Comic #98 : RK-D155 : A RIP KIRBY Daily from 1989

Enjoy the next RK daily,and 2nd from the Post-Indrajal period.One unique thing about these strips is the variety of locations that one will see with allmost every new adventures.Like in RK-D153("Foiled Coup";Ijc title), the adventure happened at a small hill-forest region,the next strip,D154, was quite city-based while in the D155, the adventure took place in the deep forest of Amazon!And all of these varieties were nicely illustrated by John Prentice who, apart from scripting the adventures from the mid '80s, was the sole artist of RK strips since 1956.
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• A Brief History of RIP KIRBY in the Indrajal Comics(1982-1989):

There were a total of 35 daily RK strips published in the Indrajal Comics from 1982 to 1989.The first & the last Ijc issues were No.399/সংখ্যা ৩৭৬(The Wax Trap) & Vol.26 No.29(The Foiled Coup),respectively.The strips were ranged from RK-D119(6-11-79 to 8-18-79) to RK-D153(7-18-88 to 11-5-88). Among these 35 strips, only 15 were published as cover stories while the rest appeared as inside or 2nd stories(published in parts) with the different heroes.
For your information, after ToI cancelled RK strips, another 44 dailies were published in the Post-Ijc era(RK-D154 to RK-D197 ; Nov'88 to June'99).
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[Post Script - A good news for the RK fans. Dr.Ramesh has posted 2 more Post-Ijc strips in his blog: RK-D160 & RK-D161. All credit goes to him as these are at better condition,directly scanned from the newspaper cutting! :)]

• RK-D155 (2-6-89 to 4-29-89) :

A quite different plot than the usual RK adventures.Ever seen any sci-fi element in this detective's adventures?? I haven't until this strip and so enjoyed the story quite well. In a brief,you will find Rip & Desmond in the land of ATLANTIS!(allthough it seems that Rip was familiar with these Atlantis people and had an adventure there much ago!)

DOWNLOAD RK-D155

DOWNLOAD the PDF FILES of RK-D155 from the PTN Archive

Comic #96 & 97 : Two He-Man Comics in BENGALI

  For the first time you can read He-Man comics in this blog .These were published by Diamond Comics in the early '90s in a pocket-book format,priced 3.00 INR each. Never thought that I will post these forgotten comics but after seeing Dr.Ramesh's last post on this series(in Hindi) decided to go for it!
 The whole universe of He-Man,his tiger Battle Cat,Teela,Man-at-arm & others with the arch enemy Skeleton was quite fascinating!
DC published a total of 16 issues,2 stories in each issue, in the 3 languages(Bengali,Hindi & English).But only the first 12 issues were numbered(H-1 to H-12) for some unknown reason. Later some more He-Man stories were published as back-up in the DC-Phantom Digests and Comics World but for me,these 16 issues were the best he-Man stories I ever read,both story & art-wise.The printing quality was fine aswell.
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 Now,some of you might remember that hard-plastic toys of the superheroes were quite a craze among the teens  in the '90s and there was a full-set of allmost all characters of the 'Master-of-the-Universe' series aswell.With each toy,which was quite expensive,they used to give a He-Man comic as free!I got a copy(#11 from DC series,allthough that issue had only one story: Temple of Darkness!) as you can see the ads & the cover below:

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In this post you will get 2 adventures: Teelar Golpo(Tale of Teela) from issue #1 & Skeletorer Mayajal(The ordeal of Man-E-Faces!) from issue #6.

DOWNLOAD Teelar Golpo

DOWNLOAD Skeletorer Mayajal

Comic #95 : RK-D154 : A Post-Indrajal Rip Kirby Daily

 SUBHO BIJOYA(শুভ বিজয়া) & HAPPY DUSSHERA to the ALL friends & visitors!! :)
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  This strip was the 1st Rip Kirby daily after the cancellation of RK licence by ToI. The last Indrajal-Rip story was "The Foiled Coup(V26 N29; July 1989)"  based on RK-D153(newspaper title is unknown,ran from 1988-07-18 to 1988-11-05).
  In my early years,I was never a big fan of this cool detective but over time I did like some stories and the ones by RK's last writer, John Prentice(1986-1999), were my favorites among the all RK stories published in the Indrajal Comics between 1982-1989.So I was kinda in a hunt for the RK strips published in the late '80s to '90s. Courtesy of delboj who gave the link of PTN Archive,I have extracted the pdf files from there and followed by a jpeg conversion,the strip is here![Well,from that site one can extract the whole comic-page/day only that used to carry several other strips incld. Rex Morgan,Blondie,Beetle Bailey,Hagar the horrible etc. as you can see in the following page.]

