Suhas Sundra Interview (DNA)

There are several graphic artists in India that work off of their foreign counterparts, and present comic books that represent the traditions, culture and mythology of India. Suhas Sundra, an engineering graduate from the Indian School of Business has worked on various comics and animation projects, including 'Batu Gaiden', 'The Rabhas Incident' and most notably, 'Odayan'.

dna decided to get in touch with him and speak to him about 'Odayan', the comic book industry in India, the trials and tribulations he faced, as well as what makes a graphic novel work in today's world. 

Why did you create the graphic novel series? What inspired you to do so?
We created 'Odayan' to be a part of the lineup of titles that were being published by Level 10 Comics. Inspiration for the series is the setting of feudal Kerala as well as martial art epics.

In the Indian market, do you feel that graphic novels are starting to gain more and more popularity?
Certainly, though not on the scale it deserves. It is however heartening to see the number of books being churned out for mature audiences. One only needs to go to any online portal and see the reviews from fans for the books currently being produced and it makes me believe that there will be a lot more content coming our way soon.

Which foreign and Indian novelists are you influenced by?
Too many foreign authors to list, but some of my favorites include Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison, Jean Van Hamme, Kazuo Koike, etc…from India I recommend, Saurav Mohapatra, Samit Basu, Sumit Kumar, Anant Singh.
 
How far do you see the series going?
Our current plan is to wrap it up in five books, but we will take a call based on how the story shapes up as well as fan response.
 
What has been the reception to the series so far?
The reception has been very positive and overwhelming, with fan art and reviews popping up all over the place.

If you could write a graphic novel on any super hero, which would it be?
Batman… hands down.

How would you make it more relatable to an Indian audience?
Batman as a concept is universal so I wouldn’t try to Indian-ise it in anyway. I would probably try to focus on an aspect of Bruce Wayne’s early training years by bringing him to India.

About the Author:
Suhas Sundar is an Engineering Graduate and an MBA from the Indian School of Business. He used to work out of Bangalore and Chicago in Information Technology before coming back to India to start Level 10 Entertainment, an angel funded company based out of Bangalore and Mumbai. As the Creative Director at this start up he was responsible for conceiving and executing IPs across comics and animation including 'Batu Gaiden', 'The Rabhas Incident' and 'Odayan'. Post Level 10’s merger with Japanese firm Zero Sum to form Nihodo Media, Suhas has taken over as the CEO of Nihodo Media and his second animated feature with frequent collaborator Deepak is slated for release on Cartoon Network in 2014.

Read Also: Delhi based artist re-imagines Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, the Hulk as Indians

LEVEL-10 COMICS : INFO

LEVEL-10 COMICS : INFO

By Youdhveer Singh in Indian comics universe fan club

Level 10 Comics is one of the prominent contemporary Indian comics that have significantly contributed to the development of the medium in the country. Comic Jump is the flagship issue and is published on a monthly basis. Level 10 Comic Jump is the first full-fledged Indian comics magazine that mainly targeted at the young adult, particularly male readers between 18-30 years. Level 10 Comics is published and distributed by Mumbai based Level 10 Entertainment. Level 10 Comic Jump was established by Suhas Sundar and Shreyas Srinivas in late 2009. The publishing company started producing comics magazines for teen readers from April 2010. Currently, Level 10 Comics is in the process of producing a digital comic publishing platform. The main titles published in Level 10 Comic Jump are Shaurya, Northern Song, The Rabhas Incident, Daksh and Batu Gaiden.

History of Level 10 Comics
Suhas Sundar and Shreyas Srinivas decided to establish Level 10 Studios in late 2009. Suhas Sundar was earlier software professional and Shreyas Srinivas is a former Unilever Manager. Prior to the emergence of Level 10 Comic Jump, the dominant genre in Indian comics was Hindu Mythology and popular mythological characters from Ramayana and Mahabharata. Level 10 Comics mainly focused on creating original content and intellectual properties. Level 10 also operated a Studio division that worked on visual graphic and design services for external clients. The company eventually raised capital from Seedfund and Mumbai Angels, who provided the primary investment in December 2010. Level 10 Studios was eventually renamed as Level 10 Entertainment and the studio division was shut down in order to concentrate on creating new intellectual and original properties. The flagship publication of Comic Jump was also re-launched as the focus shifted to the 18-30 years old urban male comic readers.

Publications of Level 10 Comics
Level 10 Comic Jump consists of original content that spans over various genres. Some of the main titles include superhero epic Shaurya, action fantasy Northern Song, zombie thriller The Rabhas Incident, dark superhero Daksh and fantasy series Batu Gaiden. They also have other titles like Yumi, Sando and Odayan.

Shaurya
Shaurya is the story about 5 Indian youngsters who are equipped with superhuman powers and save the country from evil elements. It contains the details of the lives of 5 B-school students from Mumbai, namely Veer, Rubina, Jay, Ana and Sid. All of the main characters have super powers like invulnerability, morphing, persuasion and one of the characters is an advanced android.

Northern Song
Northern Song is fantasy action comics, set in medieval India. The story follows the adventures of Bala, who is partly demon, but does not express any demonic tendencies.

The Rabhas Incident
The Rabhas Incidentis a zombie horror survival story based in modern day Bengaluru. Due to the outbreak of a deadly virus, a mysterious disease affected all the residents of the city and turned them into flesh eating zombies. The main character Major Rafeeq Ahmed, who is a police officer, gets marooned in a hospital along with a tea-selling boy. The concept is inspired from the widely popular game and movie, Resident Evil.

The other titles like Daksh, deals with the half son of Lord Yama and Batu Gaiden is a Manga fantasy series that involves cricket into mythology.

The noted writers and illustrators who have worked on the several titles are Shreyas Srinivas and Deepak Sharma for Shaurya, Vijayendra Mohanty and Vivek Goel for Northern Song and Suhas Sundar and Harsho Mohan Chattoraj for The Rabhas Incident.

Each of the series contains stylish artwork, unique design and gripping narrative. The comics magazine have become much popular amongst the youth and comics readers of the nation in a short span of time.