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Virgin
Comics
Profiles
Virgin
Enterprises Limited Animation
Virgin Comics LLC is a comic book company, founded
in 2006, which produces stories (many of which
are Indian-culture related) for an international
audience. The company was founded by Sir Richard
Branson and his Virgin Group, author Deepak Chopra,
filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and entrepreneurs Sharad
Devarajan, Suresh Seetharaman, and Gotham Chopra.
In August 2008, it was reported that the company
will be restructuring, including closing its New
York office and relocating the company to Los
Angeles. On September 24, 2008, it was announced
that Virgin Comics changed its name to Liquid
Comics after a management buyout.
Company
Formation
Virgin
Comics LLC and Virgin Animation Private Limited
are collaborative companies formed by Virgin Group
entreprenaur Sir Richard Branson, author Deepak
Chopra filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and Gotham Entertainment
Group (South Asia's largest comics publisher)
in 2006. The companies seem to have spun out of
the previously announced partnership between Chopra,
Kapur and Gotham Entertainment (but not Branson).
Gotham Studios Asia was announced in late 2004,
planning its first release in 2005, which failed
to occur. Variety reported in January 2006 that
Gotham Entertainment head Sharad Devarajan and
Chopra's son Gotham were the key movers, and approached
Branson as a potential partner. With Branson on
board, Gotham Studios Asia became Virgin Comics
and Animation, with Devarajan taking the role
of CEO, with Gotham Chopra as chief creative officer,
with Indian advertising executive Suresh Seetharaman
running Virgin Animation from India. The companies
are based in Bangalore, India, with the comics
arm having its headquarters in New York.[4] Variety
reported that Devarajan and Chopra planned to
spend 2006 "staffing the Indian operation
with approximately 150 people, most of them artists".
Devarajan,
who continues to operate Gotham Entertainment
as a separate entity, stated the aim of the Virgin
imprint was to:
"create
content that not only reaches a global audience
but also helps start a creative renaissance in
India."
Focusing
on Asia "as an area to inspire and create
content and drive revenue... to reach a global
audience", the two arms allow for properties
to be translated into "full media properties
across a wide line of products and media outlets".
The
companies' Press Release qualified this focus,
writing:
"The
Company believes that in the next decade, Asia
will become one of the largest producers, as well
as the largest consumers, of entertainment products.
Virgin Comics intends to look to Asia, and India
in particular, as both a growing market for consumers
of entertainment products and also a source for
unique, innovative content to be brought to the
world in comics and licensing into movies, animation,
toys, video games and consumer products...
This partnership brings Virgin, one of the world's
leading youth lifestyle brands, into the areas
of comics and animation for the first time. Virgin
Founder, Sir Richard Branson commented on the
new partnership by saying, "India is an incredibly
vibrant market which Virgin already, through Virgin
Atlantic, has the pleasure of working in. Virgin
Comics embodies all that Virgin stands for - innovation
and launching, developing and opening up markets,
for the benefit of the consumer - both at home
and abroad... I am delighted that Virgin Comics,
will not only help to launch the Indian comic
market and spin it into the west, but will develop
new and exciting talent - giving a whole generation
of young, creative thinkers a voice."
Adrian
Sington, Executive Chairman of Virgin Books noted
that "the market for comics and graphic novels
worldwide is exploding... [partly due to] the
emergence of comics out of Asia." Sharad
Devarajan referred to the Japanese forms of Anime
and Manga, stressing their impact on world media,
and outling Virgin Comics' "mission... to
spark a creative renaissance in India, reinventing
Indian character entertainment and permeating
this new style and vision throughout the globe...
launching a new wave of characters that simultaneously
appeal to audiences from Boston to Beijing to
Bangalore."
Vision
At
the San Diego Comic-Con, 2006, Deepak Chopra outlined
his vision for Virgin Comics thus:
“ I have always felt that a culture is sustained
and nurtured by its myths. Mythical themes influence
our behavior and even our habits of consumption.
Myth encapsulates the collective imagination,
the collective dream, the collective aspirations
of society. We are in need of new myths as we
move into a global culture. The super heroes of
tomorrow will be cross-cultural and transcend
nationalistic boundaries. They will provide the
raw material for a new imagination that will take
us across the seas of space, time and beyond.
