SUPER COMMANDO DHRUVA:
Another differentiating factor was the artwork which showed all the
The Star that saved the Hindi Comics Industry
What do you get when you cross Batman with Robin, add bright colours and
a host of supporting cast that ranges from Half Machines to Intelligent
Apes? You get Super Commando Dhruva, the immovable pole star who
salvaged the Hindi Comic Industry. The story of Dhruva can be divided into
3 stages – (1) Formative Years (2) Superstar Years and (3) The Saviour years
FORMATIVE YEARS (1987 to 1990, Pratisodh ki Jwala to Ek Din ki Maut)
The Hindi Comic Market scenario of the 1980s was highly competitive. The
heroes without superpowers were taken as B-Grade heroes (famous among
them were Ram-Rahim, Inspector Manoj, Krukbond et al). In those times, the
creation of a hero by Anupam Sinha with no superpowers who was a biker
cum detective cum city-protector cum martial arts was at best seen as
another just B- grade hero. Many readers avoided following his comics as
they thought that who would also fade out just like the others or at best
remain a B-grade hero. The differentiating factor was that this hero had an
incredibly brilliant brain that enabled him to take on the most powerful
villains and defeat them by using the nearby available materials and strong
will power.
But the most favorable factor that worked in favour of Super Commando
Dhruva was that the stories were just brilliant for the 80s kids. His origin
story (Pratisodh ki Jwala) was a gut wrenching story of death, destruction
and revenge and there are people who now remember it panel by panel. It
set the tone of a hero full of determination, wit and as immovable as the Pole
Star (Dhruva Tara) in his mission against criminals.
In the next comic (Roman Hatyara), he established the Commando Force
that consisted of 3 dedicated youngsters – Peter, Renu and Karim. In
keeping with the popular theme of Communal Harmony in those days – One
Christian, One Hindu and a lady & the last one a Muslim. In his early
comics, except the Adamkhor series (Adamkhoron ka Swarg and Swarg ki
Tabahi), the stories were self contained in just one comic of 32 pages.
That Anupam Sinha created mystery, suspense and emotion in those 32
pages is his huge credit. However more than that, for the cash starved kids
of the 80s and 90s, a self contained comic was a huge attraction as it means
that if they failed to get the next comic, they will not miss out a part of the
bigger story. This creation of a story arc extending over 4-5 comics was one
of the reasons for the failure of Tulsi Comics (Raj Comic’s closest rival).
characters with strong muscles and bulging biceps. It seemed to exist in a
world where everyone was a bodybuilder which at times was ridiculed by
many readers.
Slowly and slowly (from 1987 to 1992), he gained the 2nd position in Raj
comics just behind the most popular Nagraj. Some of his most popular
comics were Swarg ki Tabahi (where he dealt with a Monster from the
oceans), Barf ki Chita (where he met his Yeti friend Jingaloo who later
becomes his one of his closest friends) and Ruhon ka Sikanza (where he
exposed a Tantrik who claimed to have supernatural powers).
Then came the path breaking “Mahamanav” where he defeated a human
who was as advanced to him as a human is to a monkey. This launched him
on the path of stardom and he was finally taken seriously as a hero by an
amazed audience. Vodo (which was the first actual comic with magic) and
Mujhe Maut Chahiye ( where he fought with an immortal man) pleased the
audience who were angry with Anupam Sinha when he belittled magic and
fantasy in the earlier Ruhon ka Sikanza. Another path breaking comic was
Urantashtari ke Bandhak that pitted Dhruva against a future civilization.
Since Anupam Sinha was doing all the stories and artwork by himself, the
stories and art were coherent unlike for Nagraj . This coherency was a huge
attraction for the regular readers unlike other heroes where different writers
often contradicted the stories of the same comic hero.
In 1990, Nagraj achieved superstardom with the cult classic- Ichadhari
Nagraj by Tarun Kumar Wahi. However the same year also started the
decline of Nagraj with the era of Special Editions.
SUPERSTAR YEARS (1990 to 1993, GM Robo to Robo ka Pratisoodh)
The age of Special Editions started with Nagraj and Super Commando Dhruv
in 1990 written by Sanjay Gupta which was the 1st time the 2 most popular
heroes were together but the storyline was disgusting (to say the least).
What could have been the most epic comic in the history of Raj Comics was
made into a disaster of epic proportions. In the same set, the first Special
Edition of Dhruv was Grand Master Robo which was again a Milestone, with
a heady mix of action, emotion, drama, tragedy, betrayal and above all a
shocking end. It was this comic that started the superstardom of Dhruv and
decline of Nagraj.
The 2nd teamup between the 2 bigshoots was Nagraj and Bugaku where
Dhruva was shown as the most incompetent hero and needed to be saved
by Nagraj from petty villains. While the Dhruva Fans were put off, Raj
Comics made amends for it by removing these 2 comics from Dhruva
continuity. Around that time Raj comics launched 4 heroes in one go- Doga
which was a roaring success, Bhokaal and Parmanu which were moderate
success and Ashwaraj which was a complete disaster. In a last ditch attempt
to save Ashwaraj, Dhruva made a crossover appearance in a comic of
Ashwaraj (called Mar gaya Ashwaraj) but they could not save Ashwaraj. It
was the first crossover in a 32 page comic but why Dhruva was not put on
the cover page is anybody’s guess.
While Nagraj continued to decline, Anupam Sinha kept working with newer
and colourful villians for Dhruva. More than establishing him as a numero-
uno hero, these comics added a list of powerful and colourful cast of allies
and villains. In the earlier comics, he had a rather dry cast that consisted of
normal people like Chandika and the Commando Force. The 7 cult classics
(also called Visheshank Mahagatha) of Dhruva enabled him to overtake
Nagraj in popularity. They were
1) Grand Master Robo that finally bought Robo face to face with Dhruva
after teasing him twice earlier (in Maut ka Olympic and Ek Din ki Maut). The
twist in the last panel was mind blowing. It also introduced Natasha as
Dhruva’s love interest and Dhananjay as Dhruva’s most reliable friend
(Villain: Robo/ Allies: Natasha, Dhananjay)
2) Awaz ki Tabahi that introduced a villainous scientist who used the
powers of ultrasonic sound (Dhwaniraj) (Villain: Dhwaniraj/ Allies: NA)
3) Khooni Khilone that introduced a villainous scientist who can convert
any toy to a monster (Bauna Vaman). This bought out the Commando Force
from a long hibernation and was loved by the readers. (Villain: Bauna
Vaman/ Allies: NA)
4) Kirigi ka Kahar that introduced a villainous wizard that used the powers
of dark magic (Tantrik Chandakaal). (Villain: Chandakaal / Allies: Kirigi,
Jingaloo from the earlier Baraf ki Chita)
5) Chumba ka Chakravyuh that introduced a villainous scientist who used
the powers of irons and magnets (Samrat Chumba). This comic saw the love
of Dhruva and Natasha bloom as Dhruva races a Train to impress her.
(Villain: Chumba / Allies: NA)
6) Doctor Virus that introduced a villainous scientist who used the powers
of microbes. It also introduced Baraf Manav as Dhruva’s friend. (Villain: Doc.
Virus / Allies: Van Putra from the earlier Vinash ke Vriksh, Baraf Manav) and
7) Samri ki Jwala that bought back both Mahamanav and Chandakaal.
(Villain: NA / Allies: Samri and Jwalalok)
No other hero was able to give such consistent hits. The normal comics in
that period were also immensely popular like Champion Killer (the only
villain who beat Dhruva in a hand to hand combat) and Vinsah ke Vriksh
(where Dhruva made a lifelong ally called Van Putra)
In the now epic Black Cat (and its sequel Robo ka Pratisoodh), a lady anti-
hero called Richa was introduced which was the exact copy of Blackcat in
the Batman comics. She was a thief, had no morals and loved Dhruva. It
established the love triangle of Dhruva was established as Richa was
established as a rival of Natasha (the daughter of Grand Master Robo and
Dhruva first love interest) when she didn’t kill Dhruva despite having the
chance.
She wanted to kill Robo, Natasha was willing to do anything to save her
father, while Dhruva wanted to arrest Robo and put him on trial: this set up
an tension filled Love Traingle. Some fans argue that if Raj Comics had
established a similar love triangle between Nagraj, Visharpi and Saudangi,
the teenager readers would have been impressed who had started reading
Nagraj when they were still children. Sadly, Saudangi is a character who was
never fleshed out in the pre-Dark Age comics.
The most important factor working in favour of Dhruv was an impressive
supporting cast that included Chandika, Commando Force, Natasha,
Jingalu, Van Putra et al. Also the love triangle between Dhruv, Natasha and
Blackcat was the icing on the cake that attracted many readers who wanted
their handsome heroes to have some romance.
 SUPERSTAR YEARS (1993 to 1995, Aatma ke Chor to Hatyara Kaun)

