Hush (2010)
After taking India’s inaugural Comic Con by storm - Manta Ray are coming along in a big way. Besides creating a proper buzz for the publication, it was great to see their debut release, Hush, sell out at the convention. We did a preview of ‘Hush’ in our Alternative Graphic Novels list and interestingly, it garnered the most attention from our readers. ‘Hush’ is a dark and intricate novella, that doesn’t rely on words (at all). Purely through its beautifully ambiguous art, it’s the reader who naturally formulates the comic’s message (instead of having it spelled out for you). The subjectivity of Hush’s art and the themes conveyed resonates powerfully from within and this makes for an intensely deep debut release from Manta Ray.
Going through this interview you really feel true passion for the comic medium pouring out of Manta Ray’s founder, Pratheek Thomas. With Hush and Manta Ray, it feels like we’re ushering in a new era in graphic novels here in India… and this is worth discussing.
In Pic: Manta Ray's Pratheek Thomas
In an exclusive interview with Flipkart - Pratheek Thomas talks about his new publication house Manta Ray, his debut graphic novel novella Hush and its artist Rajiv Eipe, graphic novels in India, the recent Comic Con held in Delhi and much more…
In a nutshell, who is Pratheek Thomas and what makes him tick?
Pratheek Thomas is an aspiring storyteller. I’ve just started telling my stories to a real audience and there is a lot of learning to do along the way. By education, I’m a mechanical engineer who moved on to Product Design at the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad… who since then, had been primarily been employed as a storyteller. The first few years after college, I conceptualized rides and attractions in a theme park project. Then did some writing (stories and animation scripts) for children and finally, started Manta Ray with Dileep Cherian.
What makes me tick? Hmm… Stories, for sure. It’s the one thing that connects us all! From early man, to the last humans who will walk this planet, that’s one thing we’ll never stop doing… telling stories. And people. We come in so many different shapes and sizes and colours, with varied aspirations and beliefs and desires and we’re all living our own stories, one day at a time, that is really fascinating. You put these two together - telling stories and people - it’s such a potent mix! To create stories about people, to tell new stories and also re-tell old stories, the entire act of creation, that’s exhilarating!
Who and what inspired you to become a writer?
There probably isn’t any one person (or incident) who inspired me to become a writer. I guess it’s the stories I’ve read, the movies I’ve seen, that inspired me and still do. What amazes me is the power of a story or a movie (or any other form of storytelling, for that matter) to transport the reader, the audience into a whole new world. If it’s a good story or movie, you’re almost living in that world for the length of that story. That in itself, is a huge inspiration.
I’ve always been writing since my childhood, mostly in spurts, so it took me some time to realize that storytelling is what I wanted to do. When I look back now, I can see how most of the choices I made led me to this point… kind of like, connecting the dots, in hindsight.
What’s the story behind setting up your publishing house - Manta Ray?
Manta Ray happened after Hush, actually. Vivek (my brother) had shared this story idea he had for a short film and I told him that I’d like to adapt it into a comic, which he could then show around if he was looking at producers for funding his short. So once Rajiv (we studied together at NID) came on board, I started writing Hush. At that point, I’d thought of doing it in a mini-comic way - take xerox copies of the book and put it out in local bookstores, where people could pick up a copy. All I was looking for at that point was feedback about the story, art etc.
As I was writing the script, I told Dileep (who’s a very close friend from my engineering days) what I was doing. We started discussing the comics scenario in India (I’d already done my research on what was happening here) and decided to come together and start Manta Ray.
Can you give us some insight on the kind of work that goes into setting up an indie publishing house?
I’d always wanted to do something with books - maybe a small, intimate bookshop, or a library where people could just walk in and sit there and read a book. As early as 2007, I’d toyed with the idea of starting a publishing house, but didn’t think it would be possible.
Neways.
