Kadha Vara Kadhakal: For the love of comics!

If Kerala’s detective genre comics ‘CID Moosa’ by Kannadi Viswanathan won the minds of 70s readers, characters Boban and Molly won their hearts. Mayavi, the tooth fairy, was a favourite in the 80s with his saviour spirit. Kapish was another lovable monkey. Malayalam comics had an enormous influence on an entire generation that loved the comics as a primary medium of entertainment.

Fast forward to now and several of these creators who shaped Malayalam comic culture are almost forgotten. To celebrate them and comic collectors in the state who have painstakingly preserved comic strips and magazines, Comic Collective has launched its first episode of the eight-part documentary ‘Kadha Vara Kadhakal’, a travelogue that traces Malayalam comic history and its impact through many interviews with the pioneers of comic culture in Kerala. Co-created by Tony Davis and Sreeram K V, the travelogue, possibly the first of its kind in the state, is an eyeopener to those who’ve been influenced by the comic genre.

“I had started a comic library in Kochi a few years ago with San Ramshanker out of pure enthusiasm for comics and graphic novels. Our library comprised older collections and we conducted events including the Indie Comic Fest. Even though the library closed down, the Comic Collective community grew. Regal Publishers had informed us that they were planning a reprint of older comics. 

I happened to meet Narayan Radhakrishnan, an advocate and avid collector of comics in Thiruvananthapuram, who mentioned the detective character ‘CID Moosa’. Narayan had done an interview with the creator years ago. The whole concept was fascinating. Many of us didn’t know about the comic character; just its successor played by Dileep in the 2003 movie,” says Tony, who is the director of the series.

The first episode features Kannadi Vishwanathan, creator of the CID Moosa comics. “He was a tailor by day, and a comic artist by night. He wasn’t perturbed by the fact that the current generation didn’t know him. In fact, most of the creators weren’t. They were extremely cordial and spoke volumes about their work, despite barely having any records of the same,” says Tony.

Behind ‘Kadha Vara Kadhakal’ 
Kannadi Vishwanathan(CID Moosa)
M Mohandas(Mayavi, Kapeesh, Kishku)
Jacob Varghese(Regal Comics Publisher)
R Gopalakrishnan(former Poompatta editor)
Venu Variath(former Poompatta subeditor and Balabhoomi editor)
Artist Baby(Dinkan)
Abdul Hameed(Inspector Prakash)
Joshy Benedict(Bose Thomas, son of Toms and CEO of Toms comics)
Arun Prasad, Vineeth Abraham, Aroon  Kalandy, Narayan Radhakrishnan(Comic collectors and enthusiasts)
George Mathen(Graphic novelist- Appupen)

The ‘70S footprints
Other detective comics such as CID Nazeer and CID Madhu form the epicentre of the upcoming second episode, with crime fiction as the major theme. The third episode comprises the Phantom comics, along with Mandrake and Flash Gordon. The fourth focuses on the highly-read but now defunct Poompatta magazine by Pai & Co, which had its golden run from 1979-89. Boban and Molly form another dynamic duo. The sixth episode features popular ‘90s comics like Dinkan, Mayavi and Kapish. Comic collectors and archivists Arun Prasad, Vineeth Abraham, Aroon Kalandy and Narayan Radhakrishnan are the central characters of the seventh episode.

The last episode looks at current creators such as Kokaachi and Appupen. Tony and Sreeram want a creative commons licence, so the content can be made available in the public domain. “When Tony and I started documenting the journey, we didn’t realise its magnitude. Since the ‘60s and ‘70s, comics were available throughout Kerala. They have definitely impacted the collective imagination but few are aware of their social impact. The eight-part series can be source material for another research,” adds Sreeram, the creative director. You can watch the first episode and the upcoming ones on the YouTube channel ‘Comic Mantra’.