Resumo de The Believers - Abdul Sultan;Partha Sengupta

The Believers

Published by Phantomville.

In 2003, the fastest growing segment of the book market was the graphic novel. The term ?graphic novel? -popularized by Will Eisner,the legendary creator of ?The Spirit?- does not find universal acceptance. A definition, however, may not be necessary . Like the astute judge?s ruling on what constituted porngraphy: ? I know it when I see it?, we recognize a ?graphic novel?. It?s aimed at adults, combines pictures and words, often skillfully rendered, has good production values and, if doubts still persist if it is one, then turn the book around to see the price. They are almost always high-priced. And understandably so; these are after all the ?comic books that are not for kids anymore?. The noted film critic, Roger Ebert, calls them ?comics with a yearning for the light?. The artist, combining images and words, by seeking a synergy between his drawing and writing skills, creates a new manner of telling a story. Sometimes, though, the collaboration is between two people.

?The Believers?, with the text by Abdul Sultan and the artwork by Partha Sengupta, is one such collaborative comic book/graphic novel. This is a story of Hamid and his older brother Rashid. Hamid, is an educated, open-minded and liberal muslim, who has to rush back to Kerala from his Scottish university, on receiving the news of his grandmother?s death. . He has been away for 12 years, and doesn?t know what to expect . Things have obviously changed. Rashid has, post-babri masjid demolition, turned into a radical extremist. He is a leader of an organization dedicated to Jihad, and acts of terror- like burning down the town?s movie theater because it screens movies that are purportedly anit-islamic. . Change that is insidious, is most evident to one who returns after a gap of time. Rashid, who grew up adoring movies, now leads the charge in torching theatres.
Hamid tries to make sense of what is happening, but remains baffled. He is the voice of moderation and sanity who inadvertently finds himself in the middle of communal strife.
The story is earnest, a bit sentimental even, but has excellent character development. The characters created feel real and are believable. The artwork is competent and does the job required well, but there are no visual thrills or flourishes. The production quality is also note-worthy.
It may be a sign of the times that the popularity of the graphic novel world-wide has risen with sensex-like steepness. The reasons could be people?s short attention spans, their openness to new forms of communication or impatience with reading full-fledged novels . Many homes are littered with half-read and unread books - a fate never seen by a comic book. All of us who grew up enjoying Gold Key and Hanna-Barbera comics , among others, now as adults, finally have an age-appropriate choice : the comics for grown ups.
Hemant Morparia

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