The most important thing is that you should want to do this. You should love books and you should have your own voice - there are so many publishers out there, so what is it that makes your voice unique? These are very important questions. Especially today, when people are prophesying the end of the printed book and even reading. Also, publishing is not a way to make a quick buck. It takes (at least) a few years to really get established and steady. You have to be ready for that journey. During that time, with everything you bring out, your voice should be seen and heard and make an impact.
With a comic book publishing house, it’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, there are very few publishers in India who are focusing exclusively on comics. On the other hand, this is also because the comic book reading community in India is small today. So, you need to find ways to go beyond this small community. Also, you need to find good writers, good artists, good letterers - comics are all about team work, so you need to build and nurture such teams to create an environment for this.
And of course, tell ‘good stories’.
What is your vision for Manta Ray and who is Manta Ray’s target audience?
We want to tell good stories. I know ‘good’ is a very subjective term but I guess what I’m trying to say is that Dileep and I want to tell stories that we ourselves like to read and are excited about. Only then, will we believe in these stories and do our 200% to bring them out in the best possible way. We also want to be a platform for creators to tell their stories. From my NID years, I know that there is immense talent in India and many of them are never even heard or seen. We’d like to change that. At least for the creators who want to tell stories in comics or illustrated mediums.
Anyone and everyone who likes a good story - that is our target audience. I think, in India, people tend to see comics in three broad categories: mythology, superhero or kids. So a lot of people, a lot of readers, ignore comics completely. We’d like to show readers that you can tell stories outside of these categories. You can tell engaging, interesting, exciting, moving stories in comics too. We’d like them to discover - through Manta Ray’s books - that comics can also tell good stories, stories they would like to read, even if they’ve never read a comic book before.
On “Hush”
It was a brave move releasing Manta Ray’s first graphic novel novella with no words - what was the reasoning behind this?
Hush is, in our eyes, a graphic short story or a graphic novella, but not a novel. The difference being that novels usually imply a large number of pages of story and Hush is not that. We’ve tried to make that clear in all our communication so far, but sometimes, it is still called a graphic novel, so I just wanted to clarify that.
The decision to go silent was a very conscious one. The story demanded that it be told with no words. It was clear from the moment I started working on it and with Rajiv at the helm, it was the right decision.
Tell us about the artist Rajiv Eipe - how would you describe his style and work?
In Pic: Rajiv Eipe
Rajiv is one of the most versatile artists I have met and he’s also one of the most generous, down-to-earth people I know. He’s got this ability to connect with the story deeply… he engages with the story and characters completely and that shows in everything he does. His dedication to a project is unfaltering, his work ethic is one that is very rarely seen in most people.
On Hush for example, being our first book and my first story, we had many rounds of discussions and were constantly tweaking small details here and there, to make sure that it communicated everything we wanted to say. When we were ready to bring the book out, Rajiv also created 3 fantastic videos trailers…
He’s one of the reasons I’m writing comics. Just the chance to collaborate with him and create something, that’s the reward in itself.
Without giving away anything - what are the central themes of Hush? What was the message you and Rajiv were trying to convey?
I wonder if I’m able to talk about Hush without giving it away! Let me try… Hush is about a shooting in a high school. It’s not a Columbine like massacre, it’s not even inspired by any of that. The shooting is a storyteller’s device. We haven’t had anything like this in India, so far… though there have been instances where students have shot a classmate or friend of theirs because of a grudge or argument.
But the story isn’t really about the shooting. It’s why this girl takes a gun and decides to do it. That’s the question. I’ll be the first one to say that the answer to this question is not something that will surprise us as readers… it’s something all of us know about, BUT, what’s more important is that we do not talk about it. We pretend that it doesn’t exist, we maintain our silence about it, we ‘hush’ it up.
Hush’s imagery is reminiscent of all the school shootings from America that we only read about, how do you think it’s relevant to bring this to an Indian audience?
The only connection Hush has to the school shootings that we’ve read/ heard about, is that a student (Maya, in this case) takes a gun and kills someone in her school. The similarities end there. In recent years, I’ve been reading about stray incidents where students in India are shooting, even killing a classmate because they had an argument or fight. So, I think it’s not so unimaginable that Maya, pushed to the extent that she is, surrounded by the climate of denial and silence, would choose to do something as extreme as take a gun, at least to protect her loved ones.