  The scan quality is mediocre but PTNA is the only known source of Rip Kirby's last decades worth.Also,I have no idea if there was any magazine that carried RK '90s strip in English.Well,as I had mentioned before,a Bengali newspaper ABP used to carry RK daily strips in Bengali till the end(1999) but neither they have any on-line archive prior 2001 nor they are interested(I have sent numerous number of mails for the permission,with a payment,but till date I yet to receive a reply!).






  Now,before going for the actual strip let's have a peek,for nostalgia sake, at the initial & end dates of "The Foiled Coup" in the original strip-format & in the Indrajal's format! :)

• RK-D 154 : Title is Unknown : Ran from 1988-11-07 to 1989-02-04 ( Story revolves around the beautiful Pearl Shelby,the senator's daughter, and her mysteriously disappeared finance which needed Kirby's intervention that leads a good suspense & drama-filled adventure.While one will find Pearl in a quite important & central role,Desmond was missed indeed - appeared only in a few panels!!)

DOWNLOAD RK-D154

DOWNLOAD Original PDF Files of RK-D154

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Also,check the 1st strip of the next daily: RK-D155, dated 2-6-1989:

The Score IS 8-0

After the last super-eight game of the current T20 WC, it's the latest score-line of India-Pakistan World Cup matches,both ODI & T20 together!! :) About the yesterday's match,it was a team effort no doubt but the special kudos for Virat Kohali and of course the fighter,Yuvraj Singh!
And this record has been attained over the last 20 years(1992-2012) while the matches were played in various part of the world incld. Australia,India,England etc.

Two Unknown Indian Publishers

TODAY India Celebrates 66^th Independence Day.:)) 
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In my recent(& very rare) visit to old-book shops, I got  a couple of issues of some unknown Bengali publishers : Avik Chitrakatha & Tin-Murtir Ovijan. Do anybody ever read these series?? So these are new additions in the Indian Comic Publisher's list. I also wonder whether these were published in English as well! The titles of AC & TMO were "Baghrya Devata O Tarzan(means Tiger-god & Tarzan)"  and "Bandhya Deeper Rahashay(means Mystery of the barren island)", respectively.

  

         
  One thing that I find odd, but yet to confirm my doubt, is that in AC you will read a Tarzan story but there is a strange similarity of this Tarzan(art & plot-wise) with another hero, Conan the barbarian! Here you can check some scans of this issue(for Conan's comic, check Mr.Ramesh's blog) and if any of you know better, please inform!

                                                            

Comic #94 : Indrajal Comics (Bengali) : No. 170 - Gandhagurur Rahashya/গন্ধগুরুর রহস্য(Mandrake)

 This is one of those few stories where you won't find Mandrake in the central role - rather the conman - namely Dr.Xoz, that eccentric genius who invented scents which will turn animals & birds quite vicious!Of course,for different species there were different kind of scents!
 Originally from a '70s daily "Dr Xoz . Prof of Smells(D152)",you will find this plot quite unique.Also,Narda played an important role.In fact, Mandrake & Lothar arrived in the scene much later,when that crazy scientist kidnapped Narda!
 And don't you think the Indrajal cover-artist brilliantly captured the mood of that particular scene? I never saw another Mandrake book's cover where Lothar has been shown in such furious and attacking mode!

Now,come to a new thing - my art! :o) I left serious drawing over a decade ago and did only a few time in between,that too only water-color,not sketch. The following one is from this very story where Mandrake successfully saved Narda from those millions of dreaded moths!

DOWNLOAD গন্ধগুরুর রহস্য

Comic #93 : A Phantom Strip - Samudri Lutera(সমুদ্রী লুটেরা) from the COMIC WORLD Magazine

 This story,titled Samudri Lutera(সমুদ্রী লুটেরা), was originally from S074(The Black gold Pirates) and published in the very first CW issue on 1998.This was also appeared in both Indrajal Comics(E #157/B #135 & Vol.22 No.5) and Diamond Comics(Phantom Digest #1) aswell..

