Devi is the fictional character created by

Shekhar Kapur Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur (born 6 December 1945) is an Indian filmmaker and actor. Born into the Anand-Sahni family, Kapur is the recipient of several accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a National Film Award, a National Board of Review Award a ...

and

Virgin Comics Liquid Comics is an India, Indian comic book Publishers company, founded in 2006 as Virgin Comics LLC, which produced stories (many of which are Indian-culture related) for an international audience. The company was founded by Sir Richard Branson a ...

, as part of their debut Shakti line, which focuses on Indian settings. The character is loosely based upon the mythological figure

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

Plot summary

Devi was a celestial warrior goddess created by the gods to fight the renegade god Bala in the

2nd century The 2nd century is the period from 101 ( CI) through 200 ( CC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Early in the century, the Roman Empire attained its greatest ex ...

of man. When Bala rose again to threaten the universe, Devi was reborn within the body of a young woman named Tara Mehta. The Devi entity had emerged within a warrior-woman of the Durapasya (human warriors of light) clan. She had led the armies of the gods and men on an all-out assault on Bala's Fortress. After defeating Bala through hand-to-hand combat, which led to the fallen god being blinded, captured, and imprisoned by Bodha, the supreme Lord of creation inside Jwala, the fortress of fire and stone (hidden deep within the earth) she had created a source to hold the prayers of humanity and channel them to Aakashik, the story's representation of heaven, thus replenishing the powers of the other pure gods. The key to Bala's sarcophagus prison was entrusted to a creature of fire and stone called the Gatekeeper. In the present, a woman by the name of Tara Mehta, who is the unawakened Devi incarnate, lives a posh lifestyle alongside her boyfriend Iyam (who was the former favorite general of Bala during the ancient battle, and currently Sitapur's most notorious ganglord). He also owns “the Abyss” night club. An investigation by Inspector Rahul Singh, a functioning alcoholic of the Sitapur police who drinks alcohol in order to self-medicate an overactive supernatural ability, leads to pinpointing Iyam as a culprit. Meanwhile, Kratha, an Apsara - an assassin of heaven hired by Lord Bala using a woman named Amara Gaelle - goes to try to eliminate Tara Mehta before she becomes Devi. However, she is unsuccessful as the Durapasya kidnap and drug her before she can kill her target. Tara comes into contact with the first Devi who attempts to lead Tara on the road to rebirth as the Devi. Inspector Rahul Singh follows Iyam to a private meeting with Amara where he learns of the supposed assassination attempt. Iyam and Kratha come to a truce ending with Iyam paying Kratha double the amount of what she was paid by her previous master. Amara, Lord Bala's contact, kills 2 of Iyam's bodyguards who had captured Inspector Rahul thus freeing him and seemingly following her own agenda.

Characters

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

- A supernatural entity created by the gods to defeat their enemy, Lord Bala. * Lord Bala - An evil god bent on conquering heaven and subjugating man to his will. He feeds on the forced worship of his followers and he plans to stop the modern era version of the Devi and also to find the Source so as to gain its power. * Tara Mehta - A woman from the city of Sitapura who is said to become the next incarnation of Devi. * Rahul Singh - A cynical burnt out alcoholic police officer who, by a strange turn of events, finds himself as the sidekick of the current Devi incarnate, Tara Mehta. * Kratha - An

apsara An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, literat ...

assassin hired by Lord Bala to kill Tara Mehta. *Agantuk - A priest of the order of the Durapasya who advocates the "radical" idea of keeping the human host alive for the Devi entity. He is largely responsible for Tara's survival when the Devi entity manifests itself within her mind and body.

Issues

Issue #1 -

BHAIRAVI Bhairavi ( sa, भैरवी) is a Hindu goddess, described as one of the Mahāvidyas, the ten avatars of the mother goddess. She is the consort of Bhairava. Etymology The name ''Bhairavi'' means "terror" or "awe-inspiring". She is the ...

(Title meaning in English : The terrifying beauty) writer : Siddharth Kotian artist : Mukesh Singh The story of the original Devi and her battle against Bala and his hordes in the 2nd century of man. Issue #2 -

DWIJA Dvija (Sanskrit: द्विज) means "twice-born" in ancient Indian Sanskrit. The concept is premised on the belief that a person is first born physically and at a later date is born for a second time spiritually, usually when he undergoes the ...