But, like I was saying, more than the act of shooting, the act that drives her to this extreme… I think it’s relevant to speak about that and that is why Hush exists.
A month on since the release - what has the feedback and overall reaction been for Hush?
I’m really happy to say that the feedback has been very positive… be it from friends, newspapers that have featured the book, readers. From our point of view - especially as a small, indie publisher - Hush is doing well.
The art has been universally praised and I’m very very happy for that… Rajiv’s illustrations in Hush are just beautiful. I don’t know if anyone else could have rendered this story with all its impact - without any words to support it. Rajiv is the real star of Hush, we just gave him a story and a platform where he could really shine.
And, of course, with bouquets come the brickbats too…
The story is not new - this is something that’s being said and like I said earlier, I’ll be the first one to say that. But some things NEED to be talked about, whether you already know of it or not. It’s a story that as a writer, I wanted to tell. As a publisher, Hush was a story that Manta Ray wanted to showcase.
There have also been some comments on the pricing, which some people say is very high for a short story that Hush is. And I’d like to use this question as a platform to elaborate on this. If one were to factor in only the printing cost and the discounts of distributors/retailers, the price point of Rs.195/- barely covers it. I’d like to be very honest here… Manta Ray makes nothing from the sales of Hush. So, Hush is not a money-making book for us and this is not why we did this book.
Hush is a story that we believed in and as our debut book, we wanted to make it special. So, it is a short story and we decided to bring it out in a limited edition print, because, we feel that Hush is a book for keeping. If you look at it, Hush is a high production value book, it’s printed on premium paper and at the best printers in India… all of these, definitely contribute to how the story come to life on the pages of the book.
It has to be said the entire package of Hush is very classy - thick paper, vibrant print, extensive commentary from the artist, writer, editors - can we expect this format for all Manta Ray releases?
Thank you, Sailen! Yes, we put a LOT of effort and time to craft it into this premium format. I’d say that our readers can expect a very high standard of quality in all Manta Ray releases - it may not be in this same format or the same paper… but our stories will be brought to life by artists with immense talent and potential. There will definitely be commentaries by the creators, sometimes even extensive coverage of how certain stories were created. We aim to bring out really good comics and we are committed to that goal.
General
Producing graphic novels is still in its budding phase here in India - is there a reason India is a bit late on the bandwagon, even though there is massive readership in this country for the stuff that comes from the West?
In 2009, someone (in the publishing business) once told me that, “Everyone knows that the graphic novel is a very powerful beast… just that no one wants to take the risk or riding it”.
If you look at it, many of the creators, upcoming publishers in the field today are young adults - who are in their late 20s, early 30s - and it’s quite possible that this is the same generation that had the access all this stuff from the West when they were growing up. Now, they’re at that stage in life where they want to tell their own stories. They’re more entrepreneurial in spirit and are willing to follow their dream and ready to take the risk of riding the beast.
Tell us about your experience at Comic Con? What were Manta Ray up to?
Comic Con was a BLAST! For one, the convention itself was organized quite well… I must congratulate Twenty Onwards on this. To organize something like this, for the first time, it was really good. I think the venue was also very well chosen - there were a lot of people who’d come to Dilli Haat who weren’t aware of the Comic Con, they got to see a lot of comics and I guess, they picked up some too.
Most of the comic book publishers had a stall at the event, but we’d decided not to have a stall, as we had only one title. We went to the convention with the intention of ‘looking and learning’ - to prepare for the next convention, when we’re hoping to have a lot more titles to showcase. We did stock the books at the Comic Con stall and we also brought some merchandise with us - Manta Ray t-shirts and Hush badges.
I think from the word go, we were off to a great start - within the first hour of the convention, we were told (by the retail stalls) that Hush was flying off the shelves. In fact, Hush was completely sold out on both the days and honestly, this was unexpected and we were completely floored… didn’t really expect that!
