Irudhipor - Mannavan Oruvan to debut at chennai’s comic con

CHENNAI: Since his childhood, Amirtharaj Selvaraj, the director of Queensland and Member of the Legislative Assembly, has been fascinated by the enchanting and adventurous world of comics. anime and mythology. He cashed in on the lockdown during the pandemic and spent time writing a book. “I had ample amount of time to write what was in my mind. I always wanted to create a comic with a regional touch that is of international standards,” says Amirtharaj.

He wrote a comic that is packed with action, adventure and emotions. Amirtharaj began with the Endwars: The Chosen One in 2019 and wanted to recreate the same in Tamil. “The writing happened organically. I used to take inspiration from the daily happenings in my life. I allocated quite a few days to put together all the ideas,” shares the author.

From the beginning, Amirtharaj’s idea was to pen a superhero story that could travel universally. “The story talks about the bond between a father and his son and how the youngster finds his true calling. My father is my inspiration and I share a personal connection with the protagonist, Angelo,” he expresses.

Endwars: The Chosen One is a period sci-fi fantasy comic series that weaves stories of intrigue, mythology, and high-stakes adventure. Amirtharaj Selvaraj has crafted a narrative that resonates with readers across ages and keeps them engaged in a larger-than-life imaginary world. War being the central theme, the story involves war between two factions, the Global Dominance Alliance and the United Free Nations. Amirtharaj joined hands with a Pune-based illustrator to bring life to the characters and heroic scenes.

“I wanted this book to be a novel. It had a lot of futuristic concepts and people around me suggested writing it as a comic. After completing Endwars, we attended the Comic Cons held in Mumbai and Bengaluru. That is when the idea of why not recreating the same in Tamil was born in me. Usually, we have translations of English comic books but not something that is entirely changed to match the regional readers. For example, we have changed the names of the characters and the fictional places as well,” he explains to DT Next.

Amirtharaj approached lyricist-writer Madhan Karky for transcreating Endwars in Tamil. Impressed by the story arc, Karky agreed to be a part of the same.

Titled Irudhipor - Mannavan Oruvan, the book will be launched at Chennai’s first Comic Con India. Filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj is all set to unveil it on February 17. He will also launch the sequel to the Endwars saga. Being an ardent admirer of action, comics and adventure, the director will personally sign fan copies of the newly launched books and will also interact with the people there. The series will have five volumes.

Talking about the reception of comics in Chennai, the 41-year-old author remarks, “Chennaiites always welcome new ideas and never think twice about experimenting. They are open to praise anime and other international works. They embrace all sorts of arts and comic books are not an exception. The availability of these books was an issue in the past, but that is also sorted with the advent of digitalisation.”

Adding more, Amirtharaj reflects, “There is no set magical formula for authors. We have to believe in what we write and it is crucial to listen to the feedback from peers. The story should be entertaining to the author first. Only then will the audience resonate the same.”

Celebrate creativity, originality, vision and storytelling at the Chennai Comic Con Festival on February 17 and 18 at Chennai Trade Center, Nandambakkam.