Comic strip

Delhi-based Raj Comics,founded in 1984,started their own website four years ago. Fans of popular characters like Nagraj,Doga and Super Commando Dhruva can download the pages onto their computer or even order hard copies of their favourite comics. Raj Comics recently tied up with one of the telecom companies to make these comics available on your cell phones. “Our sales are continuously increasing after the inception of the website,and online sales have increased by about 25-30 percent,” says Sanjay Gupta,studio head,Raj Comics adding,“The provision of online purchase has had a significant effect on sales as well.”

The popularity of this move among readers is evident from the comments on the website. “It is an excellent collection,and I was able to download the books instantly with great ease,” says Gaurav Agarwal,an ardent comic books fan. Another user,Herminder Singh has written,” I am happy that the comics are being made available online. The overall experience of buying comics online has been good.”

In and around the city,however,it is the assorted comic books like Tinkle and the mythological,historical Amar Chitra Katha that have remained the most popular,while other Indian graphic publications have slowly died out. Rushabh Sanghvi,Marketing Manager,Amar Chitra Katha says,”We launched the website two years back. We have more than 1.3 lakh registered users and get about 3000 logging ins every day.” Amar Chitra Katha’s website has popular features like E-comics which allows users to read these comics in Indian language like Hindi,Marathi,Gujarati,Telugu and Kannada. Aanak Sengupta,a student of standard seven,is an avid reader of Tinkle as well as Amar Chitra Katha. “I enjoy reading these books because they are written in a simple language which is easy to understand and follow. The pictures make the story more entertaining,and the comics,especially Amar Chitra Katha,are very interesting and informative,” the twelve-year-old says.

Most bookstore owners in the city shy away from keeping comics because they fear lack of sales. Dinesh Gurav,bookstall owner near station says,“Children do not buy Hindi or Marathi comics these days. Most of them want to read Tinkle or Chacha Chowdhury in English. Also the sales have been constant,there hasn’t been any kind of increase in the past couple of years. While children these days are moving to reading English comics,the trends certainly show a decline in the sales of Marathi or Hindi comic books.”

“We keep Amar Chitra Katha comics both in Hindi and Marathi. There are few takers for them,but we do not have other comics like Chacha Chowdhury or Nagraj,” says a store manager at one of the leading chain of bookstores in the city.

Popular comics on the web

* Chandamama

* Tinkle

* Amar Chitra Katha

* Arya

* Doga

* Nagraj