Some of you may have seen a recent post I put up about my first foray into self-publishing.
Well I’m at the end of that first stage of this journey and (hopefully!) will find the results decent enough to carry on down this road – only the coming few days at the 3rd Annual Indian Comic Convention will really tell. That and the reader feedback that will follow!
Of course the other thing to look forward to this weekend is a short Q&A and talk that I have to panel with Abhijeet (one of the artists in Ground Zero) and another fellow self-publisher about the highs and lows of such an endeavour. It should be interesting to see what folks ask us and how it all goes.
The nice thing is that I’ve already had calls from folks about ordering it online or directly from me – a hopeful sign that people are intrigued and interested enough based on just the art and sparing details I’ve shared thus far.
(click to enlarge)
So with that in mind and the imminent launch of the book tomorrow, I wanted to share these thoughts, some more detailed story info for what lies within and just generally send a thanks out into the ‘verse to whoever and whatever, because I’m just happy that I’m getting a chance to do what makes me happy, hard work and all – telling stories my way.
I hope you guys like the logo for my imprint, if not, that’s cool too. Mostly I like those retro book cover designs and this kind of image and thought it worked pretty well!
Our facebook page is HERE for anyone inclined to check it out.
And for all the people who’ve been wondering and patiently asking what they can expect to find inside, Volume One of our debut anthology – Ground Zero – contains:
1) A Day in the life
Artist : Abhijeet Kini (his site)
A short and weirdly bitter-sweet story of loss and of the need for closure and a friend – real or otherwise. Art and colouring style is intended to be very much like the simpler comic strips with relatively flat and basic colours.
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2) Super-Soldier Squad
Artist : Anant Sagar (pencils –his Deviantart page) & Sammi Lenker (ink + colour)
Manga/Anime style comic artwork with a very serious action story-line.
Based around a secret meta-human operative duo, it follows them on an assignment that will make them radically start questioning everything they’ve believed. Loaded to the brim with action, this is a fun, violent romp. The art while manga-esque is not strictly that and with a more dark and detailed colour-scheme, it is a unique melding of art styles.
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3) The Last Baqani
Artist : Sahil Rao (his Site)
An intense fantasy tale set in an undefined era of history amidst a civilisation of “missing links” i.e, a race of simian-people who live in tree-top settlements. It is an origin story for a demon hunter character with loads of gory action both in the flashback and the present.
Replete with fantastic ideas and designs, the art is done in a vividly painted style that adds a whole other dimension to the story.
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4) The Mirror Cracked
Artist : Vivek Goel (pencils – his site) (pencils) & Sammi Lenker (ink + colour)
A short and intense story drawn in purely tight-pencilled style by Vivek, this is a simple homage to the old samurai stories – the twist being that it stars anthropomorphic animal characters and is set in ancient India.
Quick and beautifully brutal chop-socky action drama.
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5) Things Big And Small
Artist : Ankur Amre (pencils) & Sammi Lenker (ink + colour)
A perspective piece that follows an evening/night in the life of Indian youth through the point of view of an outsider who partakes/lives within this social construct.
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6) Equality
Artist/Writer : Avik Kumar Maitra (Deviantart page)
A short, beautifully macabre story about conformity.
7) Raakshas Rising
Artist : Tarun Padmakumar (Deviantart page)
Intensely action-packed and entertaining little interlude that teases a new kind of Indian superhero!
Armoured and deadly – is the Raakshas a hero or a villain? You will get to decide.
And a special mention to Sammi Lenker who bravely took on the task of colouring not one, but THREE of these stories in exceptionally speedy time – check out her Deviantart page.
One Happy Monk's Reviews 
Yay! This is awesome. I hope the convention goes really well. 🙂
Thanks!!
(It did go well, posting about that later today!!)
Spider– Things are looking and sounding promising! Good luck! Actually let’s hope that “luck” has nothing to do with it and that “good” is the driver.
Not the biggest believer in luck myself, but I’ll take what I can get! 😀
Congratulations and best of luck! 😀
Just on a side not – I think you may have forgotten to put the link in for the Facebook page (I tried to click on HERE – but it doesn’t work) 😉
Damn! Sorry, correcting now!