SYNOPSIS Indian Comic Strip Centre

Please check your grammar. As with most of the things, modern comics arrived in India later than the west (the comics arrived in the West? From where exactly?) . Around four decades ago, there wasnt much choice for the comic enthusiast. The only comics available were imported titles like Tintin, Asterix the Gaul, Archie and War Commando. Indian comics are comic books and graphic novels are predominantly associated with the

culture,

society and mythology that personify India. (please check the construction of the sentence)
India has a long tradition of comic readership. India has a long tradition of comic readership. Our comics often have large publication; however, the industry still remains immature compared to that of Japan, France and America. Due to widespread use of English language, Indian comics and graphic novels have been stylistically similar to western comics. The distribution of comics in India is more recent than the European, American and Japanese industries, but is nevertheless almost

60 years

old. (We have a long tradition of comic readership and yet our industry is immature compared to the
outside world? I think youll need to clarify that a little. The lifespan of an industry is not always proportional to its level or maturity.) The true change came in mid 60s when a national newspaper publication house The Times of India launched Indrajal Comics. This was the first serious effort to develop comic culture as these were well within the reach of masses and available at newsstands everywhere. Indrajal comics contained stories of King Features characters and were successful in making Phantom (the ghost who walks), Mandrake the Magician and Flash Gordon household names. It also went on to Publish Bahadur an Indian comic hero created by indigenous creators. (last bit is redundant)

The Glory Days-The success of Indrajal comics gave rise to another publication Amar Chitra Katha by Anant Pai. These comics focused on tales of historical figures and heroes in religious texts
of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and Christianity. These comics still continue and have proved so popular that it still influences Indian comic thinking till date. These Indian comic books showcase a power and significance, quite unique to the commercial comics worldwide. They make historical and mythological stories attractive and readable!

Till about the 1980s comics were either imported, publishing foreign characters, tales of historical
and mythical heroes or regular everyday-man strips. Nowhere was the eponymous Superhero to be found, until the advent of Raj comics in the mid 80s. Comics reached millions and millions during this time. But in 90s things began to go bust. With the emergence of cable television and animations, comics soon started to lose ground against them (I think the expression is to lose ground to someone). The first one to go was Indrajal comics on 16th April 1990 after nearly 27 years of publication. By the beginning of the new century many comics had either reduced their output or had gone out of business.

Despite the bleak scenario some comics did flourish in this decade by adapting themselves.
Amar Chitra Katha survived by offering tales of history and religious mythology in English, while Tinkle evolved its format, similar to Japanese tankobans but in color. Over the years Indian comics have really taken the high road, keeping at par (on par) with their western counterparts and the eastern(what? Please express yourself clearly). Virgin comics and Illustrated Orchids are two such companies that have helped to take Indian comics to an international level , not only financially but also opened up new streams for Indian artists in terms of animation and

web based projects (worldcomicsindia.com and comixindia.com are two successful web based projects) ,and thereby encouraging the industry heaps. Some Indian artists have also started independent foray into the world of graphic novels. Corridor by Sarnath Banerjee is such an example. The increasingly popular webcomic medium, which is mostly dedicated to short online comedy strips, has also been used by a small number of Indian artists or writers. Ok I think your timeline needs to be revised a little. I am not talking about the facts but the way you have presented it. Remember your synopsis is the introduction to your entire project. It must be absolutely crystal clear. My insistence on grammar and construction is for that reason alone. For someone who knows nothing about your topic, your synopsis is pretty much the only intro he or she will get. Now if your sentences are convoluted, how do you expect to get your ideas across?

So, whats the current scenario and the relevance of such a centre in the Indian comic industry? (what centre? You have not explained what youre setting out to do)
The 21st century has seen a growth of international comics to a great extent at an international level (the growth of international comics at an international level?? What the hell are you trying to say?). The growing popularity is unstoppable. As an initiative 2011, February saw the first ever Comic Con at Dilli Haat , which , apart from being a huge success, brought together thousands of comic fans, entrepreneurs , artists and publication houses, giving them a platform for new ventures for the future, collaborations with international publishing houses and saw the launch of an annual mega event for the comic industry. India currently has 27 functional publishing houses, located mainly at Delhi and Mumbai, apart from a few big ones like the India Book House having its base at more than one city. Additionally, according to a recent industry survey, the Indian animation industry, which is now pegged at US$550 million, is expected to grow at 30% annually in the next couple of years and reach US$15 billion by 2010. To meet both domestic and export demand, around 40 Indian companies are venturing into the 2-D and 3-D animation market. Indian entrepreneurs have set up state-of-the-art special effects studios in cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram to garner a major chunk of the global business. The Belgian Comic Strip Centre at Brussels was one of the first such centers to exhibit and educate comic fans on the long and rich history of the European comics, showcasing some of the originals of the artists and their styles of working. The centre also focuses on research of comics, for the future and houses a library exclusively for this purpose. This centre has seen an era of comic launches, interactive workshops with the artists themselves and also on several occasions conducted theater shows celebrating years of comic tradition in Europe. In the recent years many comic museums have started to develop in countries that have felt the need to acknowledge an era of tradition. Museum of comic and cartoon art at New York and Hangzhous China Comic and Animation Museum are a few to name. I am sure you can write better than this. Since you already have all the facts in place, why dont you spend a little more time making this actually presentable. As far as the site is concerned, the centre must be located in a city where the momentum of the industry is thriving and events like the COMIC CON INDIA are being initiated to keep the industry alive. Delhi, apart from being the capital, is home to some of the biggest comic book publishing houses in India like Diamond and Raj. Although Bangalore is the headquarter for the international collaborations , like Virgin and Orchard, Delhi suits the context for an Indian Comic Centre, in terms of Indian publishing houses and as a centre for research on Indian comics. OBJECTIVES

To address the lack of a space to exhibit the evolution of Indian comics and promote the ongoing trend of comics in the country and internationally. The social factor bringing together artists, comic fans and critiques under one roof, targeting development of new initiatives A complex with no age bar, a space dedicated to a visual experience.

Ok this obviously requires a lot more work. This just seems to be list of facts and badly ordered list at that. You have not even attempted to explain what you are trying to create. Just listing out a few objectives at the fag end is not enough. Ok you begin by giving a history of the comic scene in India and its relation to the scene abroad that part is fine (even if it needs to be more structured). Next, the present scenario in India well and good. What happens next? Where does your museum or centre or whatever it is you wish to create, where does that come into the picture? What exactly do you want to create and why? Remember this is a design thesis, not a research-oriented one. The whole point of the synopsis is to explain what you want to design How can you even call it a synopsis until you do that! Then you have to talk about the scope of your project, the methodology involved, the obvious limitations you will face So far this is only the intro to the intro, nothing more. Think harder about what you want to do. Then you will really begin to work towards your synopsis and eventually your actual design.