Now, graphic novels go green

Kids have something to look forward to with the comic series titled Second Nature, features various animals having anthropomorphic forms and at the same time showcasing an awareness of the environment. The series will be part of a new science magazine called Brainwave, by ACK (Amar Chitra Katha), described as an anti-textbook for kids.

The story is set in a beautiful wetland called the Banyan Lagoon. Halant Kingania, a Kingfisher, is the villain of the story. He is a brash, rich tycoon who’s always scheming to become rich by destroying the lagoon. He likes to be called Hal King.

Aniruddha Sen Gupta, who has written and conceptualised the series,  calls the comic a satire on the current environment situation and human consumption patterns.

Hilsa, a female fish, and Billoo, a smooth-coated otter are the two main protagonist in the story, who always shatter Hal King’s devious schemes. “Hilsa teaches at a school of fish. She’s eager to change things for the better. Billoo, an outsider, trying to find his place in the swamp, becomes prey to the ultimate ‘forbidden love’ when he falls in love with a fish, otherwise his preferred food,” says Aniruddha.

Adults will be able to relate and laugh along with the story too. Aniruddha says, “The Banyan Lagoon is a metaphor for the world itself. The characters one meets here are from all over the globe.

The same power structure that one sees at the global level is replicated at regional, national and local levels, and here at the locality level.”