiration – Salman Khan’s Tumko naa bhool paayenge

Introduction: A man washes ashore near an old couple’s house, barely alive. When he comes to, he has forgotten everything, including his name. The only clues to his identity: a key sewn into his clothes, a bullet wound to the head… and the number XIII tattooed on his shoulder. A meagre start to reconstruct one’s self.

The central character in “XIII” is an amnesiac on the run, caught in the crossfire as he tries to understand his true identity while attempting to make sense of various conspiracies swirling around him.

This graphic novel series is now running close to it’s 20th part. In Tamil, this is the only book to have appeared in two different dialects. Yes, it appeared in erstwhile Thighil comics (from the same house of muthu/lion comics) in 1986 and later on in 2005, it appeared in Sri Lanka in Iceberg comics.

Tamil Versions of XIII – TCU Link by Viswa

Iceberg Comics of XIII – TCU Link by Viswa

In Tamil, there is a huge project to compile all the 18 parts of this wonderful book and you will not even believe that it is priced at Rs 199 only. Yes, all the 18 parts for the price of Rs 199. however there is a catch in it. even though they are printed in the original A4 Size, they are in black and white only.

still, this is much better to have this book in hand, even if you do not understand the language (Tamil). it will be the biggest comic book ever published in India, close to 800 pages in A4 Size.imagine that.

Availability – May 2010     Price – 5.99$ / Rs 350 / Rs 199

that’s all for this post and will definitely back within next 10 days. Cheers.

Govind Bramania (02-03-1938 - 09-12-2009) R.I.P

Dear Folks,

It is Sad to announce the demise of Arguably one of India’s greatest ever comics artists. Yes, the man behind the success of The Immortal character Bahadhur is No More. May his Soul rest in peace and His family members have the courage to live with his greater memories.

  

Here is the cover of the 1st ever Bahadhur adventure to be appeared. Yes, even though it was in the December 0f 1976, it looks like just yesterday. it is somewhat ironic that Govind Brahmania is passed away just when people are celebrating the 33rd anniversary of the 1st ever issue of Bahadhur.

The other 2 covers are the middle and later stages work of Govind Brahmania with respect to Bahadhur work.

Thanks to Usman Bhai for the Information.

Here is salutes to One of the Best ever Comics artists produced by India.

The Spider - King Of Crooks in India - English

 

Hi all,

welcome back. the review for the cini book – iznogoud is ready to be posted. however, when i saw this post, i thought of doing this particular post. those who know Tamil, can go and enjoy the post.

The Spider is a British comic book character who started out as a super-villain before becoming a super-hero. He appeared in Lion (One of the most popular weekly magazine from fleetway publications, London) between 26 June 1965 and 26 April 1969 and was later reprinted in Vulcan (also from Fleetway, obviously). He was created by writer Ted Cowan and artist Reg Bunn. Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel took over the writing of the character with his third adventure, and would write the bulk of his adventures.

No origin was ever given for The Spider, nor any explanation for his appearance: pointed ears and teeth, and upswept eyebrows. His base of operations was a Scottish castle he brought over to the U.S, Rock by rock – believe it or faint.

The Spider appeared in the 1960s in the United States with the aim to become King of Crooks. He broke out several other criminals to become members of his army of crime, and would clash with both the police and with other criminal masterminds. Among these were Mirror Man (who specialised in illusions), Doctor Mysterioso (a multi-talented scientist) and The Android Emperor (who could create a wide variety of robots). He also clashed with a number of criminal gangs, and one organisation, Crime Incorporated, hired the assassin The Exterminator to kill him. For once, the Spider seemed defeated, but struck an alliance with his would-be killer, and the pair took down Crime Incorporated. The Spider drained the Exterminator, ageing him decades with a booby-trapped handshake, when the latter tried to double-cross him.

The Spider found fighting criminals to be exhilarating, and decided to pit his wits against threats to mankind from now on. For a brief time he was associated with the "Society of Heroes" (Captain Whiz; Mr Gizmo; Rex Robot.; Tigro the Wild Man; Rockman; Snowman (Professor Fred Storm)). All except The Spider died fighting the Sinister Seven. Other foes he faced included The Crime Genie, Spider-Boy, The Snake, The Death-Master, the Ant, the Red Baron, The Fly, The Molecule Man, The Chessman and Mr. Stonehart. This particular adventure is yet to be published in India, either in Tamil or English.

to know more about him, Follow this link: http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/spider.htm

Now, let us come to this particular post. As Tamil was my mother tongue, i read almost all the adventures of him (either in 1st copy or as a reprint issue) as he was one of the most popular hero, if not THE popular hero. Those who do not know Tamil language, were thus handicapped. To solve out this, The publisher has come out with limited stories in English, some time back. (click on the images to enlarge).

This issue as you can see, was printed about 17 years back and, by Jove, you can still obtain the remaining copies from them by writing to the address given over there.

Spider’s stories can be classified into 3 categories:

a. Series in Lion Weekly magazine and other allied fleetway issues later on.

b. monthly digest which ran for a year in 1967-68 with standard Graphic novel format of 122 pages and a complete story.

c. Short stories in the special issues and annuals in the 70’s.

Among these 3 categories, the 1st one was truly amazing. For some time, i used to wonder why the editor has chosen this story for his English version’s 1st story instead of going with a Blockbuster story from the series. then i realized that these stories fit the bill to the perfection to print as a magazine.

The story (Only a Teaser): The spider is challenged for the crown of King of Crooks by a New comer who calls himself as Little Nemo and has his own squad of Toys which are deadly to say the least. He gets Roy ordini (Spider’s side kick) and challenges Spider for a Game of Ludo (Yes, Ludo only). Spider realises that the Game is a Trap and in the final stages, Little nemo escapes with Ordini.

Spider Gets angry and he goes after Little Nemo and in one of the most memorable scenes, he just runs into the army of Nemo mouthing that they cannot even shoot a standing elephant in 10 yards, how can they imagine to shoot Spider, who is faster than the Lightning. And then starts a deadly game in which Spider wins and captures Little Nemo.

The Story may sound little odd and pale in comparison with the rest of the Spider stories. However, A Spider story is, after all, A Spider story for those who got acquainted with him. You will not be disappointed after reading this book. Those who want to have this book,(and the rest of the books in English from the famed publishers) Kindly note down the address and send money to them after speaking to them over phone:

Prakash Publishers,

No 8/D-5, Chairman P.K.S.S.A Road, Amman Kovil Patti, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu.

Pin Code: 626 189. Phone Number: 04562 – 272649.

That’s all for this post and will be back very soon with the Review post of Iznogoud. Adios, Cheers.