Review : I Am Kalki - The Red Book

Vimanika comics newest offering I am Kalki: The Red Book maintains the quality standards Vimanika has set itself in the Indian comic book industry.

Every religion has a worldview on how the world will end.  For Indian Mythology this concept is rooted in Kalki . As per the Indian folklores, During the end of the world another avatar of Vishnu will arrive to fight demons and cleanse the world from evil . That avatar would be called KALKI.

Vimanika comics takes this concept of Kalki and puts their own unique spin on it, which is how mythology comics should be done. We have all seen mythology comics being done before in India, I mean  Amar Chitra Katha is prime example of mythology tales done right.

But now Indian audience wants more out of their mythology tales and our comic companies seem ready to quench the reader thirst for such comics. 

Wishing Well : Indian Comics in 2012

 In a lot of ways, the future will remember 2011 as the year the Indian comic-book geek came out of the closet. The success of the first ever comic-book conventions in the country being held in Delhi and Mumbai went a long way in illuminating fanboys in regard to the presence of their fellow comic addicts.

It’s a year that saw Ravan’s side of the story, the beginning of an indigenous Martial Arts epic, Shiva finding his way back into comic books, the conclusion of India’s first home-grown Zombie comic book series and an arguably ballsy move from print to digital (and free), among many other exciting prospects.

Keeping in mind all these developments, It’s difficult not to imagine what this oh-so-beautiful monster, currently in its infancy, is going to grow into tomorrow. Bear in mind, however, that this is all just speculation and wishful thinking, but its fulfillment would make this little geek very happy:

A Shared Universe

In my mind, this is the one thing from a creative point of view that needs to happen soon. We are already seeing the seeds being sowed for this, with Yumi coming to a computer screen near you soon, as a Shaurya spinoff, but there is still quite a long way to go. The reason a shared universe is important is that it opens a whole world (literally) of literary possibilities, and helps give multi-dimensional looks at a character and settings. If the upcoming Avengers movie can’t convince you it’s awesome, I don’t know what will. Picture the cast of Shaurya stuck in a zombified Bangalore or a Daksh-spinoff Ravana escaping from hell into the modern day, keen for redemption.

I am Kalki - The Silver Book - a review



After I got the book in my hands, I decided to first re-read the Golden book to refresh my memory in case there was any continuity involved, but since the Golden book was only a Preview Title, there was little or nothing in the way of a story line. This is particularly helpful for people who don’t have the first book. You can simply pick up the Silver Book and start from here. It all starts here!

The overall art work of the book is excellent and the print and paper quality meets the standard Vimanika has set for them in the industry today. I was a little surprised to find no artist name for the book, I am sure many people would be interested in knowing the artists behind the amazing artwork.

"I am Kalki - The Silver Book" Cover

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