Review : VRICA #1 (by Chariot Comics)

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Story : Katyayan Shivpuri, Aniruddho Chakraborty

Art : Pramod Bhramania

Editor : Aniruddho Chakraborty

Producer : Siddharth Vaidya

The comic book market in India, which is still in its nascent stage, is just like this very familiar city which we have so innocently encountered in texts, stories, tales, anecdotes and even myths and legends.

Yes my fellow Jedis and Siths, I am talking about the colossal City of the Gods. The Indian comic book market (and the industry) is like this behemoth city where the Gods and mythological creatures have literally galvanized all the creative processes. It is analogous to a city where Gods rule and those who have challenged their might have either gradually perished or caved ways for entries and additions of super natural elements and eventual manifestations of the almighty gods themselves. In such a precarious setting, Chariot Comics really tries to break the established existing norms and the so-called patterns. The poison Chariot picks for this herculean task is its first comic, titled VRICA #1.

So what is VRICA??

In the very words of the writers, the year is 2015 and even after the so-called peace treaties and settlements between India and its neighbors, there is still some muscle flexing. In light of this new reality, India has upgraded its special forces and established two F-INSAS units. This is the story of one of them which will ultimately be known as V.R.I.C.A.

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Clearly the writers have introduced a concept which has been a bedrock part of the piles and the layers of American geek culture for years and still seems to pervade the gaming industry around the world. More popularly known as the “GI Joe era”, the plethora of products that this period has provided includes toys, comics, cartoons, tv shows, movies, games etc. etc. etc. And I guess I have to show appreciation to this pseudo-novel move of the publishers, because with the kind of history India has had, this concept is quite apt and has all the potential to become a phenomenon.

Now coming to the comic-book/issue itself, the story starts with a mysterious yet very recognizable interrogation between probably a high ranking official and a member of VRICA. The reluctance of the VRICA member and the brashness of the official really create a good vibe and premise which is already sugarcoated with lots mystification. So starts the flashback/confession and we are transported directly to a somewhat somber Kashmir. The mission described in the next few panels is one I guess all us Indian geeks have witnessed in some form or the other. But to see it in comic form, having all the usual vocabulary and motifs – that too written in an Indian context (to the extent of using Hindi) with splashes of blood and gore – is actually a subtle delight. In fact the writers have used the Indian context in quite a balanced manner, providing us a backdrop to which we readers can very well relate to at and the same time not overshadowing it with too much of an Indian flavor.

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Now, what seems like a one-sided battle with no strong motive, turns into an appalling expose which takes away the spotlight from the Al-Qaeda terrorists. We suddenly see advanced Chinese scientists (possibly calling shots of their own) creating super humans and performing the very-foreseeable human experiments, using raw material perhaps provided by an insider (a traitor!?). So the team makes the righteous decision to transf all the possible evidence (some Chinese scientists, a mammoth super-being in a coma and some ISRO canisters). And after that, as luck would have it, we see a predictable crash which takes place due to a number of also very predictable circumstances. And it is this crash which serves as fountain for the writers to disperse the emotions, views and reactions of their main characters. The writers then finish quite abruptly (don’t get me wrong - I actually like the abruptness!) using some fresh metaphors which really gelled well with the story. Thus, the issue started well, ended at a good note, but in the middle where it became a wee-bit predictable.

Talking about the artwork, the only word which comes to my mind is standard. It is quite average at the first look, showing some sparks at places. I really cannot pin-point the exact shortcoming, but I feel that a certain amount of originality and some individuality in style would actually do wonders for their work. In the end I would say that there is nothing wrong with it, but at the same time nothing really stands out.

Overall VRICA #1 was a good read. I loved the concept and I expect a lot from the next issues and I would definitely recommend it to all my fellow geeks into the military-strategy-GI-Joe- tactical-war-games genres. 

 

My rating for this issue is a healthy 7/10.

- By ObiWayneK