topics: |  comic | india |

Rhea and Esha are investigative journalists at Cobrapost.  They are also
the names of the two daughters of Aniruddha Bahal, and this old-fashioned
comic book has its genesis in elder daughter Rhea once saying that their
dad didn't write anything for the young.

	
	Cover: Rhea taking on mastermind criminal "the Voice", 
	with her Krav Maga, deep inside a chattarpur farmhouse. 
	

Bahal is one of India's leading investigative journalists, who is known -
and feared - for his stings.  One of the founders of Tehelka, he
specialized in long-term infiltrations, getting people to trust him as a
corrupt agent, and to open up on hidden microphones and spy cameras.  

One of his big coups was bribing a number of high officials in the army and
defence ministry for a fictional company, "West end" (2001), and then to
have 11 MPs accept money for asking questions in parliament.  (Operation
Duryodhana, 2005 - Some of these questions were actually asked.)

He has earlier written a fiction work, Bunker 13 whose protagonist is also
an investigative reporter. 

This comic book format, to my mind, makes for refreshing reading.  Of
course, as in any Tintin tale, you have to operate in suspension of
disbelief.  And the urban elitist emphasis isn't quite socially "correct".

Cross-gender dressing, israeli martial art krav maga mixed in with kung fu,
a fascinating array of guns and gadgets (carefully listed at the end),
foreign spies disguised as ascetics, diplomats being abducted, afghan
ministers working for the taliban, and other farfetched stories very much
in the Tintin spirit.  Herge's art style is also a clear inspiration...

the story even incorporate two bumbling detectives, mimicing Thomson and
Thompson:

The book release fiasco

To top it all, in order to achieve a high-energy release, Cobrapost called
a mega press conference with sensational claims that they would be
releasing details of "Operation R--an year long Cobrapost investigation"
which claimed to have exposed the network of an international terrorist
group in India.

However, the prank did not sit well with many in the media, 
and there hasn't been that much buzz about this otherwise rather deserving
comic. 

But definitely worth a read.  For the child in you and your children and
those of others.

Excerpts

Rhea, cross-dressed as a man, escapes the two detectives:


Cameos many real characters, such as the news anchor Murkha Butt:


the head of Cobrapost in the story, Furniture-wala, looks 
distinctly like  Bahal:


The IB chief and his bald-headed cronies look like they may be known people,
but I can't put my finger on them. 



Even this glorious "gamma pehalwan rally has a distinctly Tintin-esque
(Picaros?) feel: 

(note: the Hindi font is very much Tintin in Tibet)



Meanwhile, the US commando team is disguised as the Hare Krishna : 

but the US commandos get caught up in a cross-fire with the Mossad strike
unit while the real action is happening at a different farmhouse.


In the end, the villains are caught thanks to the intrepid work
by Cobrapost reporters Rhea and her dad Braughman and boss
Furniturewala. 

 
And of course, the bungling Inspectors Sharma & Varma are recommended 
for a Prez Medal by Delhi Police Commissioner Huda Huda.



As is to be expected, the master criminal, "the Voice" - who works for ISI
- manages to escape.  The book contains a flyer for a sequel, the Berlin
Plot, where Rhea will be meeting him again.

Guns & Gadgets

* SPY CAM: Usually powered by a rechargeable lithium battery, can be
    controlled by a remote device. It may also have a slot for a micro SO
    flash memory card which will expand its recording capacity by several
    hours. In order to download the recorded video, it must be connected to a
    computer's USB port.

* HECKLER & KOCH MP-5: A submachine gun of German design, developed in the
    1960s, it uses 9mm ammo. There are over 1 00 variants of MP5.  This gun
    is in use by 40 nations, including in India by SPG, NSG and other law
    enforcement agencies.

* MICRO UZI: This compact fully automatic weapon is an evolution of the
    Israeli Uzi submachine gun. It has a high rate of fire and uses 9mm
    ammo. It is a favourite gun for conceal-carry and is only slightly bigger
    than a large handgun. Carries 20 rounds in magazine.

* AK-47 ASSAULT RIFLE: Even six decades after its introduction the AK and its
    variants remain the most popular assault rifles in the world because of
    their durability, low production cost, availability and ease of use. It
    has been manufactured in many countries and has been in service with both
    armed forces and rebels worldwide.  More AK-type rifles have been
    produced than all other assault rifles combined. It fires 7.62
    ammunition.

* COVERT LISTENING DEVICE: Commonly known as a bug or wire, it is a
    combination of a miniature radio transmitter and a microphone. The use of
    bugs, called bugging, is a common technique in surveillance and
    espionage. With the right equipment, it is possible to remotely activate
    the microphone of cell phones, even when a call is not being made, to
    listen to conversations in the vicinity.

* TRACKING CHARGER: A remote-sensing tracking charger consists of an
    electronic homing device used in conjunction with a participating signal
    transmitting device and uses an allocated radio frequency. When
    activated, and in the vicinity of the transmitting device, the homing
    device allows spying agencies to track whatever the transmitter is
    attached to.

