In case you are living under a rock, yali dreams creation has earned the badge of honour of being the first mainstream Indian comics company to get a web series deal. The graphic novel that has been taken up by Amazon is titled “The village”. So without further ado, let’s dissect it.
Credits
- Writer – Shamik Dasgupta
- Art – Gaurav Srivastava
- Coloring – Prasad Patnayak
Art
The artwork of Gaurav Srivastava is always a treat for the eyes. Colorist Prasad Patnayak enhances his art with beautiful work. The best part of the colouring is the way colors have been attributed to main characters based on their respective personalities. Flamboyant Peter wears bright floral patterns in red, while gloomy Raja is decked in blues complementing his own blues and Shaktiwal Thevar wears brown signifying his resilience (we see that resilience till his last breath). The chief antagonist is pictured as all black which is a symbol of his all dark persona. Clearly, in terms of artwork, we have a graphic novel that will forever be cherished.
Story
While the artwork of The village is really ensnaring, the same cannot be said for its story. The story by any stretch of imagination cannot be termed original. It is heavily influenced by movies such as “Wrong turn” and “Hills have eyes”. The character depiction of mutant Kodas is quite similar to that in movie “Silent Hill”.
The movie is laced with social commentary but whatever social message the initial pages wanted to convey, gets lost with brutal portrayal of the tribe wronged by the world. Why throw in social commentary when at the end your goal is to show the ones exploited in such heinous manner, that readers lose all sympathy for them. Writer Shamik Dasgupta was confused whether he wanted to pay homage to Karl Marx or to H.P.Lovecraft. In that confusion he takes us on a ride that is full of gore and violence but no definitive end.
The writer also tries to explain various deformities with medical diagnosis, but fails to explain how normal women with amputated limbs were able to survive in hostile environment, devoid of proper nutrition. Either stick to science or shun it completely. Hanging in between comes across as confused writing.
Final Verdict
The Village is an art book. If you buy it looking for an enthralling story experience, you will be as dissatisfied as a communist in a democracy.