 The printing quality of early CW issues were top-notch and so you will find this strip in very good quality,both story-wise and the presentation(unedited & colored).

DOWNLOAD সমুদ্রী লুটেরা

                                      

Comic # 92 : Indrajal Comics (Bengali) : No. 245 - Lal Eter Bari/লাল ইঁটের বাড়ী(Bahadur)

Today you can read the first ever adventure of our own Indrajal hero - Bahadur!
  Now,many of us already have read all/most of 75 Bahadur adventures than spanned from 1976-1990 but I wonder if there is any fan among us(visitors/bloggers) who read this issue as his/her very first Bahadur comic?? If yes,then he/she is lucky to experience the initial development of the characters/back ground because at the beginning nobody would imagine that a son of dacoit, who once determined to kill a police chief responsible for his father's death, will turn a famous crime-fighter.

For those who came in late,you won't find Bela in this story,as she was introduced much later,in the 4th Bahadur adventure - another master-piece by Aabid Surti - Sada Bhuter Adda(White Ghost's Dane) when her dad was kidnapped by some dactoits that incld. one future CSF member,Lakahan! [For a brief intro of Bahadur,you can check this old blog-post that I wrote exactly 5 years back.]

Now read how this brave son a dacoit became our own hero!

DOWNLOAD লাল ইঁটের বাড়ী

Comic #91 : A Compilation of Nonte-Phonte Comic-strips

 Friends,here you can enjoy a compilation of 4 different comic-strips of famous Nonte-Phonte,created by our one and only NARAYAN DEBNATH! These stories were(and still are) tremendously popular in the '80s onwards!Moreover,who can forget their arch enemy - Keltuda??? :))

                                               DOWNLOAD Nonte-Phonte

 As you know Mr.Debnath had created several other famous fun-series like Batul the great,Bahadur Beral(The Brave Cat),Danpite Khadu(Naughty Khadu) as well as several adventure stories.But his very first creation was Handa-Bhonda(Stupid & Idiot) in 1962 i.e. exactly 50 years ago!On this golden jubilee occasion a local newspaper dedicated the cover-story of their sunday-magazine on Handa-Bhonda & Debnath's creations in general.That was a nice write-up indeed filled with so many unknow trivia & a brief interview of this great creator.

 Also,this issue has the rare very first 1-page strip of Handa-Bhonda.You will be amazed to find out how their looks were changed/modified with the time! :o)

Comic # 90 : Indrajal Comics (Bengali) :Vol.26 No.23(Flash Gordon) - Syecchachari Shasyak (স্বেচ্ছাচারী শাসক)

UPDATE(24/7): I'm going to scan these following Bengali Indrajals in the coming weeks,so Bengali bloggers please avoid these if you have in your plan:

No.170/সংখ্যা ১৭০ - Gandhagurur Rahasya(Mandrake)
No.245/সংখ্যা ২৪৫ - Lal Eter Bari(Bahadur)
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A new Bengali Indrajal with a very special adventure of Flash Gordon!!
 The adventure is based on the very first meeting of our famous trio - Flash,Dale & DR.Jarkov!! Well,the the set-up wasn't any normal or friendly,as Flash & Dale were kind of  'kidnappned' by Dr.Jarkov to join his unknown & dreaded mission!!

Our friends arrived on planet Mongo...not a safe place at all... 

...specifically when ruled by a ruthless tyrant - Ming the merciless!!

Introduction of Aura - Ming's beautiful daughter & her love interest - prince Barin!

 Finally,story ends(in Indrajal) with our friends are together once again and searching for some way to return their planet!!

 [NOTE:This adventure was originally from the daily D2-135: The Origin of Flash Gordon (8/22/86 to 6/6/87) and in the Ijc, we got only a part of the whole story(upto 4/24/87). May be,if FG's strips weren't cancelled soon after this issue,the concluding part,and rest of the 5-part origin saga,would had been published in Indrajal...anyway,today there is no point of such 'what-if 's!]

Download স্বেচ্ছাচারী শাসক

Comic #89 : Indrajal Comics (Bengali) : No.196 - Parboter Kanthoswar(পর্বতের কণ্ঠস্বর)

A new Bengali Indrajal after a long time! A very interesting Mandrake adventure from the '70s.

Enjoy!!

