57th b'day gift: A graphic novel 'Steve Jobs/Genius by Design'

He’s been celebrated, criticised, accused and honoured — Apple guru, the late Steve Jobs, never had it easy. However, he definitely left his indelible mark in the world of technology. February 24 would have been his 57th birthday and Rajat Malhotra, content and marketing manager and Andrew Dodd, marketing consultant, Campfire Novels, decided to do something to make Jobs’ memory stronger — by publishing a graphic novel on him, Steve Jobs/Genius by Design.

When and how was this tribute to Steve Jobs conceptualised?
We were looking to create a biography of Steve Jobs right after his death, in order to give a tribute to the legend. After finalising the script, it took us some months to complete its artwork and we decided to showcase the first 30 pages (digitally) on his birthday on February 24.
 
Which part of Jobs’ life is in this graphic novel?
Our graphic novel talks about his early life and education, his career with Apple Computer, NeXT Computer, Pixar and Disney, his association with Apple and his personal life (also available on any public domain) and his health issues.

A digital graphic novel befits a man of his stature. Agree?
Yes, totally. We all know that Jobs was a technical genius and he showed the world how technology can play a significant role in everyone’s life. So, reading this graphic novel on digital devices like the iPad, iPod touch, Blackberry, Android, PC/ Mac etc will be an experience in itself.

Is there going to be any content collaboration with Apple?
No, there isn’t any collaboration with Apple, as we are not highlighting any such content in the graphic novel that is too personal or isn’t available on the public domain. The graphic novel has been created solely as a tribute.

How do you place this effort as against the success of his biography?
The two can’t be compared at all as they belong to different genres. Also, the biography was more personal, as it involved the legend himself. However, Campfire’s biography is more objective and is aimed at offering the information that we gathered from the Internet and other external resources.

What is the future of graphic novels in India?
The comic book industry in India will go from strength to strength in the coming years. And I truly believe it will, if the publishers and creators work together in a spirit of healthy competition and cooperation.

Campfire has been working in this genre successfully. How do you decide on your stories?
Thus far, we have released six graphic novels in this genre, including the biographies of Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela, Leonardo Da Vinci and The Wright Brothers and have received tremendous response. There is a process involved in selecting the titles, where we consider the demand of the subject and how appealing it will be. We are also looking forward to expanding our catalogue.