Comic #65 & 66 : 2 Unpublished Mandrake Strips(D116 - Narda's TV Show AND S171 - Galactic Birthday Party)

 Hello friends,couldn't scan any Indrajal in the last few days.However,you will soon find a new Bengali Ijc  here.

 Before that, enjoy a couple of rare MTM strips - D116 & S171 - those were never published in India,in any book format.D116,a '62 strip,was skipped by both Ijc & DC and S171 is from the Post-Ijc era('94).[Now,D116 is completely in English while S171 is mixed with colored Italian scans with the b/w English strips.But you can predict the story as the script was bit repetitive!]

And these are contributions of the one of the biggest MTM fan from Sweden,Magnus and of course,Dan!:-)

 D116 - Narda's TV Show: An unusual plot where Narda played the centre character with only a minor presence of Mandrake and at the end,both of them were completely baffled.(There were a couple of strips on this same theme published in the '80s Indrajals.Can you recall those?? :-) )

Download the Daily

S171 - Galactic Birthday Party: Another central-galactic adventure.This time our friends were invited in the planet Magna to celebrate Nardraka's birthday...

                                  Download the Sunday

Between,to find out all Mandrake's adeventures in the C-G published in this blog,visit this general link.

Comic #64 : Indrajal Comics(Bengali) : No.69(Betal) :Ghurni-Sagore Diana(ঘূর্ণি-সাগরে ডায়ানা)

UPDATE(23/7): For all cricket fans & fanatics(like me),I'm sure you are watching the on-going Ind-Eng 1st test -  the historical 2000th TEST match - from Lords'!! (For those who came in late,this longest form of cricket on it's 134th year(since 1877) and for Team India,they are on their 79th year,since 1932.)

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 Another new Bengali Indrajal for this time.ঘূর্ণি-সাগরে ডায়ানা based on a  dreaded plot against Diana and how Phantom finally saved her life! But, it was not another of those 'Diana-kidnapped-by-some-lover-prince' kind adventures,rather a gruesome murder-plot where that conman Dice tried to kill Diana, using a couple of ferocious killer sharks!

 Well,I am not going to elaborate further as don't want to ruin the suspense for those Bengali fans who yet to read this story in any language.And, if you already have read the English version,enjoy this Bengali counter-part! :-)

 Between,don't miss this following advertisement of the TEN EARLIEST ISSUES of 'Amar Chitra Katha(ACK)'!!And as you know very well,these are the rarest issues of ACK,based on much different stories - mostly western fairy tales - than what we got from #11(Krishna) onwards.(It's quite surprising that,while one will get plenty of old ACKs right from #11 from the old-markets,but NOT these issues!!Strange,ain't?? Personally,I have only a few issues incld. #2 - সিন্ডেরেলা . I donno if anybody has all of these 10 issues in Bengali/English!)

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 I have a special bonding with this Indrajal.Actually 2 Indrajals,in total. Besides ঘূর্ণি-সাগরে ডায়ানা(সংখ্যা ৬৯), the other one is a Mandrake-Ijc in English - The Treacherous Gang(No.77).These two issues were the earliest 'below #100' Indrajals I read ever and purchased on the same day from one seller!

  Well,that Betal story was much exciting but plot-wise,nothing new.In the other hand,that Mandrake story was a land-marking adventure & one of the major reasons behind those huge changes in the Mandrake's universe(for better,of course) & pattern of the future stories(sundays+dailies) from mid '60s onwards!
 This was the FIRST ever encounter with that dreaded & international criminal gang, (in)famously known as "The League of 8"..just "8"(as Narda told Mandrake for the very first time!) Before this issue,I already read another '8' adventure with Dr.Dell(Ijc V23 N10) where it has been mentioned that it was Narda who proved the existence of this gang in the modern era!So reading 'that' actual story was something very special for me!! (And mind it,I'm talking about the time when there was NO Indrajal-List available on-line nor I had any idea about Xanadu back then!So my Indrajal-hunts in the old-markets were quite wild in those days/years.That was actually much different than what we are doing in the last 3-4 years i.e. preparing a wish-list much beforehand with own choice of  heroes/stories inside etc.)
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Now,to read the complete story of  ঘূর্ণি-সাগরে ডায়ানা,click the following link:

DOWNLOAD সংখ্যা ৬৯

Can You ever forget your First Indrajal Comics(ইন্দ্রজাল কমিকস্)??