DOWNLOAD পর্বতের কণ্ঠস্বর

NEXT : A Flash Gordon adventure followed by the very first story of Bahadur.

Comic #88 : A Mandrake Sunday from the '70s : The Mysterious Bigfoot(S133)

Today is the 1st day of the Bengali calender,so Subha NavaBarsha to all !! :)) This is the beginning of year 1419(বঙ্গাব্দ ১৪১৯).
On this occasion,enjoy this vintage strip - one of those Mandrake & Lothar's unique adventure -  from the '70s! This story was published in Indrajal as দৈত্যদের লড়াই(সংখ্যা ৩৪০)[English title was Battle of the Giants(No.362)]. Nothing special in this tale,but you will enjoy the plot which has a rather sweet ending!This is one of those Indrajals you can enjoy in a lazy afternoon! :)

DOWNLOAD S133

Comic #85 - 87 : Triple Swedish Mandrake Dailies from the '90s!

 Three special dailies from the '90s : The Mirror Mystery(D210 ; '91-'92),Narda's Dream(D212 ; '92-'93) & Pursuit of the Cobra(D220 ; '95-'96).
 ALL are in Swedish(probably) and in nice color.As you know,'90s MTM strips are toughest to get,so we should be grateful to Magnus & Dan for these unedited non-English versions!
 In the first strip,one will see another return of those mysterious & ruthless Mirror people (Ekardnam,Rahtol,Adran,Amrak & others).The 2nd one is a rather fantasy strip with Narda as the central character.And the 3rd one is another intriguing tale Mandrake's most dangerous & long-lasting enemy : C-O-B-R-A!!

 While this is the first e-version of 'Pursuit of the Cobra' in any language, the Diamond's English version of 'Narda's Dream(DC-M #16)' & 'The Mirror Mystery(DC-M #59)' are already available in net...I can remember the latter one was posted by Frank long ago in his blog ! :)

• The Mirror Mystery(D210 ; 1991-92):

DOWNLOAD D210

• Narda's Dream(D212 ; 1992-93):

DOWNLOAD 212

• Pursuit of the Cobra(D220 ; 1995-96):

DOWNLOAD D220

Comic #83 & 84 : Mandrake Sundays : The Basilisk(S118) & Galaxy War(S125)

Enjoy a couple of special Mandrake adventures in color.All cerdit goes to Magnus. :)
First one is about a mythological creature while the 2nd one revolves around the central galaxy where Narda was kidnapped by some bizarre galactic enemies!
Both were already reprinted in the Indrajal Comics.

[PS - I have already checked,but still,if this is a re-post or already appeared in other site,please consider it as mirror!]

• The Basilisk

DOWNLOAD S118

• Galaxy War

DOWNLOAD S125

5th Anniversary Post :Comic #81 & 82 : Moxley University Robbers(S131) & Prairie Man(S132)

5th Anniversary of The Lost World! 
When I started off blogging on the 6th April 2007,never ever imagined that I will actually post on this day,after 5 long years!!But here I am with 2 more vintage MTM strips from Indrajal era! And like that day of 2007,this is also a friday! :)
For all visitors,I am grateful for your regular visit in all these years even when there is no new post for long-time! Keep coming back!
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On this occasion,you can see few glimpses of my Personal Library! :)
[Also, you can visit my Facebook page something that I have created long back but only recently updated!]

• First of all,Indrajal Special :This show-case is for ONLY Indrajal Comics!(Some are binded with other single issues in Bengali,English & few Hindi!)

• Secondly,the Literature Novels & Story books(in Bengali & English),plus,some of the Puja annuals!

• Thridly, Rest of the Comics series ranging from Chacha Choudhary,Pinki,Billo,ACK,Timpa,Comic World etc to the Tintin,Lucky Luke,Asterix,Archies,Tarzan,Smurfs,DC,Marvel etc to some Bengali series like Nante-Phonte,Batul,Danpite Khadu etc upto,of course,The Phantom & Mandrake b/w strips(in book format), FREW, Egmont & Diamond's Phantom & Mandrake digests!

• Finally,with these,various Bengali & English film-magazines like Anandalok,Desh,Filmfare,Hi,Star Dust etc and some puja annuals are there!

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• S131 - Moxley University Robbers

DOWNLOAD 131

•  S132 - Prairie Man

DOWNLOAD S132