Comic #103 : A Betal Indrajal : Bhoyankar Parjatak/ভয়ংকর পর্যটক(No.148)

 I hope you are visiting our new blog Bengali Treasure-Trove(BTT). Today morning,a new posting has been done..

  Meanwhile enjoy ভয়ংকর পর্যটক - a fascinating Betal abhijan! Well,Falk was a master story-teller specially in the back-drop of well-planned & dreaded crimes and this one,Bhoyankar Parjatak, is no exception.Another thing Falk maintained throughout his tenure that,however crooked the female characters can be,they are morally at higher position and has been shown in the far better light than their male counterparts!In this adventure you will find one of those looters,Bela, has been shown in much soft-natured than you might have expected!

  In his earliest phase,specifically in the '30s & '40s,Falk was responsible for several (in)famous & dreaded all-female pirate-gangs' origins with whom our Betal met for several time.Those gangs were never returned in the later-phase but still their encounters with the Phantom are considered among the best Falk-classics solely because how the characters have been shown!
They were as follows:

• The Sky Band (1936-42)
• The Golden Circle (1939-40)
• The Mermaids of Melo Straits (1945-46)
• The Lady Luck Pirates (1948)

 But later,due to some unknown reason,Falk moved-on from this concept and hence later we find female crooks only teamed-up with other male partners!

 Among those female-only gangs and other female pirates,Suzie - member of that ruthless and high-profile pirate-gang - holds a special place as she was one who betrayed her gang solely because she fell in love with the Phantom and finally died,but not before seeing His face - something that's pretty rare in the Ghost Who Walks' universe!

(Read this old post on Suzie in detail)

 Between, Bhoyankar Parjatak was originally published as the 113th Daily strip, titled The Mysterious Passenger, and ran from May-July 1971.

DOWNLOAD ভয়ংকর পর্যটক

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 #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 #67 : Indrajal Comics(Bengali) : No.154(Mandrake) :Aantim Manav(অন্তিম মানব)

 Aantim Manav(অন্তিম মানব),originally from D147(The Wonder that Amazed the World ; 1971),is based on a fantasy plot of a giant man Kolosso(কলসসো) and his beautiful mate(or wife?) Janna(জান্না) - both of them are results of some atomic radiation - from a distant mountain-region of pygmies! At the end of story,you just have to love these giant human beings..

Their introduction with the mysterious giant! That was not quite 'comfortable' for them though. ;o)

Kolosso arrives at the city but there was no Janna - his love - something that made him quite furious!!

          Now,meet with Janna - the beautiful mate of Kolosso.And hey,she is expecting!!

 Story ends with Mandrake's desire to see them - the modern example of Adam-and-Eve - "to solve problems of our troubled world"!

Download অন্তিম মানব

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 Now, a few words on our Indrajal Forum - active since the last November - that has been created solely for the purpose of discussion of the various kind of comic adventures/series that we have had read so far.And that incld. Indrajal Comics(for obvious) but discussions are NOT meant to be limited within the Indrajal stories only,rather much beyond of it! Like, at the Newspaper Strips section,one can discuss any comic-strips of any heroes that never published in any Indrajal or from the Post-Ijc era.Similarly,one can made own posts on any non-Indrajal heroes like Tarzan,Archie etc to regional titles(say Nonte-Phonte for Bengali readers or Chacha Choudhary/Pinki/Billo/ACK for any Indian readers) at the Non-Indrajal Heroes section. And last but the not the least,like all comic forums,we also have a non-comic section where you can discuss any other topics like Cricket or Movies/Books etc. 

 Well,some might wonder that when there are plenty of comic blogs for posts/comments,why a forum??

While our blogs are the major source of much desired scans of old comics/books,there is some definite advantage of a forum site,specially for those readers who love to talk about their thoughts on whatever they read.

In fact,we have two major reasons.

 First of all,while blog is the best way to share some d/l links but not an ideal set-up for any long/time-based discussion.Also,due to the very nature of blog set-up,it's very difficult to have a prolonged discussion in a older post once a new post comes up. 

Secondly, we have to comment according to the author's choice of topics - for the obvious reason - and anything other talks are usually fall much in the 'off-topic' region,something that does not serve any good for that particular blog-post.

 In the other hand,a forum is kind of a platform where everyone can share their thoughts from an equal position.Every member can either post in the other's topics or create own topics,in the respective sub-forums(and for that, one doesn't have to post a long review etc or supporting panels/covers....if someone does,that's ok though!).

 Then,if there is some meaningful but off-topic discussion going on,it's possible to move those posts under a new topic - that fits with the discussion - so members can keep the conversation on in a much proper way!

And the best part of a forum is that neither you have to wait for others to pick any particular story/topic for discussion nor any old,active topics becomes dead due to publication of a new one!

 So,it'll be a great pleasure to have some of comic-related discussions with our blogger & visitor friends those who love to express their thoughts!!

Cheers!!

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Comic #63 : Indrajal Comics(Bengali) : No.122(Mandrake) :8-er Khoppore(৮-এর খপ্পরে)

A Mandrake story this time,from a 1971 Indrajal,with that vicious gang of world-wide criminals "league of 8(৮-এর দল)" in it. [The English version was 'The Mysterious Eight'(#144)].
You will never experience a single dull moment in any of the early "8" stories,with so much action & thrill these will offer.The introductory story(#77 - The Treacherous Gang) itself was a classic!! I do believe that Indrajal readers were/are fortunate enough to have ALL of the best "sign of 8" adventures published in these books.After Ijc's cancellation,the remaining "8" stories were published in Diamond's Mandrake Digest(DMD) but I have hardly enjoyed those!