 First of all,for Bengali Indrajal fans : I will post 2  Indrajals,one-by-one,in the coming weeks.There will be a Betal followed by a Flash Gordon adventure.
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 Before going into the actual topic,I should admit the reason behind this particular post. Since the last few weeks,I was again wondering why we are sooo crazy about 'only' Indrajal Comics??Now,just recently,we had a discussion on Indrajal(& our childhood memories associated with this) in a blog-post by fellow blogger Mahasthobir & other fans like Suman etc. More I think about this,more I become nostalgic,hence decide to share my thoughts here.I hope you will also share your own feelings & childhood experience as well!
 [Of course,I know the basic reason is you can read many *new* stories from old Ijcs,plus,many forgotten ones.But I wonder whether the "nostalgia factor" IS the major reason behind this craze,even more than the actual reading??(Because,technically, you CAN read all these stories in unedited strips from the various sites,plus 100s of Diamond's Phantom/Mandrake books etc.Still, ALL fans want only Indrajal's same old edited version!!)]
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 All Indrajal fans have their own set of 'special' Indrajal issues and that's does NOT depend on the year-of-publication/issue numbers etc.Yes,I'm talking about those introductory issues responsible for your fondness/addiction/attachment(or whatever you call it) with this series!
 So,let's share those experiences/memories when you were introduced with the magical world of Indrajal Comics(ইন্দ্রজাল কমিকস্)!! :-)
 Personally,I was one of those late-comers(considering that period when this series was still under publication) in the Indrajal universe.It was 1989. [However,we have only a few Ijc-crazies who were introduced years after the cancellation i.e. from the Post-Indrajal era,still addicted with this series,like Aalok from Mumbai,Swagoto(Walker) and my younger brother.(Well,he has allmost stopped reading Ijcs since last 2-3 years due to study and other interests like Games/FB etc!Earlier,he was the one who used to finish the whole lot of old Indrajals,even before me, within the couple of days of my purchase from the old markets! :-))]

 Even today,I can vividly remember that afternoon when one of the class-mates and my buddy, Amritanshu(অমরিতাংশু) showed me that issue - ব্যর্থ চক্রান্ত(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 29)  - was my first ever experience with Indrajal Comics!! Well,back then I was an ardent fan of Chacha Choudhary-Sabu/Pinki/Billo/Tintin/Nonte-Phonte etc fun-series only and hence initially ignored that 'unknown' series(with somewhat different format i.e. lesser pages,bigger size and much 'different' art than we used to see in the other comics!) Sometimes later,he flicked a few pages and asked me to read the 'other features' like cartoons/Ripley's etc!!As he was a close pal,so I reluctantly read some of those pages and kept that book aside!Then we were busy in our classes. After the last class,he said "বইটা আমায় দে(return me the book)".That was the moment when I felt asif he had asked something that is very dear to me!!
 I donno why I suddenly felt that way,but somehow requested him to lent that issue(and few more) in the coming days!Like a true buddy, he kept his promise and that's how I was introduced with the magical world of this adventure series - ইন্দ্রজাল কমিকস্!!

 As I have said,that introductory issue was ব্যর্থ চক্রান্ত(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 29)  - a Rip Kirby(রিপ কার্বি) story and eventually the last-Rip in the Indrajal. So,Amritanshu was one of the major reasons for my Indrajal addiction and I'm quite grateful to him for this!
[It's 99% probable that he is not reading this post(or any other comic-blogs,in that matter) as he had completely moved on from reading comics(Indrajal/others) from the 5th/6th standard itself(i.e. soon after Ijc's cancellation!)]

  Few weeks later,I bought my first Indrajal issue.It was a Betal(বেতাল) adventure with those little people - কালো বাক্সের রহস্য(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 33).. Incidentally,from this issue,ToI did change the format a bit(with a new banner,frequency was reduced from weekly to fortnightly,price hiked from 4.00 to 5.00 and page numbers were increased from 32 to 36!) Somehow I loved that previous banner style over this new one.Anyway, my next buy,actually the previous issue of কালো বাক্সের রহস্য,was a fitting Indrajal adventure - রক্তে ভেজা চক্রান্ত(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 32) . I loved this story so much that re-read the book many times within the first few days.:-) This story alone made me an avid fan of Flash Gordon(ফ্ল্যাশ গর্ডন) & his group(Dr.Jarkov,beautiful Dale & others!)

[I've scanned/clicked few covers from my 'old' issues and for the coverless ones,scans/clicks are from the copies I have collected only in the recent years.]

