India's Immortal Comic Books: Gods, Kings, and Other Heroes

Combining entertainment and education, India's most beloved comic book series, Amar Chitra Katha, or "Immortal Picture Stories," is also an important cultural institution that has helped define, for several generations of readers, what it means to be Hindu and Indian. Karline McLain worked in the ACK production offices and had many conversations with Anant Pai, founder and publisher, and with artists, writers, and readers about why the comics are so popular and what messages they convey. In this intriguing study, she explores the making of the comic books and the kinds of editorial and ideological choices that go into their production.

McLain (religion, Bucknell Univ.) did exhaustive research on this topic, and here she captures the essence of India's most popular comic book series, 'Amar Chitra Katha,' known for its entertaining and educational renditions of Indian history, religion, and mythology. Besides interviewing ACK founder and publisher Anant Pai and ACK staff, the author visited Indian grocery stores, temples, and community centers in India, England, and the US to talk with the comics' many fans. She even worked in ACK offices in order to become more informed. She discusses ACK plots and how they were fashioned; their adherence to or deviation from the original stories; the historical and religious contexts in which they were retold; and the reactions of parents, educators, and fans. McLain discusses some controversies concerning ACK, such as its portrayals of women and Muslims, but she seems to pull back from delving fully into the negative appraisals of the comic books. This study is welcome both for the author's care with her subject and for its affirmation that the comics can be an important medium--in this case, one that helped define Hinduism and Indianness to younger generations of Indians. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. -- ChoiceJ. A. Lent, Temple University, January 2010

"In India's Immortal Comic Books... Karline McLain argues that the Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) comic book series represents a form of public culture through which creators and readers participate in national and religious discourse.... This analysis of India's first major comics publisher invigorates folklore and comic art by illustrating their essential role in creating and revising national and religious identity." --Jeremy Stoll, Journal of Folklore Research

"McLain's two greatest contributions may be her discussion of religious iconography and the meaning of secularism in India." --Uppinder Mehan, American Book Review Indiana University Press

"McLain shines a light on Anant Pai and his staff at ACK to really examine the motivations behind creating the comics. Was it just about educating children or were there other motivations?... [L]ike the famed author of A People's History of the United States (1980), she does aim to create a public awareness of how history is told, albeit in India." --Shyam K. Sriram, PopMatters

"[O]riginal both in content and in the kinds of sources that are brought to bear on the subject... Students of popular culture, contemporary religion, and anthropology will all learn a great deal from McLain's study." --Lisa Trivedi, Hamilton College

"... ACK (Amar Chitra Katha) is excellent for its popular format (comics), its enduring history and appeal--and its accessibility." --Not Just Books blog

"I've never taught an introductory Hinduism class without finding that for many Hindu students, Amar Chitra Katha had taught the course long before me. It's a formidable canon, and like every 'Bible' it's not just inspirational but, on reflection, controversial. In this absorbing study, Karline McLain takes the comics seriously, showing us the faces behind the pages and tracing the global impact of this culturally crucial medium and text." --John Stratton Hawley, Barnard College, Columbia University

"What McLain repeatedly heard from ACK [Amar Chitra Katha] readers is that the comic books seemed to almost radiate a spiritual force. In many households, other comics were seen as a waste of time and discarded, but ACK was preserved carefully. Grandmothers covered them with those brown wrappers used to cover school textbooks to keep them clean. Nieces and nephews inherited bound volumes from uncles and aunts..." --The Hindu

A pioneering study of Indian comic book culture

Karline McLain is Assistant Professor of Religion at Bucknell University.

Acknowledgments

Notes on Style

Introduction: Comic Books that Radiate a Spiritual Force

1. The Father of Indian Comic Books

2. Long-Suffering Wives and Self-Sacrificing Queens

3. Accurately Sequencing Goddess Durga's Mythology

4. The Warrior-King Shivaji in History and Mythology

5. Muslims as Secular Heroes and Zealous Villains

6. Mahatma Gandhi as a Comic Book Hero

Conclusion. The Global Legacy of Amar Chitra Katha

Notes

Bibliography

Index