Level 10 Comics is one of the prominent contemporary Indian comics that have significantly contributed to the development of the medium in the country. Comic Jump is the flagship issue and is published on a monthly basis. Level 10 Comic Jump is the first full-fledged Indian comics magazine that mainly targeted at the young adult, particularly male readers between 18-30 years. Level 10 Comics is published and distributed by Mumbai based Level 10 Entertainment. Level 10 Comic Jump was established by Suhas Sundar and Shreyas Srinivas in late 2009. The publishing company started producing comics magazines for teen readers from April 2010. Currently, Level 10 Comics is in the process of producing a digital comic publishing platform. The main titles published in Level 10 Comic Jump are Shaurya, Northern Song, The Rabhas Incident, Daksh and Batu Gaiden.
History of Level 10 Comics
Suhas Sundar and Shreyas Srinivas decided to establish Level 10 Studios in late 2009. Suhas Sundar was earlier software professional and Shreyas Srinivas is a former Unilever Manager. Prior to the emergence of Level 10 Comic Jump, the dominant genre in Indian comics was Hindu Mythology and popular mythological characters from Ramayana and Mahabharata. Level 10 Comics mainly focused on creating original content and intellectual properties. Level 10 also operated a Studio division that worked on visual graphic and design services for external clients. The company eventually raised capital from Seedfund and Mumbai Angels, who provided the primary investment in December 2010. Level 10 Studios was eventually renamed as Level 10 Entertainment and the studio division was shut down in order to concentrate on creating new intellectual and original properties. The flagship publication of Comic Jump was also re-launched as the focus shifted to the 18-30 years old urban male comic readers.
Publications of Level 10 Comics
Level 10 Comic Jump consists of original content that spans over various genres. Some of the main titles include superhero epic Shaurya, action fantasy Northern Song, zombie thriller The Rabhas Incident, dark superhero Daksh and fantasy series Batu Gaiden. They also have other titles like Yumi, Sando and Odayan.
Shaurya
Shaurya is the story about 5 Indian youngsters who are equipped with superhuman powers and save the country from evil elements. It contains the details of the lives of 5 B-school students from Mumbai, namely Veer, Rubina, Jay, Ana and Sid. All of the main characters have super powers like invulnerability, morphing, persuasion and one of the characters is an advanced android.
Northern Song
Northern Song is fantasy action comics, set in medieval India. The story follows the adventures of Bala, who is partly demon, but does not express any demonic tendencies.
The Rabhas Incident
The Rabhas Incidentis a zombie horror survival story based in modern day Bengaluru. Due to the outbreak of a deadly virus, a mysterious disease affected all the residents of the city and turned them into flesh eating zombies. The main character Major Rafeeq Ahmed, who is a police officer, gets marooned in a hospital along with a tea-selling boy. The concept is inspired from the widely popular game and movie, Resident Evil.
The other titles like Daksh, deals with the half son of Lord Yama and Batu Gaiden is a Manga fantasy series that involves cricket into mythology.
The noted writers and illustrators who have worked on the several titles are Shreyas Srinivas and Deepak Sharma for Shaurya, Vijayendra Mohanty and Vivek Goel for Northern Song and Suhas Sundar and Harsho Mohan Chattoraj for The Rabhas Incident.
Each of the series contains stylish artwork, unique design and gripping narrative. The comics magazine have become much popular amongst the youth and comics readers of the nation in a short span of time.