With Nagraj declining and the Hindi comics industry facing stiff competition
from video games, Dhruva was giving good quality comics. By the time, the
Dark Age of Hindi Comics (1997 to 2003) came, he was the sole hero whose
comics people would buy for they knew that Dhruva wouldn't disappoint.
His comics were consistently selling good and another significant comic of
that time was Suprema (a lady villain who was a lady version of Robo). It
was a joke in those days whenever you want a good comic of Dhruva, make
him fight his father-in-law (Robo).

While other heroes went into oblivion, Tulsi and Manoj Comics went kaput
while Raj Comics stopped publishing Ashwaraj, Gojo, Tilsmdev and many
other series. The head honchos of Raj Comics were worried for they saw
Nagraj going kaput. So they came up with a simple solution- let the creator
of Dhruv become the writer of Nagraj. Thus ANUPAM SINHA came into the
picture for both the Super Heroes. This was one masterstroke that saved the
Hindi Comics Industry.

In the meantime, 2 epic comics of Dhruva with non-linear storylines came –

Maine Mara Dhriva KO and Hatyara Kaun. It was the first time that a single
story was carried in 2 Special Editions of 64 pages each. In these comics,
Dhruva was shown dead and the above mentioned villains kept claiming that
it was they who killed him. There was a huge rumour that since Anupam
Sinha was doing stories for Nagraj, Dhruva was being killed off. People
wrote letters to Raj Comics demanding to know if Dhruva was being killed
off before the publication of Hatyara Kaun. It reminded me of the suspense
created by Nagraj ke Dushman, 5 years ago. It came as a huge relief to
Dhruva fans when they realized that it was trick played by Dhananjay and
Dhruva was alive.

The heads of Raj Comics saw that it was only Dhruva comics that were
earning them their bread and butter in the struggling years of 1995 to 1997.
Then Anupam Sinha played a master stroke and bought out “ Rajnagar ki
Tabahi” where his two most popular heroes Nagraj and Super Commando
Dhruva squared off against each other. It was in the main continuity of both
heroes and from there, Nagraj’s ship was stabilized. Dhruva had another
crossover in the period – the multi starrer called Bheriya ki Khoj and unlike
Ashwaraj, Bheriya’s career was saved. When the revival began in 2003,
Dhruva had saved the day with his amazing storylines and impressive cast.
But Anupam Sinha did one mistake and that was that he made Nagraj more
popular than Dhruva as people were more impressed with the magical world
of Nagraj rather the scientific logic of Dhruva. Today Dhruva stands 2nd in
the hierarchy much like Batman behind Superman.