We also had a session with the audience, where we talked about Manta Ray’s origins, Hush and the future… we officially kicked off our ‘The Answer is Here’ contest which is going to run for about a month and has some cool prizes to be won. But, I think one of the most enjoyable experiences for the team was the sketching sessions. The guest artists on Hush - Prabha and Manu (who paid us a surprise visit) were awesome… they just sketched their hearts out! It was wonderful to see readers and passers by connect with their spontaneous creations.
On the whole, we simply had loads of fun. It was a fantastic experience! 
With Comic Con, has the graphic novel world reached a next-level in India?
I think we still have some way to go. The Comic Con is a small event, it needs to spread to other cities, like the metros and Bangalore. We need to see more vernacular content. We need to see more original creators. We need to see more reader-creator interaction and exchanges. It has to grow beyond the comic-reading audience and reach out to the book-loving audience. That’s when the medium will truly come of age.
From our experience there, I think we can say that, if you can tell a good story, with good art and produce it well, then there will be takers for it. In our estimate, a majority of the people who got Hush at the convention hadn’t heard about the book or Manta Ray before they came to the con. It goes to show how events like these are important, and also, how even a small, indie publisher or even a self-published creator can make an impact with audiences.
Are there any Indian graphic novels you would recommend?
I liked Amruta Patil’s Kari… Kashmir Pending (from Phantomville) was also quite good. And, though it’s not a typical graphic “novel”, Our Toxic World used the medium of comics to talk about the world we live in and create awareness.
Three movies you can watch over and over again?
Tough one!
Heima: A documentary film about Sigur Ros, an Icelandic band. I guess it’s their ethereal music that makes it so repeatedly watchable and inter cut with the conversations with the artists, it creates a nice balance… even if one were to just listen to it.
The Motorcycle Diaries: Walter Salles’ masterpiece. It’s the incredible true story of the man who would become Che portrayed by a terrific cast and Santaolalla’s music.
Before Sunrise/ Before Sunset: That’s two movies, but it’s really one movie too, in a way. A guy and a girl just walking and talking and talking and walking. It’s as simple and beautiful as that.
Three books that changed your life and why?
To Kill A Mockingbird: I think it’s the best book written, ever. I’ve always looked up to Atticus Finch - his integrity, compassion, inner quiet & sense of fairness & justice… you aspire for those virtues and qualities in your own life… in that sense, I’d say it changes you…
Endless Nights: This was the first Sandman collection I’d picked up. Until then I had only heard about the series and had no clue what it was about. I was traveling from Chennai to Ahmedabad and read it on the train… many times over. Up to this point, I’d only read the regular superhero stuff (Batman, Daredevil, Ronin)… but from here on, I started discovering the real stuff that comics can do. This book changed everything that I’d known about comics until then… and started me off on a whole new journey into comics.
Blue Pills: Not a lot of people know about this gem of a comic, I think. It’s by Frederik Peeters, and reading this was a life altering experience. It’s also the one graphic novel I’ve read the most number of times, I can just pick it up and read it whenever I want. It’s changed the way I look at people, at what ‘love’ really means, at what it means to be in a relationship with someone. It’s just… life altering… at least, it was for me.
What are you currently reading?
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and Y: The Last Man, Vol 4 (I never really figured what the big deal is about this series, and someone recently told me that the story picks up after the first few volumes, so I’m giving it another shot again)
What’s next for Manta Ray?
We’re coming out with a limited edition, b&w series… it’s a set of stories that have a common theme connecting them, but with no recurring characters. So you can read issue 4 without knowing 1, 2, 3 or having to read 5. It’s like a set of mini graphic-novels… only they’re under one banner. This should be out very soon, starting April, I think.
Then, hopefully, one (or maybe even two) more limited series (these are in colour). It’s too early to say anything about these, though. And maybe, a full-length graphic novel next year. We’d like to take things slow, build up on our strengths and put out books we believe in completely… so, let’s see
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