Syracuse Symposium hosts artist and storyteller Sharad Devarajan, creator of ‘Spider-Man India,’ Oct. 27

Syracuse Symposium hosts artist and storyteller Sharad Devarajan, creator of ‘Spider-Man India,’ Oct. 27October 20, 2005Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Sharad Devarajan ’97, founder and CEO of Gotham Entertainment Group, the Indian licensee of Marvel comics and leading publisher of comic books in South Asia, will speak at Syracuse University Oct. 27 as part of the Syracuse Symposium 2005: Borders, hosted by The College of Arts and Sciences at SU.

Devarajan will begin his presentation at 7:30 p.m. in Grant Auditorium. The event, which is co-sponsored by the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Office of Learning Communities, is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Irving Garage.

A 1997 graduate of SU’s College of Arts and Sciences and College of Visual and Performing Arts, with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and advertising design, Devarajan is one of the creators of “Spider-Man India,” released by Gotham in 2004. Devarajan describes the new narrative form as “transcreation,” where Western characters are recreated to reflect the local customs, culture and mythology of India.

Devarajan had internships at MTV and the Ford Modeling Agency, but an internship at DC Comics opened him up to the idea of marketing comics to youths in India. He and his partner began Gotham in 1997, while Devarajan was still a student at SU. The company currently has access to more than 10,000 character properties and more than 700 monthly comic book titles such as “Superman,” “Batman,” “Scooby-Doo,” “The Flintstones” and “Wonder Woman.” Gotham publishes numerous monthly magazines and a number of quarterly children’s books based on these characters.

The Syracuse Symposium is a semester-long intellectual and artistic festival-hosted by The College of Arts and Sciences at SU-that celebrates interdisciplinary thinking, imagination and creation. This year’s symposium includes lectures, performances, exhibits and other special events around the theme “Borders.” Throughout the semester, the University community will explore ways that borders-visible and invisible-impact humankind in profound ways socially, politically, culturally, artistically, intellectually and personally. For more information on symposium events,visit http://symposium.syr.edu.