PTI

Mumbai: A new graphic novel based on Indian epic Mahabharata, being published by a Hong Kong based company, will be released in March this year.

The series, ‘DevaShard´ published by Fluid Friction Comics, Hong Kong, having 25 issues will be available across 400 book stores here including Crossword, Oxford and Planet M, its business development manager Spencer Douglass told PTI.

“India will be the first country where we will launch DevaShard as it is inspired by Indian epic. Eventually we will launch it in seven countries including US, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia,” Douglass said.

The first series is inspired from the Mahabharata character Karna, the valiant warrior whose bete noire was Pandva hero Arjuna.

However, in the series, Karna’s humble and idyllic life is shattered by the appearance of a dark, terrible creature that is stalking him and his family. Karna thus has to overcome this evil design through a heroic battle.

“A new issue will be released every two months. We expect to ship 100,000 copies of the first issue around the world with an ambition to sell half of it in India,” he added.

Simon Bisley, the artist famous for creating Batman series for DC Comics, is a part of the creative team, he said.

“The comic however will not have superheros but will have characters which develop facing various challenges. They are not good or evil. They are more good and sometimes take poor judgements which presents a complex storyline,” he said.