If you've been born and brought up in India, you must have heard of a lot of mythological stories as well. The most famous and unavoidable ones are Ramayana and Mahabharata. And even though I am bored with these two, I am quite open to reading other stories that belong to our rich Indian Culture. I had heard of Vikram Vetaal in my childhood, but it never sparked an interest at the time, not enough to read about it anyway. But I enjoyed reading the comic book adaptation that Vrindkavi has come up with. And if you enjoy tales from Indian Folklore, you will enjoy this one too.
From the contents of this Comic Book, I have come to learn that this story was originally written by Sivadasa, and was called Vetala Panchavimshati. This Comic Book is an adaptation of that story. Now I do not wish to give away any part of the story, but there are a few spoilers ahead. So, you are warned. Now, do I think this Comic Book is worth your time and money? Absolutely! And here’s why. The Comic Book is light, exciting, a quick read, and has really good artwork. I’d totally read the whole series to enjoy the adventures these 2 characters go on. Here’s what I liked and disliked about Chapter 1.
LIKES:
1. Fabulous Cover Art – The cover art is simply magnificent. The colors, the inking, the foggy effect, and the simple bold title of the book “Vikram Vetaal’ were a perfect blend to lure anyone into buying and reading the book.
2. Clear storytelling - If you enjoy a simple, light, easy-to-read comic book, this one is for you. And I think this Comic Book would be really good for children under 13.
3. Enticing Children to Read – Parents, if you want your child to read more, get them a comic book like this, just go and buy this one. Why? Simply because it has more pictures and less content. There is no complex storyline, it is incredibly simple and interesting. Children who aren’t into reading need less reading material yet need to feel the satisfaction of completing something and that too quickly. Books like these are the perfect combination of a picture book and just enough content to tell a story.
4. Artwork – The artwork is at its best. The good measure of a drawing for story-telling is its ability to convey the message, story, and emotion without a single word. This comic book gives just the essential content. I wish it had more explanations, but even without it, the pictures and frames tell a fluid continuous story, which is impressive and extremely commendable.
5. Cliff-hanger – While the story in Chapter 1 seems like the start of something new. It leaves you on a simple cliffhanger. A tactic all Comic Book writers use to lure their audience into buying the next Chapter. But it totally works. I am excited to read the next chapter and figure out the relationship that builds between Vikram and Vetaal. Are they like Naruto and Sasuke, best friends, then rivals, then enemies, and back to friends? Or like Midoriya and Bakugo, friends, then rivals, and then enemies. Anyway, only one way to find out.
6. The Dead Corpse – The artwork of the dead corpse was simple and brilliant. The whole aura of the story changes when Vikram enters the forest at night. Even though the artwork was simple and the corpse was drawn with less detail, it was still extremely effective in adding the spooky and horror side to the story. Really liked it. And Vikram was so brave, he didn’t flinch even a little bit after finding that the corpse was alive. It’s like he was used to fighting battles with the supernatural.
DISLIKES:
1. Artwork inside the Comic Book – Now the Cover of the Comic Book looks absolutely fabulous. Amazing attention to detail, shading, great colors, dynamic effects, and a good frame. But as you dive in, the overall detailing and shading disappears. Especially the backgrounds. I expect the Character and Background depth to match in the comic book, otherwise, things look a little out of place. I know all the comic books emphasize the cover art, but the internal art is the real deal, that’s where the story is happening. If we don’t enjoy that journey, it is less enjoyable for the reader. Now we’ve faced a similar problem with our Comic Book too. But Prashanth kept the backgrounds very simple. And for the same reason, our character definition was also less detailed. Anyway, this is just my opinion. Other comic readers might feel differently.
2. Less Text - I felt a lot of the frames in the comic book had no text. As an adult, I like details and explanations. I would have preferred reading some text in each frame. Usually, I don’t like narrations, but even that is better than having a lot of consequent wordless frames. Even though Less Text is a Pro for children, it is a Con for adult readers.
3. Story Issue 01 - In the story, Kshantishila gave King Vikram a bilva every single day, for 12 years. Now that sounds a little too much. 12 years is a long time to keep doing this. Side note, no explanation as to what a bilva is. I would have preferred an explanation or a *Star Marked Annotation somewhere like they did in Across the Spiderverse. And how did Kshantishila know Vikram was the most courageous King out there? No explanation regarding this was given either.
4. Story Issue 02 - And why did Kshantishila wait for 12 years to ask for his favor? He could have asked it in a month or two. Or is it his tactic to shower riches on a King first, and when the King owes you one, that’s when you ask for your big favor? Overall, it just sounds like bad communication to me. Or perhaps this is how things were in those times.
5. Bilva - Now each bilva contained priceless gems, where did the Sadhu (Kshantishila) get these gems from? I assume he has a magical background and we’ll uncover all the secrets in the later chapters. So, we’ll just have to wait for whenever the information is revealed.
6. Thought Process - When Vikram faces a challenge to retrieve the corpse, I think his thought process should have been shown. I saw the same problem in Ultimate Spiderman. The journey of how Vikram figured out that he couldn’t speak a word around the corpse was missing in the story.
Vikram Vetaal is a really well-made comic book. I hope Vrindkavi makes more interesting comic books like these. Not just ancient folklore, but new original stories of the modern world too. And even though I found a few dislikes, I still enjoyed the story and would totally invest my time in reading the rest of the chapters. For people who don’t have the luxury to spend a lot on comic books, buy a Digital Copy, you’ll get to read it at a cheaper price and the artist will get to pay his bills and continue writing and drawing more content. For people who don’t mind spending, definitely buy and also tell all your friends. Word of Mouth works like a charm. Happy Reading!
