First of all, Mumbai Confidential Book 1 “Good Cop, Bad Cop” hardcover from Archaia is now out in the wild! It is now available for purchase at Amazon, FlipKart (for India), ComiXology (digital edition for iOS, Android, Kindle and the Web), and your friendly neighborhood comic book stores. From May 21st, MC will also be available in bookstores nationwide.
MC was a labor of love for both Vivek and me. We set out to create the “best goddamn comic book” we could, and poured our heart into it. Now as I look back over the four long years it took to finally reach this stage, I can’t but feel a little bit proud of what we’ve achieved. We’ve managed to put out a book that is (for all intents and purposes) the first “Indian” crime-noir comic book. We couldn’t have done this without the support of our fans, friends and family. Industry veterans like Mike Carey, David Lloyd, and Bart Sears (to name a few) encouraged us with feedback and comments. I’m especially indebted to my mentor and friend Ron Marz for supporting the MC project with his kind attention and feedback from day one. (Ron also provided the foreword for the hardcover edition). Both Vivek and I would like to thank Gotham Chopra, Arnab Ray, Samit Basu, and Anupam Sinha for taking the time to write the forewords for the digital issues that ran from July 2012 to Feb 2013 on ComiXology.
A hearty round of thanks also goes out to Sid Kotian, Mohan Prabhu, Devaki Neogi, Saumin Patel, Shounak Jog, and Vinay Brahmania for doing the Mumbai Confidential interludes (backup shorts) that are also collected in the the hardcover volume.
Finally, the awesome team at our publisher Archaia – Mark Smiley, Mike Kennedy, Mel Caylo, Rebecca Taylor, and Scott Newman (also Howling Monkey Studios, that did the awesome casewrap and book design of the hardcover) – you folks rock! Big Time! 🙂
In many ways, MC was an experiment – an attempt at blending the universal sensibilities of noir with a fresh and unique setting (the genre born out of this fusion is sometimes referred to as “Mumbai Noir”). So it was a great kicker of a moment for both Vivek and me, when the acknowledged grandmaster of this genre – Anurag Kashyap invited us to meet him at Sundance 2013. He even tweeted about MC later.
On 14th May, 2013 MC debuted at #9 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases list for Graphic Novels/Mystery (rubbing shoulders with CRIMINAL, FATALE, FROM HELL and few other choice classics).
Here are some reviews from around the web:
- Matthew Rosenberg over at Forbidden Planet called MC “Equal parts Hong Kong action flick and crime noir comic” and “well worth your time.”
Money Quote:
I love a book that comes out of left field and just floors you. For me that was MUMBAI CONFIDENTIAL. A gritty cop story that doesn’t look like anything else on shelves, Mumbai Confidential is a stunningly good book.
[full review]
- Brett Schenker of Graphic Policy had this to say about MC
I found myself not just sucked in, but sucked in so much I had to complete it in one day. It’s look, characters and voice is something unique in the comic industry. Here’s hoping folks are willing to take a chance on this gem.
[full review]
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David Goodman of Geekadelphia called MC “flat out brilliant”, “a perfect example of noir storytelling in comics” and “an instant classic”.
Money quote:
I try not to throw the word “classic” around that much when I write my comic book reviews. Who can know what will stand the test of time and become a book that people will look back on and consider a defining work in graphic literature?
But this once, I have to make an exception.
Mumbai Confidential is flat out brilliant, an instant classic that when people want to read a perfect example of noir storytelling in comics, this is the book they will look for.
[full review]
About Mumbai Confidential
Mumbai Confidential is a creator owned crime-noir comic book series created by Saurav Mohapatra and Vivek Shinde. The “Digital First” edition is available on ComiXology and the print hardcover is available on Amazon and FlipKart, from Archaia. Please do follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter.
I speak with Brian LeTendre about the craft of writing, comic books, my influences and how I got my start among other things. There are some unscheduled detours into analyzing social upheavals using Computational Fluid Dynamics 🙂 and other weird stuff.