* TOYOTA HILUX: 
    This is a vital insurgency war machine around the globe. With its
    combination of reliability, affordability and capacity, the barebones
    truck has been a favourite with rebel groups of various nationalities.
    Hilux has shown up in conflicts from Nicaragua, Rwanda, Somalia and
    Ethiopia to Afghanistan and Iraq.  In most war zones, the truck is used
    to deliver both weapons and troops over rough terrain. A .50 caliber
    weapon can be mounted on the bed.

* MP7-Submachine GUN :
    Manufactured by Heckler & Koch, it's chambered for the HK 4.6x30mm
    cartridge. It has been designed with the new cartridge to penetrate body
    armour more than current weapons can.  The·MP7 went into production in
    2001.  It's widely used by special forces of many countries.

* SIKORSKY UH-60 BLACK HAWK: A four-bladed, twin engine, medium-lift utility
	helicopter widely used by the United States Army for troop transport
	in various conflict zones including Afghanistan.  A large number of
	these operate from the Bazgram Airfield.  The same copters were used
	in Operation Osama Bin Laden.

* HUMVEE: The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), commonly
    known as the Humvee, is a four-wheel drive military automobile. It has
    largely supplanted the roles formerly served by smaller jeeps.  Primarily
    used by the United States military.

* BARAK SP-21 PISTOL: This Israeli handgun is flexible in functioning because
    of double action trigger and separated ambidextrous safety, which allow
    for cocked and locked carry. It has a polymer frame and accessory
    rail. It is a strong rival to such pistols as the Glock or Walther P99.

* GLOCK 17: In caliber 9 x 19 this is the most widely used pistol worldwide.
    It is reliable with a magazine capacity of 17 cartridges. Its low weight
    is because of a polymer body. Police forces in India are gradually giving
    up 9mm Browning in favour of this gun.

* M-16 RIFLE: Uses 5.6mm ammo. The rifle is adapted for semi-automatic and
    full-automatic fire.  In 1983 the M-16 rifle was modified for round
    bursts, with some later variants having all modes of fire. It has been
    the primary service rifle of the US armed forces.

Origins of the story

http://www.animationxpress.com/index.php/latest-news/i-always-wanted-to-have-a-female-protagonist-in-my-comic-book-says-cobraposts-aniruddha-bahal

“One day my daughter told me that I never write anything for young audiences,
something they can relate to. That’s how I thought of coming out with a comic
book. I started working on it three to four years ago and at that time I had
wanted to do it in a free align style. After writing the comic, I decided to
photograph some scenes for which we actually shot real models and the results
were very encouraging. Then I started looking out for the illustrator and
that’s how Neelabh clicked, who finally did the art work for this comic,”
revealed Aniruddha to AnimationXpress.com.

His inspiration for this comic is his two daughters. The comic book is named
after his elder daughter Rhea, while the looks of the character are very
similar to his younger daughter Esha.





http://scroll.in/article/707902/the-cobrapost-affair-a-woman-journalist-takes-on-both-crime-and-the-male-controlled-system


Cobrapost expose turns out to be marketing prank for a comic
February 17, 2015
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-02-17/news/59232317_1_website-cobrapost-comic-book-aniruddha-bahal

New Delhi: A much-hyped "biggest expose" of politicians, terrorists and
intelligence agencies by website Cobrapost turned out to be a hoax and
marketing prank for a Rs 199 comic book released by its editor Aniruddha
Bahal.

The hype around the press conference was generated after a sensational email
from Cobrapost claiming to release details of "Operation R--an year long
Cobrapost investigation" which claimed to have exposed the network of an
international terrorist group in India.

"Linked to the ISI and the Taliban, the group made a concerted effort to
kidnap foreign diplomats and nationals in India amidst other nefarious
activities. The group used the Delhi Golf Course as a hub for clandestine
meetings. CCTV footage even shows some of them having discussions while
playing golf," the invitation email had said.

Many senior reporters from national and international media, gathered at the
venue, sharp at 11.45 am, for the "sensational" expose to start but soon the
room was filled with smoke giving anticipation of a big "revelation" to
begin.

As the smoke settled down, the screen lit up with the front page of a comic
book "The adventures of Rhea The Cobrapost Affair", disappointing one and all
present.

Reporters expected more to come but to their disappointment Bahal apologised
to them saying it was nothing else but the launch of the comic book and that
he had pulled a "fast one".

The dejection among the journalists was palpable with a senior reporter
telling Bahal that next time no one will turn up on his invitations.

The twitter was also flooded with the spoof, with many criticising the
website for its "desperate measure" to get attention, "cheap publicity stunt"
and comparing it with shephard story who cried wolf. There were some who
lauded it as a "brilliant teaser campaign" by the web site.

Bahal apologised - "pulled a fast one" on the reporters saying "all of us
have a sense of humour and if we don't we need to develop one."

The comic book carries an apparently controversial reference to a senior
woman television anchor and reporter as it describes adventures of Cobrapost
reporter Rhea, which Bahal claimed was inspired by his daughter.