Shame about Virgin. I flipped through an issue here and there at the LCS and nothing about them seemed to grab me.

It seems a hard thing to do, start a comic company, successfully find a market and sell comics.

Some talk of the economy as being a factor, but historically, people have turned to entertainment as a distraction when the times were tough.

LL

I have no evidentiary reason for thinking that.

Not until she does a piece about Brand New Day for me.

Animation is slowly moving into India; it’s my hope at least that alone will help spur an Indian comics scene. And in fact, it was my understanding there was already a nascent Indian “graphic novel” scene kicked off by Sarnath Banerjee’s Corridor and the founding of his publishing house Phantomville. If anyone knows more about that scene, I’d love to hear more about it, far moreso than anything about Virgin, but…

“They have the artistic skill and the willingness to make comics, but not the decades of reading and thinking about comics.”

Well: there actually have been Indian comics in the past. They don’t have a comparative industry as many countries to my knowledge, no, and I don’t know what the state of Indian comics was in 2006, what was being done to cultivate a new generation of creators, how active it was. Again, I’d love to hear more.

But that said…. I remember looking at lots of religious comics made in India when I was a kid (not to mention reading cousins’ vast hardcover runs of old Phantom strips and Richie Rich strips, lots of Harvey, while visiting as a kid). I don’t really know what all is necessary for “grokking” though.

That’s not to take away from your point that Virgin (hopefully) beneficially impacted a great many artists who (hopefully) will go on to continue to work and create. I don’t know if “credited” is the right word because they had their own motivations and… well…

I expected more with the Virgin name on it - better anyway - and I thought it would seriously branch out beyond the traditional comics reading audience.

Ah, hopes - they dash on the rocks like a ship with no lighthouse to guide her.

Or, I like to call it, “Tempt Not The Wrath of Laura Hudson!”

*keeps hands firmly down*

Dan Dare was a licensed property, so I am sure someone (Titan?) will collect the story.

Their comics were nicely done, and I enjoyed the Indian mythology titles.

Since the parent company is not going out of business (unlike CrossGen), it will be interesting to see what happens with the rights.

But more importantly - what can we learn about how they did things so the same mistakes aren’t repeated?

08/26/08 at 12:57 pm
So much for me “waiting on the trade” for Dan Dare. ”

My thoughts exactly.

What story does Guy Ritchie bring that needs to be told in comic form that he can’t tell 100 times better as a film sans the big M? One of the crucial elements in comics, the crucial question that needs to be asked when you are doing a comic, is why does this need to be told in the comic form? What is it about panels and word balloons that will enliven this story more than any other possible form of presentation?

I didn’t see that consideration on the page of the comics from Virgin. More’s the pity.