(Title meaning in English : Twice born) writer : Siddharth Kotian artist : Mukesh Singh Return of Bala in modern times and introduction of Tara Mehta, the devi incarnate in the city of Sitapur Issue #3 - NAMAHA (Title meaning in English : Salutation) writer :

Samit Basu Samit Basu (born 14 December 1979) is an Indian novelist and filmmaker whose body of work includes science fiction, fantasy and superhero novels, children's books, graphic novels, short stories, and a Netflix film. His most recently published ...

artist : Mukesh Singh Tara is kidnapped by the Durapasya, a cult of devi worshippers who initiate her transformation. The

Apsara An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, literat ...

assassin Kratha arrives in

Sitapur Sitapur is a city and a municipal board in Sitapur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 90 kilometres north of state capital, Lucknow. The traditional origin for the name is said to be by the King Vikramāditya from Lord ...

to kill Tara Mehta Issue #4 - PRARAMBH (Title meaning in English : Beginning) writer :

artist : Mukesh Singh Tara is attacked by Kratha while still in trance and the priest

Agantuk ''Agantuk'' () is a 1991 Bengali language, Bengali-language Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. Notable for being Ray's last film, it was based on one of his own short stories, ''Atithi''. A joint Indo-F ...

whisks her away in the nick of time to Durapasya headquarters. Issue #5 - AAGAMAN (Title meaning in English : Arrival) writer :

artist : Mukesh Singh Tara's transformation into devi is complete, but as Kratha and Iyam storm the Durapasya temple, the human and the divine coexist in Tara. Issue #6 - SAMSARA (Title meaning in English : The world at large) writer :

artist : Aditya Chari Issue #7 - SANDEHA (Title meaning in English : Doubt) writer :

artist : Aditya Chari Issue #8 - AKS (Title meaning in English : Reflection) writer :

artist : Saumin Patel Issue #9 - YUDH (Title meaning in English : War) writer :

artist : Saumin Patel Battle royale between the forces of Durapasya and Bala's hordes begin. Issue #10 -

SAMVARA ''Samvara'' (''saṃvara'') is one of the '' tattva'' or the fundamental reality of the world as per the Jain philosophy. It means stoppage—the stoppage of the influx of the material karmas into the soul consciousness. The karmic process in ...

(Title meaning in English : The slaying) writer :

artist : Saumin Patel The battle between Tara and Bala. Issue #11 - ATEETA (Title meaning in English : The past) writer :

Saurav Mohapatra Saurav Mohapatra is a filmmaker and writer based out of San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco, California, USA. His comic book work includes the ''Devi (comics), Devi'' (#11 onwards), ''The Sadhu'' : "The Silent Ones (miniseries), The Silent One ...

artist(s) : Saumin Patel Siddharth Kotian

Edison George Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

An enigmatic supernatural being is drawn towards the new DEVI and we get glimpses of Tara, Rahul and Kratha's past through his eyes. Issue #12 - AHWAAN (Title meaning in English : The call) writer :

artist(s) : Saumin Patel Tara learns to control her DEVI powers to some degree and fights a dreaded mob boss who is trying to gain control of the Sitapur underworld. Issue #13 writer :

artist(s) : Saumin Patel Tara and Kratha clash as the White Horseman manifests in Rahul's body declaring his intention to kill the DEVI, who he considers an abomination. Issue #14,15 & 16 These have been released. Please update the review of the same.

Reception

Critical response to Devi has generally been positive, especially towards the artwork, which has drawn almost unanimous praise. The first two issues drew some criticism for lack of world development and cliché dialogue, but reviewers found these issues were resolved in Devi #3. In terms of sales, Devi is the most popular comic of the Shakti line.

Credits

Issues #1-#2 written by Siddharth Kotain, art and cover by Mukesh Singh, and colours by J Nanjan. Issues #3-#10 were written by

. Issue #11 onwards are written by

. Acclaimed creator

Ron Marz Ron Marz (born November 17, 1965) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on titles such as ''Batman/Aliens'', ''DC vs. Marvel'', ''Green Lantern'', ''Silver Surfer'', and ''Witchblade''. Career Marz is known for his work on ''Silv ...

has signed on as story consultant and editor for the series.

Collections

The series is being collected as

trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...

: *Volume 1 (collects #1-5, 144 pages, June 2007, ) *Volume 2 (collects #6-10, 144 pages, October 2007, ) *Volume 3 (collects #10-15, 144 pages, January 2008, ) *Volume 4 (collects #16-20, 144 pages, July 2008, )

References

External links

How Deepak Chopra's Virgin Comics is changing comic book industry
Silver Bullet Comic Books, August 29, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Devi (Comic) 2006 comics debuts Comics by Saurav Mohapatra Fictional Indian people Virgin Comics characters Comics characters introduced in 2006 Female characters in comics Comics about women