Dr Ajax : Further Adventures

I completed the Dr Ajax series and found all the stories compelling and distinctive adventures in themselves. Since I read Army of Bees first, the first book(Crocodile Man) came later in my sequence but it didn't really affect anything majorly. The stories stand good one shots, and it is interesting that all 4 books have a different artists, it gives a different visual mood each time while the central elements remain constant.

Crocodile Man(Anniswans, Ishan, Surojit)
This story continues the fast-paced writing of this series. Apart from the good overall arc of the case, there were some bits that really struck a chord with me….Ajax’ theory of all fun being away from office, his mind going off when its needed the most then suddenly coming useful in a crucial moment, the cleverly written parts between him and Jack, the supercool anticlimax, and the post conclusion bits really make this a very intriguing series. The way science and real facts are interspersed within a fictional detective story just elevates the whole experience to realistic levels without losing on the fun.

The Invisible Man(Anniswans, Ishan, Hemant)

Scientifically the best story of the series, this one is high on the science aspect. The panels are experimental which lends a unique visual appeal. The story starts with a bang quite literally as we delve into a crazy scientist and his experiments with invisibility. Some well detailed bits about animal camouflaging follow the team as a precious stone gets stolen. Some hilarious witness outtakes follow("like that predator movie"!). The team cracks the mystery in a satisfying finale, and ends with a cool cliffhanger. 



The Hostage Story(Anniswans, Rahul)
This story revolves around the kidnapping of a financial fraud convict as Ajax and his Nano Force are called in for help. We get to some thrilling times as Mark & Monica struggle to put Ajax' ideas to action, overcoming every obstacle and thinking on their feet.

Dr Ajax Army of Bees: An Indian Detective with Nano Force

One of the many takeaways from Bangalore Comic Con was discovering cool new Indian comics and a whole new group of independent comic book artists and writers that deserve a wider audience. Dr Ajax is a series by Pipedream Labs, written by Anniswans, and illustrated by a group of artists like Devaki Neogi Kiran. There are 4 books out now. which are all standalone one shots in themselves. The genre is detective thrillers peppered with slight doses of science trivia and humor.



Now to talk about the first book I read, Army of Bees. The title has a nice rhythm to it, and some great cover art pulled me in right away. The book opens to a no-nonsense good old bank robbery, only involving animals instead of your standard edition Reservoir Dogs. The panels are neat and maintain the tension through the action sequences. There is a nice transition to the humorous 'team' elements where one meets the companions of Dr Ajax - Simantini(aide and sometimes adversary in his schemes and countless theories and hypotheses) and Mark & Monica(the miniature/nano results of a personality modifier experiment gone wrong). There is a fine balance between the dialog and art as we move through this particular mystery. Dr Ajax and Simantini are engaging in their petty arguments and remind one of the deductive banter between Holmes and Dr Watson.

The book goes further into some cool science lessons where you explore the central theme of how an attack can be planned using sound frequencies as a force and humans/bees/animals as the medium. There is good arc to how Dr Ajax applies his suspicions to the case which I can't give away for sake of surprise to reach a conclusion and this unlikely team combines concepts of human sciences, physics and nano force and unravel the mystery behind the Army of Bees.

Engaging,original and laudable outing for a comic book set in a neutral universe. I am excited to catch up on the next editions in the adventures of Dr Ajax and his mad team.