Capes And Low Cover Prices: Bygone Relics Of Superhero Comics

When Marvel surprised the world by announcing Robert Downey Jr., loved by all as Iron Man, as super villain Doctor Doom for the next Avengers movie, director Joe Russo justified it as a proof of the unimaginable possibilities of the multiverse.

But, in the comic book universe, a possibility that is still unimaginable is how to make American superhero intellectual properties more affordable to the millions of fans in India.

Hollywood superhero blockbusters, especially those from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have sent the popularity of comic books to soaring heights. They have probably never been more recognisable or more profitable throughout their entire 85-year history, dating back to the official comic book debut of the character Superman in Action Comics #1 in 1938.

Despite this popularity, comic books, the medium that invented them, seem to have seen a rise in costs in India over the decades, with the average cost of a comic book published by either DC (the publishers of Batman and Superman comics) or Marvel (the publishers of X-Men and Spider-Man comics) being in the range of Rs 500 to Rs 9,000, making them a comparatively hefty investment that adults would have the financial means to acquire.

This contrasts with the idealism, escapism and power fantasy that is traditionally associated with these stories that would primarily appeal to children and young teens.

Between 1998 and 2008, superhero comic books sold at a much more affordable rate of Rs 10 or Rs 20 for a single issue to Rs 100 for a thicker collected edition that collected the single issues into one volume. In comparison to the current situation, they were sold in bookstores, stationery shops and newsstands alike.

This was made possible by Gotham Entertainment, a company started by entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan and Gotham Chopra. They struck a distribution deal with American publishers like DC, Marvel and Dark Horse and MAD Magazine to reprint their comics in India. They would come in smaller sizes and on cheaper paper, and sold a low cover price, so they were accessible to many in India.

They also created the comic book character and the miniseries of the same name Spider-Man: India, in collaboration with Marvel, who also showed up in the animated movie Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse, voiced by actor Karan Soni of Deadpool fame.

This partnership seemed to have ended in 2008, when Gotham Entertainment Group turned into Virgin Comics due to a partnership with Richard Branson's Virgin and started publishing its own IPs, such as Devi and 18 Days.

They partnered with writers like Stan Lee, who created Spider-Man, filmmaker Jon Woo and renowned creators like Grant Morrison who is responsible for critically acclaimed works like All-Star Superman—cited as the main inspiration for the upcoming Superman movie in 2025—and Garth Ennis who is best known for writing the comic book series that inspired Amazon Prime's The Boys, which was one of its most-watched shows in 2024.