MUMBAI: Virgin Comics announced today the launch of Panchatantra: The Tall Tales of Vishnu Sharma (Tall Tales), a new comic book series inspired by India‘s ancient Panchatantra fables.

"The young Indian creators behind this series stand at the forefront of redefining a new golden age in Indian storytelling and shifting the country from being an outsourcer to being the source," said Virgin Animation and Virgin Comics co founder and CEO Sharad Devarajan.
In Virgin‘s new monthly magazine, a nefarious multinational conglomerate is deliberately silencing the mythologies of yesterday. In an effort to stop the erasing of old fables, the characters from the Panchatantra myths emerge from their story-world into modern India to recruit the living descendent of the man who originally created them, a teenage Mumbai native, named Vishnu Sharma. In young Vishnu, they find a teenager consumed with iPods, cell phones, video games and modern entertainment - not exactly the champion of ancient stories they were hoping for.

"Tall Tales, as much as anything we have created at Virgin Comics, speaks to the innovative emergence of our creators. This is a story that is directly relevant to them and the rapidly changing and globalising times in which they live, a true allegory for what old cultures are facing while mass media prospers," commented Virgin Comics chief creative officer Gotham Chopra.

The comic book series is being written by leading Indian fantasy and comic book writer, Samit Basu and illustrated by Ashish Padlekar.

The series, which was launched today at comic book stores in North America is priced at $ 2.99, is also available online as a digital comic starting next week at www.virgincomics.com.