New Delhi: DC superheroes may have taken over the world, but for those growing up in India in the 80s and 90s, it was also the dawn of the ‘RC universe’.
From Nagraj ‘Nagraj’ to the hero ‘Doda’, ‘Dhruv’, Super Commando, Paramanu – A mix of Ant-Man and Atom – the house of Indian superheroes was created by a little-known publisher called Raj Comics (RC).
The imaginative worlds of these superheroes, wearing bright and tight spandex, violent vigil and captivating storytelling, often found their way even inside classrooms, where children secretly read to them.
Raj Comics was started in 1986 by Raj Gupta and his sons Manoj, Manish and Sanjay. The aim was to create a world of original Indian superheroes, something that had never been done before in India.
Sanjay Gupta explained to ThePrint how he created characters like Super Commando Dhruv, a superhero that was “not your typical brave man, but more brainy”.
Although the company also dealt in medieval fantasy, horror and mystery books, it was superhero comics that popularized Raj Comics.
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related characters
Superheroes in the world of RC have immeasurable abilities and well-contained backstories. Most superhero conflicts in DC and Marvel Comics take place in high-rise buildings in New York or London, but with RC, Indian kids got their own friendly neighborhood heroes.
Pranav Shashank, the creator of audio content platform Kuku FM, attributes his success to RC.
“I’ve been in this field for three years and have worked on dozens of amazing novels. Some have been chosen to be made into web series. If the creativity of Raj Comics hadn’t dawned on me, I wouldn’t have been able to do this,” He told ThePrint.
was one of my favorite characters Nagraji, the first superhero character introduced by RC. Initially unleashed by an evil scientist as a ‘weapon’ to spread terror, Nagraj became a force against terrorism. He is the king of snakes and can destroy or heal people by touch. The most powerful superhero in the RC universe, Nagraj uses his snakes to do everything and often transforms himself into a serpent.
Atush Rohan, director of CRM and Power Platform, Mercurious Information Technology, said that he started reading ‘Nagraj Comics’ in 1994 and identified with the character.
“He was just a kid trying to protect the kids and drink milk,” Rohan told ThePrint.
The simple style of storytelling, coupled with lively illustrations, caught the attention of children from all over India, especially the Hindi belt.
Another fan favorite was Doga. Based in Mumbai, the vigilant Doga, with his bright red eyes, takes the law into his own hands to serve justice in the shadows.
Shashank’s favorite character was Doga, “As a boy, I was really into WWE, and the movies of the time glorified toxic masculinity and Doga fit right in. He was a man who would fight corruption and terrorists, evils in the real world. Even when he fought aliens, he was still human. Doga’s vulnerability earned him fans across all age groups.
Super Commando Dhruv was popular with little older kids. He stood out from the other superheroes because he had no power, just like Batman abandons his Batmobile. He had nothing but a desire to do good for his people, intellect and a few Akronagraj daughters. The only thing she had with her superhero friends was that she wore a bright yellow and blue jumpsuit.
These superhero characters helped propel RC’s popularity advertisements Featuring Sonu Sood and Closer 3.5 million copies Nagraj to be published in one go.
match with tv
Unfortunately, RC’s popularity also came at a time when Indians had access to cable television.
They were also unable to develop their readership as comic books were published exclusively in Hindi. While he established a strong foothold in the Hindi heartland of India, it did not have many readers ahead of him. their access to regional languages did not do well
By 1998, sales had begun to decline and by 2010, sales were 10 percent What they used to be, pushed them to the brink of closure. Shashank believes that his reluctance to adapt to the changing times spells doom for RC.
“Most of the publications were off the market. There was only Raj Comics and their content started to fluctuate both in terms of art and story. We used to rent DVDs to watch at home and often wondered when they would make TV shows or movies for Nagraj and Doga. He struggled to adapt,” he explained.
Rohan said, “The new characters he launched were not handled well by his inner team. Materials and art declined, and so did their sales. ,
Pranay Khadatkar, who runs HighBP TV on YouTube, a channel dedicated to comic books, told ThePrint, “Even today, he continues to do the same thing he did in the 90s. This is great for those who read for nostalgia but it’s not a great way to bring in new readers. Page-long text bubbles don’t work, especially when the new generation can get bored in 15-second videos. The material is out of date.”
Where are they now
In over 30 years, Raj Comics has published over 3,500 titles spanning various characters. They’re a cult classic, with readers buying these comics for nostalgia or because they’ve been reading them long enough to care.
The original RC eventually split into three between the brothers Manoj, Manish and Sanjay.
Sanjay said the split had more to do with constructive and market expansion. “We get to explore more storylines and new characters. In the last 10-11 years we haven’t created too many comics, but in the last two years, we have come up with 50 new comics, 50 new titles.”
Khadatkar also pointed out how the three brothers have different skills. “Sanjay is creative, Manoj is great with business and marketing, and Manish is a great communicator. Together, they could build an invincible empire,” he said.
The brothers use the same logo from the RC books but run a different story. The price of comics is also different.
Shashank said, “Manoj is reprinting the old Raj comics at an affordable cost, while the other two brothers have come up with a new story and they are priced very high.”
However, fans were left disappointed by the split, with many struggling to cope with three sets of comics and storylines.
Shashank said, “When we heard about Partition, we immediately knew that we are not getting any films now.”
Former Raj Comics fans today have online communities to revisit their favorite superheroes and their stories. These communities keep the buzz around Raj Comics alive through fan fiction, fanart, and discussions about how to keep the ‘RC’ legacy alive.
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