Through Leaping Windows, the online comic book library, fantasies find form and darkness reigns even as Shikari Shambu and Captain America keep watch around the corner
Through Leaping Windows, the online comic book library, fantasies find form and darkness reigns even as Shikari Shambu and Captain America keep watch around the corner
Leaping Windows online library (for comics, graphic novels and Manga) was launched about a year ago and, Ka-Pow! It instantly made an impact with avid comic-book-enthusiasts and superhero-buffs. But co-founder Bidisha Basu believes that with just 125 to 130 active members onboard so far, they've only started scraping the surface. Tracing her association with library-co-founders, Bidisha tells us that Koel Chatterjee has been a childhood-friend and a mutual friend introduced them to Utsa Shome, a comic-book-enthusiast. 
"I first came across Manga about four years ago when I was teaching English in a small town about 100 kms from the city of Tomioka (Japan)," the 31-year-old reveals, tracing the roots of her own fascination. Manga enthusiasts may be surprised to know that Bidisha's initiation came in the form of Tite Kubo's Bleach, a Shonen Manga, which means it's written expressly for 10 to 18-year-old male readers, rather than the Josei Manga category, which targets female teens and adults. Conceding that her own passion for Manga is relatively new, Bidisha happily admits, "Through our online community and the events we've organised and attended, we've noticed that so many people have nurtured a fondness for the genre for much longer."
Leaping Windows has been conducting Comic Meets and events routinely for six months now. At times they showcase the work of a graphic-artist at others, it's just a simple assembly of comic-book-enthusiasts. Recounting their very first event, a book auction, Bidisha says, "Any publication we had extra copies of went under the hammeru00a0-- like Neil Gaiman's Sandman series and George Mathen aka Appupen's Moonwardu00a0-- and a lot of people turned up. This is when I met people like Aalok Joshi, an avid-collector whose one-bedroom apartment houses his family, cats and as many as 8,000 comic books." 
Bidisha Basu and Utsa Shome, co-owners of Leaping Windows.
Pic/Shadab Khan
Pointing out that while the city's youth seem intrigued by Manga, older members tend to favour graphic novels, Bidisha muses, "Perhaps this is because Manga can be intimidating at first. Translated works that retain the original Japanese format, read from back to front with panels progressing from right to left on each page." Osamu Tezuka's 8-volume-long interpretation of the life of Buddha, "which reads like a normal book," is therefore Bidisha's prescription for a smooth transition.
But if Manga isn't your cup of tea, Leaping Windows also has a huge array of DC, Marvel, Vertigo comics, Amar Chitra Kathas, Archies, Tinkles and graphic novels you can pick from and they deliver to your doorstep (on the same day if you order before noon). With a collection that boasts of just about everything from Phantom and Captain America comics to graphic novels like Sarnath Banerjee's Corridor, Joe Sacco and Edward Said's Palestine and classics such as A Christmas Carol, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, the Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,500 charge for membership seems fair, considering many of these books cost over a thousand rupees. If you'd just like to wet your feet first, joining in a discussion on their Facebook page will cost you nothing more than your time.u00a0
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