ABSTRACT
This essay focuses on the revival of Tamil comics mainly through a community of ardent fans and/or collectors during the last four years, by analyzing the blog by S. Vijayan, https://lion-muthucomics.blogspot.com, presently the editor of Lion and Muthu Comics. His father M. Soudrapandian founded Muthu Comics in 1971 which revolutionized the circulation of comics in Tamil Nadu and among the Tamil-speaking population in India and abroad. Most of the stories published were translations of the popular European ones, and several characters like The Spider, Tex Willer, and Lucky Luke became familiar names in Tamil households, the most popular being Irumbukkai Mayaavi or Steel Claw. However with the advent and ubiquity of cable channels and video, 1980s saw a drastic fall in the circulation of Tamil comics. This essay analyzes Vijayan’s blog along with that of his peers to explicate how the internet and social networking sites have revived interest among fans leading to the reprints of old issues and the publication of new ones on a monthly basis from Vijayan’s Company in Sivakasi, a small town in South India.
