The medium is the message

You've been hearing about foreign graphic novels for some time. Now desi ones are hitting the market, and more hearteningly, they are getting better.

Signs are that the desi graphic novel is coming of age. When Sarnath Banerjee's Corridor, widely marketed as the first Indian entry in the genre (or more accurately, medium), was published in 2004, the response was mixed: fans were pleased that a start had finally been made, but it was widely felt that though Corridor was clever and good for belly-laughs, it didn't break new ground.

The drawings in particular were not of the high standards graphic-novel buffs have grown to expect in recent years: Banerjee seemed to be struggling to find the right balance between his writing and his artwork.

But with his second book, a much more substantial and nuanced work titled The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers, there's more to cheer about for aficionados. Inspired by the legend of the Wandering Jew, this is a sprawling story that covers many time-periods and places but is, for the most part, set in 18th century Calcutta "" a place of scandalous gossip, populated by a number of colourful types.

Banerjee does them all justice in a work that is a clear pointer to his artistic growth. The wit is still in place, but the illustrations are more assured: just flip through a few pages of Corridor and then do the same with a few pages of The Barn Owl's..., you'll be able to see the difference for yourself.

Last year, Banerjee and Anindya Roy co-founded Phantomville, a publishing house exclusively for comics. Their first publication was The Believers (drawings by Partha Sengupta, text by Abdul Sultan P.P.), a poignant but unspectacular story about a Muslim man returning from Edinburgh to the small Kerala town he grew up in and discovering that his older brother has become involved with a terrorist operation.

This was not much more than a moderately engrossing tale told in (moderately well-drawn) pictures. But with Phantomville's second publication, the bar has been raised.

Kashmir Pending, written by Naseer Ahmed and drawn by Saurabh Singh, is "" visually at least "" a more ambitious work than its predecessor. The most interesting thing about this book is that content takes a backseat to form "" which is a sign of progress, given that the Indian graphic novel is always in danger of becoming pedantic, attaching too much importance to depth of subject matter and message, and not enough to how that message is conveyed.

The story told in Kashmir Pending (about unrest in the Valley; about confused and easily manipulated youngsters becoming pawns in the hands of larger forces) does have contemporary relevance, with much to say about how it falls to individual conscience to end the cycle of violence in Kashmir "" but the real highlight of this book is Singh's artwork.

The highlights are the many stygian images of prisoners sitting in shadowy cells "" praying, passing cigarettes to each other, recounting their experiences, their sunken faces only half-visible, with the artist making very effective use of red and black.

The storyboarding too is more complex than it was in The Believers, with many panels making very effective use of cinematic devices such as cross-cutting, and gradual movement from long-shots to close-ups.

As Anindya Roy points out, the best graphic novels must attain a perfect balance between the written word and the visual, and this requires just the right synergy between writer and illustrator.

The number of writers and artists working on this format in India is still limited, but as the number increases we can expect the medium to build on the promise shown by these first few titles.

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The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers
Sarnath Banerjee
Penguin Books India
263 pages Rs 395

Kashmir Pending
Naseer Ahmed and Saurabh Singh
Phantomville
96 pages
Rs 300