RAKSHAK REVIEW AT CULTUREPOPCORN

Here is Rakshak Review for those who don’t know who Rakshak is, well here is your chance. Rakshak is our new Indian Superhero created by Shamik Dasgupta and Team of Yali Dream Creations. They have come up with a unique concept of vigilantism. Rakshak is not a type of hero that you usually see in a comic. He lives among us, or may be one of us and may be even you. We all know what a superhero can do. He may be able to fly, able to weight tons, kick the ass the villains with super awesome acrobats and what not.

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Rakshak issue 1 review by Devang Sanghrajka

#Rakshak Review By Devang Sanghrajka

Title: Rakshak
Issue: #1
Publisher: Yali Dream Creations
Writer: Shamik Dasgupta
Artist: Pramit Santra
Colors: Prasad Patnaik
Cover: Marcio Abreu
Cover Colors: Prasad Patnaik
Lettering: Prasad Patnaik

Story/Writing:
There is something that keeps me hooked when I start reading comics penned by Shamik Dasgupta. It’s his straight-forward, no-nonsense starts and the flow of his stories. Take Rakshak for example; a fantastic start. I am a sucker for military stories, weapon systems, combat planning, and so on. So, when I started reading it, I was totally engrossed as the dialogues were crispy and to the point. Then the storyline shifts to a city, relatives, and so on until our protagonist must become a (super)hero! Midway through this story, the dialogues are lengthy and some unnecessary banter which could have been cut down, at least that’s my point of view. The path to becoming a hero is well laid out for this protagonist because of his military training and background. The story picks up steam again after a few pages which are mostly required for what’s to come. Overall, a good start and I would like to see some gritty stories with this protagonist and the supporting characters. Make life hell for him and then obliterate the evil-doers within a few panels. I would like to see some meticulous planning and execution by this hero; don’t put him pat in the middle of fight scenes just because he can.

Artwork:
The artwork is good. I would have liked to see some variations in the panel layouts, especially for the non-fight scenes. I have read Pramit Santra’s Life-Time Issue #1, and the artwork in there is much better than this, with nicely done layouts and variations. I was expecting that in Rakshak. The coloring is good, but what is it with the purple and violet tones!?

Cover Art:
It’s a standard cover that says what it needs to. The artwork is good, but need some work on the cover. Come on, tempt me to pick up the next issue with a mesmerizing cover!

Lettering:
Prasad Patnaik’s lettering is the hallmark of most of the comics being released in India today. There is nothing more I can say here. If the writing can be made a bit more concise, the speech bubbles could be placed optimally. Some of the panels lose their artwork because of big or too many speech bubbles.

Extras:
None provided. I would like to see the making of, especially how the artist and the colorist think when they have to design the panel(s). Also, things like why we need a superhero in India today; thoughts by the writer/creators of this title.

Recommendation(s):
As pointed out in the sections above.

 

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