Now, Indian superheroes are here to save the day

An ordinary NGO worker who fights crime in the city on the side — this is Bengaluru’s very own superhero named ‘Karma.’

Created by Rajeev Tamhankar, Karma, or Abhay as he is otherwise known, is inspired by the sessions he attends on the Bhagavad Gita. When dangerous villains try to incriminate his NGO in a drug-peddling scandal, Abhay puts on a mask and fights them.

Part one of the book was launched last week, making it part of the universe of superheroes Tamhankar is working to create. “USA has DC Comics and Marvel Comics with popular characters like Superman, Batman and so on. India does not have many superheroes, though there is a lot of potential,” he said. ‘Karma’ has been illustrated by Subhajit Das, a freelance designer from Kolkata.

In the past four months, his Bengaluru-based comic start-up TBS Planet has published several books with characters based in Delhi and Mumbai, among others. All of them are truly Indian, often having a basis in tales from Indian mythology. For instance, superhero Varun fights sea creatures who were formed after Dwarka got submerged.

TBS Planet also created comic books for Bollywood movies ‘A Flying Jatt’ and Ajay Devgn’s ‘Shivaay.’

Another comic based in Bengaluru, ‘13 Days’ was launched along with ‘Karma.’ This horror story is about a group of friends whose trip to the Bandipur forest turns tragic when they enter a restricted area and encounter supernatural forces. True to the IT city, the lead character Kanan is a start-up founder and he uses technology to save his sister from the spirits. The books have been illustrated by Satyajit Mondal, a student from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. Part two and three are set to come out in December and January respectively.

A graduate of IIT-Roorkee, Tamhankar grew up reading comics, but never considered pursuing it as a profession. When a book he wrote titled ‘Get Corporated Before You Get Fired’ got great responses and people asked him to turn it into a comic series, he decided to give it a try.

Tamhankar has many more characters planned like Dhwani, a female hero who harnesses the power of sound and Yug, a character living in 2000 BC.
DH News Service