Next was Bahadur(বাহাদুর).And it was one of the best Bahadur adventure's from the late '80s - মৃত্যুর সাথে পাঞ্জা(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 18) . Unfortunately,I lost this book due to one careless aunt!!(I never forgave her as I loved that issue very much and worse,it was not my book but from Amritanshu! It's another thing that he never accused me for the loss.)
Now,why I read Bahadur??Well,I can tell you many reasons but major reason,specially on that age,was definitely the charming presence of Bela!!And this story was a great example. ;-) 

[Few years ago,I finally managed to have one copy of মৃত্যুর সাথে পাঞ্জা from our old-book market and that was quite a nostalgic moment for me.It was like,asif I've returned in those years.(Those who have managed to re-collect their old Indrajal issues, years after the loss of the actual issues,can understand this very well!)]

After few months,I read another Bahadur adventure from the same year(1989) - রক্তাক্ত অভিযান(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 35).Then it was ক্রোধোন্মোত্ত শয়তান(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 28)  where Bela did only a cameo but she was looking super-hot even in that short appearance! :o)

Next was our famous magician friend - Mandrake(ম্যানড্রেক).The first issue I can remember was গান-পাহাড়ের রহস্য(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 36)..  After that,সাগরতলের মৃতু্দূত(খন্ড 25 সংখ্যা 14-15) & রহস্যময় দম্পতি(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 1-3)   were few other titles from same period,but back then I read only the respective part-1(১ম পর্ব)  issues.

 Finally,the last Mandrake story in Indrajal - গোপন আবিষ্কার(খন্ড 27 সংখ্যা 7)  - was released on 1st April,1990 with a new price-tag(6.00).It was in my collection within a couple of days of the release - only for few hours though - as I lost this book during a long bus-trip on the very next day of purchase!! :(( And,the worst part of the loss is that, I'm yet to see another copy of গোপন আবিস্কার,even after 21 longgg years!! Quite unimaginable I know,but it's only a fact that I am yet to see even a torned Bengali copy of this issue,even after so many visits in the several old-book markets over the years.They have successfully arranged others issues except this one title!![UPDATE(11/1/12): Finally I have got this issue on this day from one of our Ijc friends through exchange! :)) ]

 ড্রাগ অভিযান(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 26)  was responsible for my introduction with Dara(দারা) - our own 007 Bond! This story was undoubtedly the best among the 8 Dara adventures,with much grimmer and blood-shaded plot!                                     

 Between,after that unfortunate loss of গোপন আবিস্কার,dad promised me to gift the next issue as a compensation and so he did.That was a Dara story : প্রতারণার ফাঁদ(খন্ড 27 সংখ্যা 8)  and eventually the LAST Indrajal,as you know!! That issue was released on 16th April,1990 and it's in my collection since 23rd April(Yes,I used to mention the 'date-of-purchase' on the inside cover on every issue(incld. any comics & books)! :-))

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So friends,it was my own experience with Indrajal Comics from those early days.What's your story??Do share with us!

Some Covers of the Up-coming Indrajal Comics(Bengali)

I've selected these issues for scanning in the next few weeks.So it's my request to all Bengali bloggers(Devil,Mahasthobir,Walker) to skip these so we can avoid any duplication.(In future,if I decide to post any other issues -  quite possible actually - then I will inform all of you beforehand!)

And the very next issue will be either of #39(Tufan/তুফান) & #69(Ghurni-Sagore Diana/ঘূর্ণি-সাগরে ডায়ানা).As I won't publish these two issues back to back,so you can let me know your preference,if any.

Now,why I've picked these??Primarily, these are among those issues I still have in single form(i.e. not in a binder),hence rather easy for scanning! ;)) Another reason is,these are among some of the best stories published in the Ijc ever(irrespective of their publication year/number etc).

 Now,some results of 'clicking'(by mobile-cam) from a few Indrajal binders! ;) Well,taking photos from a binder is tough job,and while it's much better than scanning such books(worst thing to do),still you won't achieve the clarity/quality that you will easily attain through scanning of normal single issues!Another thing I've realised that,taking usual photos is much easier than that of taking from a book(for best reading purpose).

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You can even check a few Indrajal cover-scans in some of these following old posts.There you will find out that scans from binders were quite ordinary/poor! :(

Indrajal Covers 1
Indrajal Covers 2
Indrajal Covers 3
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As you can see,there are some covers of single issues too,still scanning yields much better result over taking photos! :-/ I will definitely try to take photos of these and many others from the binders,but that will happen only after scanning of a good number of single issues.(AND it'll be favorable if some other Bengali Indrajal fans have these in the single form!)