Undoubtedly, we live in trying times: a war in Iraq, a tubing economy, energy woes left and right, and a crumbling spiritual infrastructure. Seeking consolation, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tracked down bestselling author and Virgin Comics’ Chief Visionary, Deepak Chopra, for words of wisdom. After recently duking it out with Guru Pitka of The Love Guru, Deepak goes toe-to-toe with happiness guru, J.P. “Gus” Godsey, author of “How to Be Happy Everyday”. It’s the mythological and spiritual teachings of the past versus ice cream trucks… what makes you happy?
To hear more from Deepak, be sure to visit our YouTube site for a series of interviews with Deepak about Virgin Comics and the exciting titles he’s helped create. We’ve provided a sample clip below. Enjoy!
Virgin Comics has teamed up with the nice folks over at the Comic Book Gazette — the Internet’s premiere comic book newspaper — to create a sweepstakes celebrating the recent release of two thrilling comic series: Deepak Chopra’s Beyond and Project: Kalki.
To enter, go to the contest site, sign up to receive newsletters from Virgin Comics and the Comic Book Gazette, and answer a trivia question based on the Beyond trailer. It’s really that simple. The five prize packs include Beyond #1($3), Project: Kalki #1 ($3), Ramayan 3392 AD Reloaded TPB ($15), Deepak Chopra Presents India Authentic Volume 1 and Volume 2 TPBs ($30), and Guy Ritchie’s Gamekeeper Volume 1 Hardcover ($30).
81 dollars in value. 5 engrossing comics. 3 minutes to enter. 0 reasons not to!
Adam McGovern of ComicCritique.blog may be in contention for Virgin Comics’ number one fan. This comics connoisseur recently posted an article describing his favorite Virgin Comics titles and how they have evolved the medium. Here’s what he had to say about some of our more recent titles:
BUDDHA is the ambitious adaptation of Chopra’s novel on the legendary holy man, and is one of the best comics being produced today. The eloquent script adaptation by Joshua Dysart encapsulates crystalline truths with zero smugness, and the otherworldly (and, by turns, all-too-worldly) art by Harshvardhan Kadam is a rare achievement of sensory wonder without empty spectacle.
BEYOND, conceived by Chopra, written by Ron Marz and drawn by Edison George, is a contemporary thriller with BOURNE-style suspense but a subtext of uneasy global-trade relationships between American industry and an India balanced between ancient spiritual understandings and emerging material opportunities. Chopra’s concept of a topical yet page-turning tale is as strong here as his soul & sorcery balance is in BUDDHA, and Marz’s ear for extraordinary tensions among everyday people is keen, with intricate yet energized art from George.
There’s a grand, depressive poetry to Arjun Gaind’s writing, and artist Vivek Shinde is set to join John Paul Leon and Paul Azaceta in the pantheon of meaningful, moody gloom. The book details the probable end of the world, but there’s now one more good reason to hope it doesn’t happen too soon.
DAN DARE may be the first fully Obama-era comic, with establishment believers fighting to restore competence and common sense from the feckless usurpers they look so much better than. People marvel at the restraint and honor of this comic given writer Garth Ennis’ often squalid oeuvre, but, after brilliantly cataloguing how bad we can be and how wrong things can go, he’s tackling the even tougher terrain of envisioning what just rule might look like.
To read the full article click here. Any of the above titles can be purchased online at our Virgin Comics store.
The New York Times best-selling author and spiritual thinker Deepak Chopra recently sat down with Cliff Biggers of Comic Shop News in an article posted on Newsarama. Deepak spoke about his involvement in the founding of Virgin Comics, how Buddha relates to superheroes, and the possibility of adapting his upcoming book Jesus: The Story of the Man Who Would be Christ as a comic book.
To read the full article go here. If you’d like to watch the trailer or read a free widescreen digital comic of Deepak Chopra’s Buddha click here. Issues 1-3 of Deepak Chopra’s Buddha are available now at comic shops everywhere and at our Virgin Comics store.
The first issue of Deepak Chopra’s Beyond has been summed up perfectly in Comics Bulletin’s 4-bullet review: “This is a great first issue of a new series — the characters and their personalities are introduced without being too heavy-handed, the dilemma of the plot is posed, the world is explored. Honestly, this feels like it might turn out to be some of Ron Marz’s best work. I am surprisingly pleased with this new series, and I’m actually looking forward to buying the second issue. That’s not something I can say very often with new comic series, unfortunately, so I’m always thrilled when it happens.”
The feedback on this issue has been so overwhelmingly positive from fans, reviewers and retailers alike that we’ve underestimated the demand and it’s been selling out in stores across the country! Since we’re only a few weeks away from Beyond #2 hitting comic shops on June 25th, we decided the fastest way to meet the increasing demand for this issue is to post the entire issue online FOR FREE on our MySpace page.
