Rahman's life should be made into a comic book

In August, singing legend Madonna will have a comic book of her own. Book lovers and musicians are thrilled that the diva's life has been celebrated in print. Which Indian musician deserves such an honour? We get some of India's best-known names from the publishing and literary world to suggest their favourites

In August, singing legend Madonna will have a comic book of her own. Book lovers and musicians are thrilled that the diva's life has been celebrated in print. Which Indian musician deserves such an honour? We get some of India's best-known names from the publishing and literary world to suggest their favourites

It's a first-of-sorts for the music fraternity. Madonna will have her life story told in 32 pages of a comic book under Female Force comics by Bluewater Productions Inc. Due for an August release, the book priced at $3.99 will showcase the life and times of Madonna, from her early days as a little-known singer to her mercurial transformation into one of the music industry's biggest entertainers. Madonna is in elite company. The issue joins a collection of similar titles from the Vancouver, Washington-based publisher. Previous subjects in the Female Force series have included Michelle Obama, Barbara Walters, Sarah Palin and Margaret Thatcher. Here's what some of India's brightest minds had to say about the trend. The Mozart of Madras proved the overwhleming favourite for a comic book dedication.


Pic/Santosh Nagwekar

Karan Vir Arora, CEO & Founder, Vimanika Comics
Personally, I believe that concepts for comics have to be interesting. A biography and a comic book are two different things. The latter, being a narrative visual format has to arrest the reader's mind. Comics have to be larger than life, and should take the reader to a different world. I wouldn't get too excited about this, especially since popular faces like Madonna are already all over TV, books and the Internet. A comic book might beu00a0 overkill. In comparison, historicalu00a0 and mythological characters make for intriguing reads. If I had to choose an Indian artiste, it would have to be AR Rahman. He made his own path, his music has a global reach and he thinks differently.

S Balakrishnan, Manager - Marketing, Crossword Bookstore
A while ago, books on younger icons like Justin Bieber and Hannah Montana tasted tremendous success among teenagers. But these were promoted across media. Since this is just in comic book format, I'd prefer to wait and watch. Maybe if Lady Gaga was the subject, I would have thought differently. But with Madonna, one can't be too sure if there is a market. She doesn't fall into the modern, contemporary bracket. I'd be sceptical.
AR Rahman is the closest Indian music personality whom I can relate to, as far as creating a comic book is concerned. Even RD Burman lived a colourful life. The pricing of such comics plays a huge role too.

Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Author & graphic novelist, Delhi Calm
There is a popular France-based group called BD Jazz that commissions comic artists to recreate the lives of Jazz legends including Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles. It's a huge hit among music lovers and collectors. So such efforts are always welcome. It has tremendous potential to describe an individual's life and can be tapped immensely. After all, a comic book is far more intimate, personal and interactive compared to a biography.
To my knowledge, there have been a few attempts in India to showcase the lives of greats including Lata Mangeshkar, in the past. In my mind, AR Rahman's life would make for an interesting read.

I think it's a great, amazing concept to have comic books dedicated to musicians like Madonna. It's a different form of expression; a terrific medium of carrying a legend forward. There are some people whom people can't seem to get enough of. Madonna falls into this category. The public loves her. I think Bappi Lahiri's life would make for fantastic comic book material. He has a distinctive character and is quite colourful too; who wouldn't want to flip through a comic book about this interesting personality from our music industry!