Comic greats Stan Lee and Grant Morrison together with Indian-American author and wellness guru Deepak Chopra have partnered with publisher Graphic India to bring out digital comics to raise money for charities in India.
Under the partnership, comics written by Mr Lee, Mr Morrison and Mr Chopra are being offered exclusively as a package on Humble Bundle, a pay-what-you-want program that works with publishers to offer huge collections of comics in one go.
The deal includes a global exclusive release of the first chapter of the superhero comic book “Avatarex”, a sequel to the epic Mahabarata set in modern India by Mr Morrison, who has authored bestsellers like “Batman”.
The announcement was made by the writer on Thursday at the ongoing Comic-Con event at San Diego.
“Avatarex” is the first digital venture by Mr Morrison, whose retelling of the Mahabharata in comic book format “18 days” with illustrations by Mukesh Singh was published in 2010.
Publishers describe Avatarex as an epic world where “living myth collides with the mundane realities and cultural upheavals of contemporary India.”
“At a time when I feel I’ve said about as much as I have to say about the American superhero, this is an opportunity to re-imagine the entire concept through a different cultural lens,” Mr Morrison said in a statement.
“Avatarex is the first digital only comic I’ve written and I’m excited by the opportunity to create for a more accessible global platform,” he said.
Mr Morrrison’s new comic will feature a new 6 page chapter digitally every two weeks.
Meanwhile Stan Lee, the comic legend who co-created “Spider-Man”, “Iron-Man” and “The Avengers”, will join the promotion with “Chakra The Invincible”, featuring Mr Lee’s first Indian superhero creation, which will be released as a digital E-book in the bundle.
“I’m thrilled to be working with my friends at Graphic India for the exclusive digital comic launch of my action-packed, thrill-a-minute, Indian superhero, Chakra The Invincible on Humble Bundle, while also supporting two great charities,” he said.
Author Deepak Chopra’s e-book comic series, “Buddha: A Tale of Enlightenment” is also in the bundle.
Proceeds of the sale would go towards raising money for charites, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and Worldreader.
“I believe that educated young children are our world’s best hope for the future and I’m very proud … to assist those in greatest need and perhaps help inspire the doctors, artists, and leaders of tomorrow,” Mr Morrison said.
Sharad Devarajan, Co-Founder and CEO of Graphic India said, “Humble Bundle is the perfect partner to help us launch these exciting e-books… bringing together audiences from east and west and more importantly, bringing attention for two great charities.”
In addition, other books like “Ramayan 3392AD”, “Myths of India”, “The Mighty Yeti” and “Grant Morrison’s 18 Days” priced at $200 would be available for $15 as part of the charity raising event.
The “Tales of India featuring Grant Morrison and Stan Lee” runs for two weeks on Humble Bundle and ends on July 23.