Is the man tearing open the chest of the earth digging the well of his own destruction?
What if suddenly, before your eyes, multi-storey buildings, wonders of the world like the ‘Leaning Tower of Pisa’, and vehicles running on the roads sink underground without any bomb blast? What will happen when the huge oil refinery structure ‘Oil Ring’, standing in the middle of the ocean, disappears into the depths of the ocean in the blink of an eye, as if it had never existed?
Is this an attack by some foreign power, or is it some terrible revenge from the underworld hidden inside the earth?
Raj Comics‘ 106th special issue, ‘Bambi’, weaves a web of these exciting and mysterious questions before the reader. This comic, featuring the brilliant story and illustrations of Anupam Sinha, is a classic work for fans of Nagraj and Devi Shakti.
How is the story and concept of ‘Bambi’?
The basic story of the ‘Bambi’ comic is based on the conflict between environmental protection, the imbalance created by humans, and the existence of the underworld.
The story begins with an ‘Oil Ring’ (oil well) built with indigenous technology in the middle of the sea. For his selfishness and comfort, man is tearing open the chest of the earth and extracting mineral oil and precious metals. But due to this greed of humans, the inner layers of the earth are becoming hollow.
Suddenly, vibrations arise from under the sea, and the entire huge ‘Oil Ring’ disappears. Nagraj (as Raj) had come there to make a documentary for ‘Bharti Channel’, but seeing this devastation, he immediately comes into action. Nagraj, with the help of his wishful powers and snake net, saves the lives of the employees present there, but even the debris of the ‘Oil Ring’ disappears.
After this, strange events start happening all over the metropolis and the world. A pile of soil (‘Bambi’ or termite mound) rises from the ground, swallows buildings and vehicles inside it, and disappears. The story progresses so fast that the reader does not get a chance to stop even for a moment.
Unique combination of Nagraj and Shakti
The biggest attraction of this comic is the coming together of Nagraj and Mahanayak Shakti (Chanda/Mamata).
Initially, due to a misunderstanding, Shakti considers Nagraj the culprit, and a tremendous and exciting contest is seen between the two. Shakti creates problems for Nagraj with her ability to ‘melt and mold weapons’, while Nagraj competes with her using his agility and ‘wishful snake powers’.
When the misunderstanding between the two is resolved, they become companions rather than opponents of each other. The combination of the two while going into the depths of the underworld and fighting Takshak and his terrifying flying snakes makes the story more exciting.
Social message of environmental protection and human greed
‘Bambi’ is not just a battle between superheroes and villains, but it is also a severe blow to human greed.
In the last part of the story, when Nagraj meets Takshak, the king of the underworld, Takshak raises a very serious and urgent issue:
“Human beings have removed the binding of metals and minerals from the chest of the earth, causing landslides in the underworld and the loss of the lives of serpents.”
Takshak was pulling down the earth’s buildings and iron so that he could sew the earth’s torn chest back together. Here, writer Anupam Sinha has shown very beautifully how playing with the laws of nature can have dire consequences. The villain’s aim in the story was not to destroy the world, but to save his home.
Illustrations, dialogue and technical aspects
Story and illustrations: Anupam Sinha‘s work is fantastic. The scenes of the underworld, the terrifying serpents, the two-bodied (Dual Body) form of Takshak, and the undersea action scenes are shown in great detail.
Inking and Colors: Vitthal Kamble’s inking and Sunil Pandey’s color combination leave the classic impression of ’90s Raj Comics. The brightness of the lava in the underworld and the contrast of Nagraj’s green costume are spectacular.
Dialogues: The dialogues written under the editorship of Sunil Gupta and Manish Gupta are short, clear, and effective. Takshak’s serious and angry dialogues and Nagraj’s wise words bring the story to life.
Action Scenes: Nagraj’s compression of snakes to deliver oxygen to the lungs, firing rocks like missiles with a ‘serpent-slingshot’, and melting the metal over the lava pool with his power to give the Earth a new ‘metal network’ (Metal Core) are amazing and imaginative.
Final opinion
‘Bambi’ is one of those great stories from the golden era of Raj Comics that not only entertains but also makes readers think. This story shows that a true superhero not only fights enemies but also solves problems that benefit everyone.
When Shakti’s immense energy and Nagraj’s intelligence together resolve this dispute between the underworld and Earth, the reader gets complete satisfaction at the end of the story. If you are a die-hard fan of Nagraj and Shakti, then this comic must be in your library.