I am excited about participating in the creative
aspects of the comic project because I see an
opportunity to bring to our society a message
that goes beyond the narrow boundaries of nationalism,
and invites them to a domain of awareness where
we experience our universality and hopefully,
go beyond racism, ethnocentrism, bigotry, prejudice,
and hatred. The new super heroes will be hybrids
of all cultures helping us dream infinite possibilities
and actualize our highest potential.”
Comic lines
Virgin
Comics' initial lines were their flagship Shakti
line, the Maverick (later Voices) line and the
Director's Cut imprint. Although the first title,
scheduled to debut mid-2006, was meant to be the
first "Director's Cut" title, by John
Woo, it in fact was the second "Director's
Cut" comic, and Virgin's fifth overall when
it debuted in October.
Shakti
The
Shakti line ("Shakti" means "power"
in Sanskrit) feature Indian mytholgy, art, history,
classical stories, and other related themes, often
with a modern twist. It's debut titles - two of
the first three to see print from Virgin Comics
- were Devi and The Sadhu. Devi was written by
Siddharth Kotain, and featured "a modern
take on a very ancient myth", in which title
character Devi becomes a "warrior of the
light" after the pantheon of gods re-birth
her in response to the "the rapid decay of
the city of Sitapur" caused by "fearsome
renegade god Bala."
The
Sadhu, written by Gotham Chopra himself, is a
story of revenge, from an individual who "was
once a Sadhu – what, in the East, they call
mystics."
Shakti titles
* Devi
* The Sadhu
* Ramayan 3392 A.D.
* End of Story
* The Asura Analogues
* The Master Blaster
[edit]
Director's Cut
7 Brothers #1Art by Yoshitaka Amano
7 Brothers #1
Art by Yoshitaka Amano
The
Director's Cut line is designed to showcase the
work of film directors, and effectively give them
an unlimited budget to create works that might
be more difficult to realise on screen. It sees
directors such as Shekhar Kapur, Guy Ritchie and
John Woo creating comics, and is rumoured to include
the legendary Terry Gilliam at some point in the
future. Gilliam's reputed interest (and that of
the other directors) is said to be in part due
to the comics' ability to "provoke new Hollywood
interest in old ideas and, if nothing else, give
the audience a glimpse of what [was] intended"
in a potential film version.
Virgin
Comics' initial comments stated that the aim was
"to launch comic titles in collaboration
with iconic film-makers", with "Woo’s
Seven Brothers [originally listed as] the debut
comic of the Director’s Cut line".In
fact, the first "Director's Cut" comic,
and Virgin Comics' second overall was Snakewoman,
from Shekhar Kapur and artist Zeb Wells. It revoles
around 25-year-old Jessica Peterson, a Los Angeles-based
woman with the tagline: "STUDENT…WAITRESS…MASS-MURDERER."
Virgin's
highest-profile comic in the west, and the one
announced before any other, became the company's
fifth release in October, 2006. John Woo's Seven
Brothers was a Chinese folklore idea was expanded
by Preacher, Hitman and Punisher author Garth
Ennis into "a modern, global story,"
in a manner that is "clearly a brother to
the film medium," said Woo. John Woo described
his experience "working in comics [as] quite
comfortable", since "it's like the ultimate
storyboard". Ennis described the manner in
which he became involved as remarkably straightforward.
Indeed, in his own words:
"All
they had to say was ‘John Woo’ and
I was sold instantly."
The
covers were by Yoshitaka Amano, with Greg Horn
producing a variant for #1.
Director's Cut titles
* Dock Walloper (Ed Burns project)
* Guy Ritchie's Gamekeeper (comic)
* The Megas (Jonathan Mostow project)
* Seven Brothers (John Woo project)
* Snakewoman (Shekhar Kapur project)
Voices
The
Voices line (formerly known as the Maverick line)
is intended to feature new talent, as well as
presenting comics by actors and musicians. The
lines first release was in December, 2006, and
written by Eurythmics frontman Dave Stewart. Dave
Stewart's Walk In #1 was loosely based on "Stewart’s
real-life experiences as a young man doing stage
shows as "Memory Man" and – during
this time of his life – suffering from odd
moments of memory loss himself". It was scripted
and expanded by Jeff Parker, author of the acclaimed
comic Interman.
