Mumbai based Orange Radius Arts launched Parshu: The Rise of Warrior, a 50 paged comic book this November and are all set to launch the third book in this series at Mumbai Comic Con.
In a freewheeling discussion with Raveesh, Founder of Orange Radius Arts and Creator of Parshu series, Animationxpress.com got to know more about the making of this book.
And Raveesh starts off the conversation with us by saying ‘Parshu is an Indian Superhero-Warrior character, a slick, stylish new age young warrior, and a believable superhero’
Raveesh, What is Parshu:Rise of the Warrior book all about?
Parshu :Rise of the Warrior is the second issue in the Parshu series, it picks up the story where the first issue Parshu :Origins had ended with Parshu falling off from a building. The story gathers a great deal of momentum as Shaurya(alter ego Parshu) realises his physical limitations and trains extremely hard to get himself battle ready, battle ready to fight and destroy those who are behind the dastardly attack on his family.Parshu :Origins detailed out the series of events which led to Shaurya discovering his Superhero-Warrior streak. The second issue Rise of the Warrior brings to readers the rise of a gifted young boy into a tough-as-nails hard-hitting warrior. It takes the excitement up several notches and throws in some really interesting characters.
So the entire book revolves around Parshu?
Yes, The central protagonist is Shaurya/Parshu., but we’ve fleshed out the characters of his ally and mentor, Prakash Rajput in greater detail. The second issue packs an ensemble of compelling characters which make the story extremely exciting and intriguing. These are savage adversaries who will stop at nothing to protect their interests. The characters are woven around the unsolved mystery of the attack on Parshu’s family and his war against those responsible.
Is this the final book in the Parshu Series?
We’ve depicted the evolution of a next gen Indian Superhero across three issues, ‘Origins’, ‘Rise of the Warrior’ and ‘Retribution’. ‘Origins’ and ‘Rise of the Warrior’ have already been launched and available on Flipkart and Infibeam while ‘Retribution’ will launch at the Mumbai Comic Con.
How would you define the character Parshu?
I wanted to introduce a young character to the Indian readers who they could rate with in terms of his ‘typical Indian’ life. I wanted him to be a superhero, but not loaded with special abilities, in fact I wanted him to be a regular teen with his set physical and mental vulnerabilities, a believable superhero if you will. I didnt want him to fly or dodge bullets, in fact I’ve created a character who’s armed with an axe and good old courage and grit to fight against his adversaries. The idea always was to create a believable character, someone from the next block/next door.
What inspired you to write your book on this character?
I was reading the Mahabharata and I realised that a very strong character in the Sanskrit epic, Lord Parshuram, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, a mighty warrior has not been spoken/written about a lot. I wanted to base a character revolving around his strong persona, a character of ‘guts and glory’ similar to Parshuram. His revered axe -The Parshu particularly fascinated me, it had a personality of its own. I decided on Parshuram’s axe as Parshu’s weapon, I wanted Parshu to be a warrior, an axe would fit that image just fine.
In Parshu, I’ve tried to create a warrior in the lineage of Parshuram, a fierce, hard-hitting unrelenting warrior fighting savagery with ferocity, ruthlessness with courage. However, Parshu being a young kid at the end of the day is constrained by physical limitations of a 18 year old and restrained by a vow of never killing another human being.
How is this book different from Parshu Vol 1?
The first difference is in the artwork. Issue 1 ‘Origins’ was illustrated by Rahul Jha, an extremely talented artist from Kolkata. Rahul had used a 3-D technique which gave the first issue a very different and a unique look.
‘Rise of the Warrior’ has been illustrated by Murtuza Ali, a prodigious illustrator from Mumbai. Ali has followed the traditional 2-D hand drawn style which gives the second issue a typical graphic novel feel.
The other difference is the use of spread pages that we have used in the second issue where a panel is spread across two pages giving it a grand feel. The second issue sees Parshu developing into a warrior and getting his warrior suit and weapons battle ready. This has been depicted in a unique way using multiple panels on a page to enhance the visual appeal of the graphic novel. We’ve tried to be more vibrant with our color selection giving the second issue a brighter and dynamic feel.
And how much time did you take to create the book ?
I started work on the second issue in the first week of August and the issue was completed in the first week of November. The panels, pages went through a lot of discussions on the style, changes in the pencilled look, the color schemes used and the manner in which the story flows through panels. It took us three months to get this issue launch ready but it’s been a tremendous learning experience for both me and Ali.
Please explain about the color blend given to the book?
Quality is an essential cornerstone of what we do. We have ensured we use premium art paper for our books, one of the best printers to avoid printing issues, we put in detailed thought and focus behind the visual storytelling.
We have used a patchy painting style coupled with traditional (hand drawn) comic style line art for the second issue. We’ve also used a grungy effect across several panels to complement the setting and the action scenes in those panels. The issue is divided into two chapters, each having a different color mood, which complements the story itself. The first chapter is cleaner and brighter, while the second shows a lot of grunge and blues, with sharp contrasts and lights. This is done to enhance the visual appeal while not taking the attention away from the story itself.
Why did you choose this look and feel?
We wanted to move to the ‘traditional’ comic style for the Parshu title because of the Superhero genre. We believed that the traditional hand drawn 2-D style would best fit this genre which is why we’ve moved away from the 3-D style.We however have other titles lined up for next year which will see us using the 3-D style across issues. I believe the 3-D style is very unique and sets you apart.
What were the major challenges that you came across while creating the book?
The first challenge was to maintain the consistency of Parshu’s look from the first issue to the second considering I had different illustrators for ‘Origins’ and ‘Rise of the Warrior’. It was essential to ensure the look and feel of a young Parshu (before he dons the mask and the suit) across the two issues was similar.
We worked with Photoshop and Manga studio.Getting our spread pages right was another challenge. We had to ensure the right panels with the right degree of action was being put out on spread pages. We had put to enough content for the reader to soak in the visual brilliance and add to the wow appeal of the comic. Also,getting the story flow correct across panels, ensuring each panel was taking the story forward and in a manner which would urge the reader to move to the next panel was something we spent a lot of time on.
What research did you do for this project?
We did a lot of research on the technology to be used for the suit, the material to be used, parts of the body to be provided extra protection but ensuring the suit did not turn out to be bulky.The weaponised accessories which would help Parshu in his hand-to-hand combat with multiple opponents.The suit color and the mask shape. The suit color was chosen a deep gray with a tinge of blue to give him camouflage in the night. Since a large part of the story takes place in the night, we gave him a darkish suit.
The training regime which Parshu follows: he does not use weights for training, he trains with his own body weight. This is a regime which will build strong muscles but not necessarily bulk. Bulk would not be ideal since speed and agility are Parshu’s trademarks.
Please share the credit list
Story and Concept is carried out by me whereas Pencils and Inks,Colors,Letters: and Cover is brought out by Murtuza Ali.
How much is Parshu :The Warrior priced at?
It is priced at INR 160 and currently available across Flipkart,Infibeam and leading book stores.
We would love to know more about your upcoming titles?
The Mumbai Comic Con will see us launch our third issue in the Parshu series. Titled ‘Parshu :Retribution’ this issue will be the conclusion of the first story which spreads across three issues.You will see us launch our fourth issue in the Parshu series at the Delhi Comic Con in Feb 2014.The first issue in our second title will be launched in May at the Bangalore Comic Con next year. The script for the second title has been written and we plan to start work on the illustrations soon