From the home of the Media-Moghul, Indian Book House (IBH), the all-out children entertainer Tinkle Comics has ruled our childhood since the 1980s. Tinkle, a monthly children’s comic magazine, was originally founded by Dr Anant Pai in 1980 and has had a continuous run spanning more than 600 issues, till date. Its success has spawned an enormous fan-base for its evergreen characters including the stupid Suppandi, or the pigeon-hearted hunter, Shikari Shambu or of course the evil-plotting mantri, Tantri.
After 25 years of reigning success in the Indian markets, IBH has gone all out to test the international waters as the American comic publisher; DC Comics announced taking over the entire Tinkle comics’ properties. As reported first by AnimationXpress.com, DC Comics which has long been housing the idea of taking over Indian comics under its wing has acquired the rights of all the Tinkle characters for an undisclosed amount. Analysts report the take-over as one of the biggest deals in the media space.
Spinning its latest mini-comic series, Convergence, DC Comics has also been eyeing the Indian markets which is reportedly a highly comic-hungry region. What better than to acquire the established Indian comic properties which have long since charmed the Indian masses. Reports also confirm that the upcoming issues from Tinkle would include some of its characters donning a new look and perhaps some taking a global trip altogether. Apart from the global appeal, DC is sure to bring in its creativity and technology coupled with the Indian cultural attributes, these characters have harnessed over the years.
With over 80 years of comic presence, DC Comics is one of the most successful publishing houses with properties including the likes of Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Arrow, Flash etc under its hood. The imminent success of these comics has led to rolling out of some of the most successful animated features and has also knocked the doors of the live-action movie space with the upcoming Batman v Superman- Dawn of Justice creating a fever amongst its fans even a year before its release.
What’s mind-boggling is how DC comics which is known for publishing some of the most gritty-edged, dark comics handle our happy-go-lucky characters from Tinkle. However with reports of some of the Tinkle comic characters undergoing new looks, it is highly probable DC would add darker angles to our beloved comics so imagining our Tantri the Mantri plotting some serious damage against the King or the clumsy Butterfingers stumbling upon some dark humor. But surely that doesn’t disappoint the Indian Tinkle fans who are more than happy for the novelty factor.
Also what could be indeed amazing for the comic junkies all over would be to see a cross-over between the DC universe characters alongside our home-bred heroes. So don’t be astounded to see in the next issue, Shikari Shambu running alongside the emerald archer Green Arrow or Supandi cracking in some humor with the scarlet speedster, Flash.