Voices titles
* Walk-In
* Voodoo Child
* The Stranded
* Masked Magician
* Jenna Jameson's Shadow Hunter (comic)
Other
Additionally,
"the company will tap into innovative creators
in comics, film and entertainment from around
the world." Virgin Comics animators have
worked on graphic novels, and the venture is linked
to Virgin Animation.
Novel art
* Kama Sutra
* The Life of Buddha
Comics creators
Virgin
Comics' creators include:
* Jenna Jameson
* John Woo
* Nicholas Cage
* Garth Ennis
* Alex Ross
* Guy Ritchie
* Shekhar Kapur
* Deepak Chopra
* Gotham Chopra
* Samit Basu
* Dave Stewart
* Andy Diggle
* Mike Carey
* Saurav Mohapatra
* Shamik Dasgupta
* Terry Gilliam
* Edward Burns
* Duran Duran
Television
Virgin
Comics will also be co-producing a number of TV
series with the Sci-Fi Channel and the first will
be The Stranded, written by Mike Carey. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
Interviews
Gotham
Chopra, Virgin Comics Chief Creative Officer
News
The
Master Blastesr
Cricket Star Sachin Tendulkar featured in new
super hero comic
(Credit: Asian
American Press)
BANGALORE,
India (March 15, 2007) – Legendary cricketer,
Sachin Tendulkar and Total Multimedia Limited
announced that they are teaming up with Sir Richard
Branson’s Virgin Comics to create a new
superhero character, Sachin Tendulkar’s
The Master Blaster, for comic books, animation
and games.
Sachin
Tendulkar is one India’s great sports heroes.
In a country obsessed with cricket, Sachin personifies
the dreams and aspirations of every Indian, young
and old. In an outstanding career, he has spent
more of his life on the field, shouldering the
dreams and expectations of fans. He has come to
be more than just a sportsman to the Indian people,
he is a leader, a role model, a source of inspiration
and hope, and a friend to the nation. In this
new venture, Sachin hopes to bring more excitement
and joy to Indian children.
“This
relationship with Sachin Tendulkar and Total Multimedia
Limited, launches an important step for Virgin
Comics as we continue to pioneer a new character
entertainment industry for India,” said
Virgin Comics CEO, Sharad Devarajan. “Sachin
is a living legend and the perfect choice to be
immortalized as a new superhero character that
will exist for generations to come.”
“When
two powerful brands like Virgin and Tendulkar
collide, an iconic hero like Master Blaster is
the result,” commented Gotham Chopra, Virgin
Comics Chief Creative Officer, "Sachin's
unparalleled skill on the cricket field and his
dynamic personality off of it make for the raw
elements of a great hero that will inspire kids
all across the planet."
“As
we continue to expand our animation facilities
in Mumbai and London, we are proud to partner
with Virgin Comics to create this exciting new
character and story that will surely live beyond
the pages of the comic book,” added Arif
Morbiwalla, Founder of Total Multimedia Limited.
Total Multimedia Limited is part of the Lamu Entertainment
Group.
Acclaimed
filmmaker and Virgin Comics Co-Founder, Shekhar
Kapur added, "What more can I say about Sachin
Tendulkar but that I am an adoring fan. My respect
for him goes far beyond the game of cricket. I
am so excited to be associated with him in any
way. I know that the ‘Master Blaster’
superhero will be an exciting, educational and
uplifting entertainment character for kids of
all ages.”
Tendulkar
added, "I am thrilled to be working with
the talented creators at Virgin on the Master
Blaster character. We have been working with Arif
and the team at Total Multimedia over the last
couple of years to develop projects in animation
and gaming and the combined forces of Virgin will
take this project to another level."
"Sachin’s
success in cricket is legendary and we are delighted
to collaborate with him to create this exciting
new superhero for India," added Sir Richard
Branson.
The
first Master Blaster comic book is expected to
hit newsstands later this year.
www.virgincomics.com
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Mediaman does not represent Virgin
Comics or Total Multimedia Limited
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