The only club in the country dedicated exclusively to COMICS finds its name in the Limca Book of Records

Whoever said that comics are only meant for kids? The comics club started by radio Jockey (and the singer of the Mumbai based band The Works), Mihir Joshi, in January 2004, has now found its name in the Limca Book of Records as the largest and one-of-its-kind comics club in India. Joshi says, "We just started our own website. And now we also have quite a few international members on our group. Many aspiring writers and comic artists have interacted through our group and got together to create many projects. So now the group has moved on to become a networking site." Most members of the group are comic enthusiasts. Joshi himself has a modest collection of around 100 graphic-comics and about 2000 comic books. "I also have many collectible editions. And I must have spent about two lakhs and more on comics in the past four years alone," he boasts.

The members of this group are constantly in touch with each other, discussing, reviewing new comics, the writers who created them and movies made on them. And for the newly joined members, there is a list of stores in the city where you can buy comics from. "We also try to get discounts for our members from many stores across the city for their purchases of comics," says Mihir.

Right now Mihir is working hard to spread awareness among the other members on how to take good care of comics. He says, "Internationally comics are great collectibles and comics in good condition can fetch enormous prices. It is important to treasure these comics. Abroad, comic books are sold in special plastic covers and come with a cardboard that will prevent you from folding them. In fact, I rarely open my comic books completely. I read them by separating the pages ever so slightly, and after reading them, I put them away safely. I am trying to encourage the members to get into the habit of taking good care of their books."

Riddhi Doshi/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication