Like all epic tales, Virgin Comics' Devi is a saga that deals with the vanquishing of evil by good; where Shakti, or the combined powers of the pantheon of gods is placed in a mortal woman, Devi, to vanquish an evil god called Bala.

Though the message of this graphic novel, on the surface, may seem simple, yet there is a deeper undertone to the series. It deals with the evilness of absolute power and the impotency of love and compassion.

Unlike Sadhu, which had a heavy philosophical karmic hue to it, Devi, on the other hand, leans heavily towards the Kill Bill style action-packed storyline with Apsaras thrown in to sweeten a fast paced deal, somewhat superficial and no different from a regular Tarantino movie.

The graphics, being the product of Virgin Comics, are visually rich and pleasing to the soul of any graphic novel lover. The Dark Lord Bala is so enthralling in his sinister appearance that despite being vanquished by Devi in the early pages of the novel, he leaves a resonating impression in the minds of the readers.

Devi, on the other hand, despite her legions of pony-tailed brahmans. fails to impress us with her presence in the first issue. She seems to be lackluster and in many ways can even be likened to Supergirl in her characterization, which is not surprising since the artist himself, Mukesh Singh, mentions Superman being one of his artistic inspirations.

There also seems to be some influence from the cinematic representation of Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings in terms of the evil ambience of Lord Bala’s Fortress reminding one of the fiery pits of Mordor and his main general Iyam looking like an evil version of Aragon.

All these apparent similarities makes one wonder how short is the creative leash on which Shekhar Kapoor’s cabal operates.

Even though one can and does come to terms with Devi being a hazy reflection of Durga yet these abysmal borrowings from Hollywood, pulp comic fiction, and feminist rhetoric clearly makes one wonder whether Indian creative artists can come up with original content.

Compared to Sadhu, the earlier title from Virgin Comics, Devi thus far has failed to hold my interest but I am still willing to give it some grace marks due to the beautiful mesmerizing graphics.