For a more detailed reading on "8",visit these links of few old posts & forum's thread:
The league of 8(from Xanadu)
Mysterious Island of "8"(A old blog-post)
No.77 - The Treacherous Gang(Forum's Thread)

Enjoy!
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Now,this story was reprinted later,on 1985(V22 N47 : মরণের ডাক) but that '85 version was heavily edited with Lothar's get-up had been redrawn(by ToI's artist!!) - just in order to 'fit' him in the modern look - was one of those stupidest things done by them, that eventually ruined the vintage art of Fred Fredricks!! [You just have to check #122(Eng #144) & V22 N47 side-by-side to understand this(see the following panels)]

There are few more stories(with such treatment) aswell and probably the worst example is V23 N26(দূর-আকাশের তারা) - a reprint of #150/সংখ্যা ১২৮!
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 Now,about the cover-art,this is one of the best Indrajal covers with Mandrake stories inside.Once again,B.Govind did a splendid job!About the Bengali titles,those are simply awesome with the number '8'(৮) mentioned in all of the first 3 stories related with this vicious gang,something that English titles lack!Those were "রহস্যময় ৮(সংখ্যা ৫৫/ #77)","৮-এর খপ্পরে(সংখ্যা ১২২/ #144)" and "আবার ৮-এর খপ্পরে(সংখ্যা ১৪১/ #163)".

When Mandrake takes some break,he reads comic!!wow!Then he is not any of those gimmickry super-heroes but rather a chilled-out person..only with some legendary power of illusion! :))

But there are the moments when he suspects something from a slight hunch,and that means end of his vacation(evenif that makes Narda quite furious)! Like when he saw that number 8 on the collar!!

"Hamara dhande mein ek galti ko maaf karna usse bada galti hein!(In our business,to forgive one mistake is the bigger mistake itself!)" - remember this most (in)famous dialogue by that under-world leader - Malik - in the 2002 Bollywood block-buster : Company ?? It seems that he took this idea from the "league of 8" itself as they also never forgive a mistake or failure and like Malik, allow only one thing : penalty-of-death("৮-এর যা রেওয়াজ")!

Now,read the whole story...

Download সংখ্যা ১২২

Comic #16 :Phantom Indrajal:The Cruel Conspiracy(Ijc #136)

Today is our Subha Saraswati Puja & on this occasion enjoy another treat of old Vetaal-Indrajal! So,enjoy a couple of back-2-back vintage('70s)Phantom-adventures in this blog-space!!:-)))

It's a 'special' tale & those Phans who wished to learn more about the early days of Rex-the present prince of Baronkhan,would LOVE it!!Personally,when I'd read it on-paper,just loved it(also I'm fond of those tales associated wid Rex).
As the title shows,it's about a ghastly conspiracy regarding the origin of Rex - which was unknow then(in 1971)!

Moreover,there are some Phantom tales,which are as great as some novels(concept/script-wise)!!! But then,all knows,Falk was as great as some world-famous novelists,only if he'd invested some energies in MORE novels(only 4/5 I guess,besides some play-script). But then,we are NOT complaining,he gave us immese treasures of two amazing SUPER HEROES: Phantom & Mandrake & that too for some 6/7 decades!!!

ohh great.... :-))

Well,enjoy this tale.... thanks again to the A/V duo...
Btwn,I'm provoding d/l links in 2 parts!
Here is some touching moments..... :-)

Download #136(Part-I)
Download #136 (Part-II)

Comic #14:Flash Gordon Indrajal:The Robot Family(Ijc #177)

UPDATE: d/l link has been provided....sorry for the delay.Between,another comic is coming soon! :-)
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Allthough this Flash Indrajal was not among the 'toppers' of viewer's choice,I'm posting it because this particular tale has a touching emotional tone,besides the inherent 'sci-fi' characteristic in the adventures of this Galactic hero, which touched me deeply ....hope visitors will feel same ! :)
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Fact is,our most Indrajal fans aren't that close to Flash-adventures like they do for Phantom,Mandrake or Bahadur.Also the fact that,there are currently only a few Flash-ijcs are available on net,don't help either (to make his stories more available)! :-/

I guess,ToI couldn't make much profit from Flash-ijcs lately & as a result they had suddenly stopped publishing solely Flash-strips from mid '80s.Thus,after the 'The Vindictive War Deity(Vol.23 No.28 ;1986) ' there was a long gap(of more than 2 years) before we could again see a solely Flash-Ijc :'The Lost Continent(Vol.25 No.46 ;1988)'! Well,there were few Flash-strips published in between as inside stories with Phantoms,but that's it!

However,the positive part was, after that 're-apperence', we have seen as much as 7 Flash-Indrajals & let me tell me,ALL were 'special' and very different from 'usual' adventures of this galactic hero(like against Ming etc)!
Starting with that 'Lost Continent' or it's continuing part,'The deadly queen Mesala(Vol.25 No.51)' followed by prince Barin's mysterious origin(Vol.26 N0.4) - a fascinating tale,that re-telling-origin saga('The Scheming Despot' - Vol.26 No.23) of how-they-met(originally from '30s) or the LAST Flash in Indrajal,'The Deadly Intrigue(Vol.26 No.32)'[and the 1st Flash I brought, in 1989! ;o) ],where Flash & his friends had to face a deadly/scary situation in the Korobu - a planet ruled by women only.All of these were just out-and-out thrillers!
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Now.....let's read this fascinating one!It's another A/V scan!

Download Flash-Indrajal

Comic #13: Mandrake Indrajal: The Criminal Team(Ijc #128)

According to the Poll result,here's the most wanted Indrajal: Mandrake's The Criminal Team(No.128 ;1971).
It's an out-n-out thriller & a A/V contribution.
ENJOY! :-)




Download the Indrajal