Comics' publishers, once lamenting dropping sales as youth turn to the web and other media for amusement, are now smiling all the way to the bank after offering up their works on handsets to magnetize the generation on the move.

According to industry estimations, two major comics publishers including Amar Chitra Katha and Raj Comics are between them making Rs 500,000 to Rs 700,000 on a monthly basis from m-comics and with a third player, Diamond Comics, set to join the fray, the figure can only climb higher.

Rushabh Sanghvi, marketing head of Amar Chitra Katha said, "After attaining unmatched reach in all corners of India, we could not stay away from launching m-comics as that's the future."

They, in reality, were the first to introduce m-comics in India last January.

Several service providers including Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Docomo, Idea and BSNL have developed m-comics platforms, some using Java-based applications which have to be first downloaded to the mobile before the comics can be viewed. Others are using Multi-Media Messaging and WAP subscriptions to deliver the comic strips.

Compatible with all GPRS or WEP-enabled handsets, customers are charged Rs. 10-25 per week for 10 or more for the comic strips, depending on the service provider. And, with the launch by private operators of 3G services in September, the quality of the content is bound to improve.

Raj Comics is another big name in the industry. Since its inception in 1984, it has created some of the most popular characters like "Nagraj" and "Super Commando Dhruv".

According to Sanjay Gupta, studio head of Raj Comics, it unveiled m-comics seven months back as sales remained weak and youth were found to be distancing themselves from comics and turning to the internet for recreation.

Diamond Comics is now planning to enter the fray.

Gulshan Rai, managing director of Diamond Comics, said, "The world is turning high-tech and so are we. If we want to reach everybody, we have to be everywhere. We are already leading in print. And we now are in the process of launching m-comics also." (With Inputs from Agencies)