Fast Forward

Writer – Jolly Sinha

Penciling – Anupam Sinha

Inking – Vinod Kumar, Rakesh, Jagdeesh

Calligraphy and Color – Sunil Pandeya

Effects – John Polos, Jagat, Govind

Editor – Manish Gupta

Overall Rating => 4.2

I can now say that Super Commando Dhruva is back. And back with a bang!!! Fast Forward truly takes you back to that good old era of Dhruva which fans have been demanding from ages. It has every masala that’s needed in a Super Commando Dhruva issue. It has action, thrill and suspense. Fast Forward is fast paced and never gets dull anywhere. This was a much needed break for Dhruva.

Leo is suffering from polio for which he blames the government. But he is exceptionally talented and uses his artificial leg with so much ease that it’s unbelievable. There enters Kill-Bill whom no one has seen with a suit which has great powers. But the person wearing the suit must be suffering from polio as it’s designed especially for them. Kill-Bill modifies the suit by inserting a chip into the suit so that he can control the person wearing that suit. Leo gets the suit and Fast Forward is born. Now, Fast Forward has a job to complete and how Dhruva and his Commando Force try to stop him is worth reading. The story has its share of thrill and suspense. It makes you guessing till the very end who is Kill-Bill and when the secret is disclosed you are seriously surprised.

Talking about technicality, the story is perfect. The execution is perfect. Mr. Anupam Sinha has done a good job in penciling the first few pages but towards the end he has done quite an ordinary job. If you take a look at the last pages you will see that Dhruva is looking different in each frame. Some frames are really badly done such as Frame No. 2 on page 47, Frame No 1 & 5 on page 48 and take a look at Dhruva in Frame No. 4 of Page 51… if you look closely, you will find that the coloring is quite good and the effects are also nice… the only problem is with Penciling. Mr. Sinha, if you can make Jimmy Zinchak look good then Dhruva is your own child, please don’t treat him like your step son!

Leaving the penciling apart, everything is perfect. I would say that Fast Forward is a great story and a must have comic book on your shelf. Go buy a copy… NOW !!!

Amar Prem

Story Plot – Vivek Mohan, Tushar Trivedi                                       
Writer – Tarun Kumar Wahi
Artwork – Dheeraj Verma
Color Effects – Dheeraj Verma
Calligraphy – Amit Katheria
Editor – Manish Gupta

Overall Rating – 2.0

Amar Prem is a disappointing saga of Love. At least that’s what I figured out after reading it. The story deals how Kobi experienced love for the first time in his life. A bala-lu day is celebrated in the forest every year much like Valentine’s Day in cities. On this day friends or lovers take their partner’s problems on self and showcase their love and affection. Then suddenly, out of nowhere Bheriya remembers Sukanya, his first love. Now, as he has accidentally remembered her from heart and she will be back…

It’s awfully long with geek dozes of lengthy and heavy dialogues so often that anyone would feel pissed off. The artwork and coloring is really bad… so much so that the Editor himself has fired the Artist concerned. It shows that Mr. Gupta is now more serious about the quality of comics published by RC.

Even if I say, the story is long, I must admit that the plot is nice considering the story arc of this Bheriya series… but a 30 or rather 25 page story would have been a much better option keeping in mind the pace of the story which gets dull at times. I hope the next title will be better.

Dahan Kaand

Nagayan – Dahan Kaand – Pancham Khand

Story – Anupam Sinha, Jolly Sinha                                                     
Artwork – Anupam Sinha
Inking – Vinod Kumar
Calligraphy – Sunil Kumar
Effects – John Polos, Jagat

Overall Rating – 4.5

Now, this is what I call a story! Elegant and cool! I can safely say that the story has picked up really well when we are towards the climax. This is Dahan Kand! The fifth installment of the Nagayan series! I won’t disclose the story here as it is seriously full of suspense this time. But what I must mention here is that reading this particular title gives you the idea of what Anupam Sinha is capable of (I am hugely disappointed the way he is handling Super Commando Dhruv’s solos and wish he will take him in notice).

In this title you will find that groups are being made, heads are being scratched, secrets begin to disclose. The stage is all set for the big war to begin. Don’t miss this one out. Speaking of Artwork, it’s really good and so is the binding of the book. A great Hard Cover with an equally great cover page. Mr. Sinha has done a really great job. The only thing I didn’t like is that a good artwork is sometimes ruined by huge dialog balloons. Now, if RC is increasing the rates of the comics, I won’t mind. I am ready for an 80/- digest with 100 pages so that there is more space for Mr. Sinha and I get to enjoy both the story and the artwork. One more point I would like to make here is that RC should seriously think to translate this series in English too. That will help a lot for new readers who live in other countries and don’t understand english.

I would advice the readers to grab this one up as soon as they can. For now, I an eagerly waiting for Rann Kaand and Samar Kaand to release. And for those who missed any of previous parts, I am giving the links of previous issues of Nagayan in eComics format which are available at RC’s website(Hard Copies also avaiable at Raj Comics Store) . Mark my words – “If you miss any of these you are going to miss an epic of lifetime”

Nagayan Previous Issues :

Rakta Katha

Writer - Tarun Kumar Wahi                                                                 
Artwork – Aadil Khan
Calligraphy – Amit Katheria
Color Effects – Pradeep Saharawat
Editor – Manish Gupta
Guest Editor – Mandar

Overall Rating – 3.0

Another title from the Thrill Horror Suspense (THS) series! The story revolves around a writer who desperately needs 2.5 million Rupees for his Son’s kidney operation. So, he decides to write a movie script and while doing so he comes across a magical pen which helps him complete the script. But things turn dirty when people misuse him and this is when the pen starts taking revenge for her master.

The story is short and sober. I however feel that it is uselessly stretched for about ten to twelve pages. A thirty page issue would have been a better option. The artwork is good but coloring is not up to the mark.

I would advise you to read the book if you are a hardcore THS fan and don’t care about the size and effects which I consider as most important aspect as far as Horror is concerned. I think Mr. Saharawat will do a better job next time.

Mrutyu Chaahi

Plot – Vivek Mohan                                                                    
Writer – Tarun Kumar Wahi
Artwork – Bedi
Color – Sunil Pandeya
Editor – Manish Gupta

Overall Rating – 3.8

Another Bankelal title with lots of conspiracy and plans and of course, dozes of humor. I always like the way Mr. Wahi sets up his stories. Now, for newcomers let me tell you that Bankelal is a comic character by Raj Comics who is hugely popular for his plans and theories to kill the King Vikram Singh of Vishalgarh and be the king himself. He, however, has a small little problem. Due to a curse given to him by Lord Shiva, every bad deed he plans for anyone turns upside down giving a huge profit to the person he plans to
trap. As a result, he never gets that crown for himself but a huge profit for the king thus creating a huge doze of laughter.

In this particular title, the same thing happens again. This time the story starts with an introduction of Rog Nagari (Disease City) where every citizen suffers from different kind of disease each day. They however, find out the reason behind this and throw out the Demon called Mrutyuchahi outside there city. This Demon feels very hurt due to such treatment and thinks of committing suicide. But due to a curse, this demon spreads disease to every living being he sees making it difficult for him to die. Now, as luck
would have it he meets Bankelal in a forest where he is planning out a way to kill Vikram Singh and then begins the hilarious journey of Bankelal trying to kill both the Demon and the king.

The story is funny as every Bankelal title. The names like Rishi Sabsamaztacharya and Tu adds to the humor. The reason why I gave this title a 3.8 and not 4.0 or 4.5 is just because I personally feel the Mr. Wahi now should add something new in the story too. It sometimes gets predictable. May be some titles like they had previously where Vikram Singh and Bankelal go to different provinces and save them from some Rakshasas and Chudailles.

Ant Kaal

Story Plot – Vivek Mohan, Anupam Sinha                                             
Writer – Tarun Kumar Wahi
Artwork – Deelip Chaubey
Inking – Rakesh, Jagdeesh Kumar
Color and Calligraphy – Sunil Pandeya
Effects – Saahil
Editor – Manish Gupta

Overall Rating – 2.5

Okay, this is the fourth and final part of the Kaal sries. Frankly, this is the most boring part of the complete series. The story starts with Tilasmadev reincarnated as Prof. T. Dev in modern era, telling Raj, Prakal and Jojo that they are the reincarnation of Ashwaraj, Bhokal and Gojo respectively and like they did in every yug they have to end the reign of Kaal in this era too… Now, they being kids are unable to do so and that’s where Parmanu, Inspector Steel and Super Indian come in frame. The final battle takes place
and the rest you know very well… the usual good over evil thing…

If you can see, it took me just about 100 words to describe the story. Need I say there is nothing much in it? When the first part was released I thought it was a really good idea of introducing the old characters in a new way. But as the story built it turned into a nightmare. First, if you are re-introducing the old guys then why do you want Parmanu, Inspector Steel and Super Indian at the first place? Then even at the end, everything is done by these ‘Guest appearance’ guys and the lead plays the audience. And yeah, the
Destructive Force (Tabahi Sena) consisting of Pathogens may work in some Gamraj and Fighter Todes titles but it sucks big time here. Even the end of Kaal who is described as one of the greatest Rakshas of all time is far from exciting.

Now, about the artwork, it’s not up to the mark. The action scenes look animated and the Flying Dinosaurs are hilarious. At least we expect the villain to look cruel but when you take a look at Page No. 41 Frame 1 and 2 you get the idea of the artwork done by Mr. Deelip Chaubey.

It feels that the team was really in a hurry to finish it off and they ended up making a boring title. Overall, I would advise to read the title only if you have read the first three titles and want to finish it off; otherwise it’s a total waste of time and money.