Thanks to all those who sent email to me on Muthu Comics Nostalgia.
Since I couldn't reply each one of you, I'm writing on the net.
These comics were originally published in London, by the Fleetway
Publishers, Ltd.
Irumbukkai Maayavi's English name was "Louis Crandel".
I used to read them over and over again once.
Towards the end, they cut down the size of their monthly issues
and increased their prices. Also, different comic stories began
to appear - Rip Kerby was one of them.
The best ones were the earliest ones. Even the stunts in them were
drawn correctly. The facial expressions were realistic. Also
the face drawn from different angles was always the same. The
artists never messed up the face.
I learned some sketching by copying the figures in those comics.
Some had very good stories - Thalai ketta Thangap pudaiyal, Beiruttil
Johny, Kaatril Karaintha Kappalgal, Urai Pani Marmam etc..
Towards the end, They seemed to have run out of ideas and touch.
Or may be I had grown up and it did not excite me as much as it
did once. But these comics are worth looking at at least for their
sketches even now.
These comics were not like Indrajal comics which were meant mostly
for kids. Muthu Comics could be enjoyed by adults too. I did like
Phantom, and Mandrek the magician in Indrajal Comics. They too
had near to perfect drawings (Lee Falk was the artist). The Tamil
translations were very well done in all these comics. Phantom
became Vedaala Mayaatma in Tamil.
As an aside note, I used to love Vaandu Maama's comics in Kalki.
"Onaaik kottai" was a very good one. But the sketches in these
were no match to the ones in Muthu comics or Indrajal comics.
Sometimes I've seen our local artists copy figures from Muthu Comics
directly. One "Uma" used to sketch in Ananda Vikatan. I've seen
several of his skecthes directly lifted from Muthu Comics.
My parents were very strict about not letting me read these comics.
They had the impression that these were not meant for children.
I used to sneak in with my neighbourhood friends and read them.
I used to feel terrible when I missed some issues. I used to see
them hang in the book stores. But the thought of not being to
read them used to make me feel terrible. Sometimes while going
in trains, I used to convince my dad into buying me one of those
issues and enjoy reading them.
My mom threw them all to the old paper guy and probably bought
some vessel with that. I had managed to make a big collection
of these comics eventually. When I left for work, they were gone.
Like one of our friends mentioned,
Antha Naal Gnaabagam
Nenjile Vanthathe...
Partha sarathy
Thanks to all those who sent email to me on Muthu Comics Nostalgia.
Since I couldn't reply each one of you, I'm writing on the net.
These comics were originally published in London, by the Fleetway
Publishers, Ltd.
Irumbukkai Maayavi's English name was "Louis Crandel".
I used to read them over and over again once.
Towards the end, they cut down the size of their monthly issues
and increased their prices. Also, different comic stories began
to appear - Rip Kerby was one of them.
The best ones were the earliest ones. Even the stunts in them were
drawn correctly. The facial expressions were realistic. Also
the face drawn from different angles was always the same. The
artists never messed up the face.
I learned some sketching by copying the figures in those comics.
Some had very good stories - Thalai ketta Thangap pudaiyal, Beiruttil
Johny, Kaatril Karaintha Kappalgal, Urai Pani Marmam etc..
Towards the end, They seemed to have run out of ideas and touch.
Or may be I had grown up and it did not excite me as much as it
did once. But these comics are worth looking at at least for their
sketches even now.
These comics were not like Indrajal comics which were meant mostly
for kids. Muthu Comics could be enjoyed by adults too. I did like
Phantom, and Mandrek the magician in Indrajal Comics. They too
had near to perfect drawings (Lee Falk was the artist). The Tamil
translations were very well done in all these comics. Phantom
became Vedaala Mayaatma in Tamil.
As an aside note, I used to love Vaandu Maama's comics in Kalki.
"Onaaik kottai" was a very good one. But the sketches in these
were no match to the ones in Muthu comics or Indrajal comics.
Sometimes I've seen our local artists copy figures from Muthu Comics
directly. One "Uma" used to sketch in Ananda Vikatan. I've seen
several of his skecthes directly lifted from Muthu Comics.
My parents were very strict about not letting me read these comics.
They had the impression that these were not meant for children.
I used to sneak in with my neighbourhood friends and read them.
I used to feel terrible when I missed some issues. I used to see
them hang in the book stores. But the thought of not being to
read them used to make me feel terrible. Sometimes while going
in trains, I used to convince my dad into buying me one of those
issues and enjoy reading them.
My mom threw them all to the old paper guy and probably bought
some vessel with that. I had managed to make a big collection
of these comics eventually. When I left for work, they were gone.
Like one of our friends mentioned,
Antha Naal Gnaabagam
Nenjile Vanthathe...
Partha sarathy
Sir, I am a big fan of vaandu mama comics. I read the book Silayai thedi as a 10 year old boy. I loved it so much. I would love to read it again. Can i get it by any chance?? I would very much appreciate your help in this regard.