INDIA AUTHENTIC #3 / INDRA is out on the stands today. This tells the story of INDRA, the king of the Gods and his battle with Virithra, the serpent demon who is holding the waters of the earth hostage.

It is drawn by Satish Tayade.

Here is the solicit text

‘I am INDRA, the son of Dyaus. I am THUNDER! I am the King of Gods! Those that have stood before me have either become friends or have been crushed by my Vajra. Like Virithra, the serpent demon that held the waters of a young world hostage, and who could not be killed by any metal, or wood, or stone. I decimated him with my Vajra, crafted from the bones of the sage Dadhichi. I am the ruler of Svarga (Heaven,) master of the nubile Apsaras (nymphs,) the lord of Soma (The sweet wine of Ambrosia,) and the tamer of Airavaat, the four tusked elephant of lore. I invite you to come see for yourself the might of Indra and the splendor of Amarvati Prime, the city of Gods.’ “

Virgin Comics has released the digital widescreen edition of INDIA AUTHENTIC #1 / GANESHA on their website.

The entire issue is available for viewing at http://www.virgincomics.com/slideshow_ganesha.asp

Also Virgin Comics did a press release / news item about INDIA AUTHENTIC that can be read at http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines … hp?id=3023

Here is the text of the press release, taken from the broken frontier site (the full text can be read over there).

Virgin Comics Mines Indian MythsVirgin Comics announced today that they are launching a new ongoing graphic novel series with bestselling author, Deepak Chopra.

The new series, Deepak Chopra Presents – India Authentic, will focus on retelling numerous Indian mythological stories with modern artists and writers. Each issue will be centered on the story of a different Indian god or goddess. The first issue, Ganesha, portrays the legend of Indias cherished, elephant-headed god. The series will continue with subsequent stories on Kali, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Uma, Indra and others.

Commenting on the new series, Deepak Chopra stated, “The re-imagination of Indian mythologies and archetypes with a cross cultural flavor will ignite once again our collective yearning for achieving the impossible and embarking on a journey of mystery, magic, and adventure. It may well usher in an age that Homer never dreamed of.”

Each issue of the series will be introduced with a foreword by Chopra, describing the relevancy of the ancient myth in the context of todays global world. Working with Chopra is a rotating team of Indias most talented young writers and artists including Saurav Mohapatra, Satish Tayade, Abhishek Singh and others.

“When I grew up, almost every child of Indian origin learned the legends and mythologies of India through comic books,” said Virgin Comics CEO & Publisher, Sharad Devarajan. “Working with an author of Deepak Chopras caliber allows us to recreate a series of Indian mythology comics crafted with the highest level of quality in artwork and story, bringing these cherished legends of India to audiences worldwide.”

“I grew up in Boston Massachusetts and worshiped the Red Sox and Patriots and felt bad about myself because kids teased me about believing in blue Gods with six arms. So what do I know about being authentic to India? I know I get to oversee a wildly talented group of young creators eager to tell their authentic myths to the world and it’s exciting. And as they say, blue is the new black,” commented Gotham Chopra, Virgin Comics Chief Creative Officer.

The first issue in the series has been just released in North America with a monthly cover price of US$2.99, with a Rs.15 Indian edition following later this year. The series will also be translated into numerous languages throughout Europe and Asia later this year. The first issue in the series can be viewed in its entirety as a digital comic on Virgin Comics website at: www.virgincomics.com/slideshow_ganesha.asp

INDIA AUTHENTIC #2 / KALI

INDIA AUTHENTIC #2 KALI is out on the stands today. It features the legend of the primal facet of the indian mother goddess and contains some real kickass art by ABHISHEK SINGH (RAMAYAN 3K/Virgin). So what are you waiting for go out and grab your copy and support your favorite starving writer.

This was in fact the first script I ever wrote for Virgin Comics. So it is pretty special for me. As usual do send me the comments and crits (also if you run across any reviews, news items and such on the www) via the contact me link on this site OR post comments on this one.

Since I am too lazy to start another topic I am using this space to also publish this bit of news.

DRAGONSLAYER online at ComicSpace galleries

In other news, I uploaded my first ever published piece
DRAGONSLAYER in full (all seven pages) to my ComicSpace gallery. Check it out here

I don’t know why but DRAGONSLAYER always reminded me of KALI. The story of DRAGONSLAYER is about a battered wife who endures brutal spousal rape and creates a fictional reality to escape from her tragic reality. It was published in VAULT OF TERROR from OPEN BOOK PRESS in JUN 2006.