Beyond follows a brutal physical and spiritual journey of a desperate husband searches for his missing wife while on vacation in India, and is based on an original science fiction story by Deepak Chopra, and adapted by Ron Marz (Green Lantern, Witchblade, Samurai: Heaven & Hell) and illustrated by Edison George. You don’t want to miss this opportunity to get on board now with the story that Augie De Blieck Jr. at Comic Book Resources says “… piles on the mysteries at a breakneck pace, giving us exotic locales and beautiful art to keep our eyes excited.”
Who knew Enlightenment could be so divisive? Guru Pitka has been called a poor man’s Deepak, a sham, an impostor who makes a mockery of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, and most “isms” in general. Now, he is calling out Virgin Comics’ very own guru, Deepak Chopra, in an online popularity contest. Although we at Virgin Comics personally feel that Deepak and Pitka are really one in the same, both part of the absolute universe, we’d still like to know: Who do you love? Vote here.
In an interview with thequarterbin, acclaimed comics writer Ron Marz discusses his approach to adapting Deepak Chopra’s Beyond, a sci-fi thriller about an American businessman in India on a desperate – and interdimensional – search for his wife.
In addition to Ron’s groundbreaking work on Silver Surfer for Marvel, Green Lantern for DC, and Samurai: Heaven and Earth for Dark Horse, he has edited Devi, The Sadhu, and Ramayan Reloaded, and continues to be a major figure in the development of our Shakti line. Here’s an excerpt of what Ron had to say about his adaptation of Beyond:
And with BEYOND you’re adapting a Deepak Chopra story?
Yeah, it’s actually a screenplay Deepak wrote, so I’m translating the screenplay into the comic format. It’s really a matter of preserving as much as I can of what’s there, and deciding on what parts we’re going to trim back on a little bit to fit everything into the comic. For the most part we’ve been able to get all the main points in, it’s just some of the details that we don’t have room for in a 22-page comic. So far I’m really happy with the way it’s come out.
I’ve read through the advance copy and one of the things I was curious about was how much of your own style and voice are you able to put into BEYOND since it is an adaptation?
Truthfully, when I took on the gig I spoke to Gotham about it. Deepak is his dad, and I wanted to make sure that I was as faithful to the material as I could be. I said to Gotham, “Look, I feel like my job is to faithfully translate what your dad wrote.” Gotham’s viewpoint was to do what I had to do to make it work as a comic story. So I’m probably being more faithful to the material than even they expected me to be.
I’m bringing to it more of my visual style than I am the dialogue because I’m trying to preserve as much of Deepak’s dialogue as possible. That’s what my job is. I’m here to serve his story, not the other way around.
To read the rest of the interview click here. To jump into the suspenseful adventure of Deepak Chopra’s Beyond, go here.
Seattle-based indie rockers, Death Cab for Cutie, whose new album Narrow Stairs is currently sitting atop the Billboard charts at #1, was profiled in the May 18th issue of The New York Times. We were ecstatic to learn that guitarist/keyboardist/producer Chris Walla has become enamored by the teachings of the Buddha, so much so that it drove him to criminal behavior. Ok, maybe we’re exaggerating just a little bit…
The band was staying in a hotel, and instead of the usual Bible in a nightstand drawer, “there was a book of the teachings of the Buddha,” he said. “I started reading it, and I got really into it. I felt like I wanted to keep on reading it.” So he took it with him when he checked out and “read it cover to cover three times.” But unlike most of us who feel sheepish about things we have taken, as in stolen, Mr. Walla, 32, had a chance to do something about it. The day after the interview he was scheduled to meet the Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism.
Mr. Walla, we have a solution to help wipe your guilt away… pick up a copy of our comic book adaptation of Deepak Chopra’s New York Times best-selling novel, Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment! The first two issues are on sale now, and there’s even a free widescreen digital version of the first issue on www.virgincomics.com. We are also proud to unveil a brand new trailer for Buddha, featuring voice over from Deepak Chopra himself, and original music from Josh Allen of the Brooklyn band Meanwhiles (it’s a full-blown indie love-fest, kids!).
In honor of Death Cab’s incredible #1 record and the release of our Buddha trailer, we’re offering a $5 discount on any purchase of $10 or more at virgincomicsstore.com, with the code DEATHCAB. Offer expires on June 5th, so act fast!
While attending NYCC ‘08, Virgin Comics writer Saurav Mohapatra (Deepak Chopra’s India Authentic, Devi, Mumbai McGuffin), was approached by Luis Medina, a filmmaker shooting a documentary about the rising trend of diversity in comics. Check out the interview below that also features Virgin Comics Editor, Charlie Beckerman.
Be sure to also read this Squential Tart interview with Saurav as he discusses religion in comics and his upcoming projects.
If you haven’t already caught up with Ramayan Reloaded 3392 A.D., you can get the trade paperback at our online store now. Get on board this epic journey and be sure to check out CBR’s review of the book.
There’s a thematic undercurrent in the book, emphasizing transcendence. Emphasizing that some of these characters have not reached their full potential. And that’s what the hero’s quest is always about. Growing through experience. Finding the path.
“Ramayan 3392 Volume 2″ is accessible and intriguing, and the epic journey really does begin here. I hope it will continue for a long time.
