#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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