A start-up in Pune is creating comics for readers who enjoy Japanese-style manga with Indian stories that come to life in outer space and more recently, on cricket grounds
A panel from PowerPlay. Illustration courtesy/Hirak J Talukdar
Pune-based start-up Qissa Comics has been creating manga-style comics since June 2024. Their latest series is called PowerPlay and will excite cricket lovers. In addition, they have two other ongoing series — each with multiple chapters. They release a new chapter serially, every two-three months to keep their readers gripped to the stories. While the first series is a space-inspired comic, the second is based on six paths of Hinduism that Vishwesh Shetty, founder of the start-up and author of the comics, stumbled upon.
I started writing the script for my first comic in June last year, and released the first chapter in October,” Shetty tells us. This was to participate in the Indie Comix Fest in New Delhi. “It was the first event for which I completed my first book, and got it printed.” He also started his website, thereafter, and began selling copies online. While he offers his readers the option of a digital subscription to the comics, he encourages them to read them in print. “It’s very difficult to read and enjoy them digitally because they are in PDF format,” he shares, informing us that it can make the font and images look smaller than intended and take away from the experience that physical versions promise.
The Pune-based studio’s published works. PICS COURTESY/VISHWESH SHETTY
While in college, I used to be a big fan of Japanese manga, like Naruto, Death Note and Bleach,” Shetty recalls. Once he started working, his interest in the comics got sidelined. With financial stability, he’s been able to return to the world of manga and writing. He recollects, “One of my ideas [during the process of writing] was such that I couldn’t write it down in words. That’s when it clicked that it was more like a graphic novel. A visual representation for it would make more sense.” He turned it into that format.
(Above, from left) A panel and cover of the comic, The World Beyond. Illustrations Courtesy/Nitin Sharma
He also studied the Indian comic scene, and wanted to contribute to the legacy left behind by the early comics of the 1980s, such as Raj Comics. Shetty realised that there were few in the scene that managed to carry that style forward, and decided to start a space to experiment with it. Today, he continues to be inspired by Japanese and Indian comics, but also draws from space-themed TV shows and films like the Star Wars franchise. These, he believes, allow him to look at his subjects more maturely and turn them into universal stories.
Vishwesh Shetty
The comics have compelling plots, and the illustrations are sharp and depict the motion of the characters and objects well. They are in monochrome. Shetty took this decision early on. “Keeping the theme of black and white makes it cheaper and faster. For me, the primary objective is to tell a story that people can consume quickly.” In India, he explains, many have made comics, but very often they end up releasing subsequent chapters months or a year later. The reader loses interest by then. “I didn’t want to leave my stories incomplete.” Moreover, black and white looks clean. “You can go wrong with colour, and the time and money required for it is high,” he concludes, not before crediting his team of illustrators, who’ve helped him bring his stories to life.
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