New Delhi, Feb 23 (PTI): A non-profit initiative, 'The Comic Book Trust of India', has been launched to document, recognise, and strengthen the comic book medium in the country, Comic Con India founder Jatin Varma announced on Monday.

With an initial corpus of Rs one crore pledged by Varma from his personal earnings, the Trust plans to enhance infrastructure, champion critical engagement, support professional growth for creators, and ensure sustained institutional backing for India's comic book sector.

"Indian comics have always had extraordinary creative energy, but creators often build in isolation, without long-term support systems. The Trust is my way of helping create that missing infrastructure, one that values craft, continuity, and cultural relevance.

"This is not about scale or spectacle, but about giving Indian comics the seriousness, respect, and institutional backing they deserve," Varma, who made his exit from Comic Con India last year, said in a statement.

Varma will serve as the chief trustee, with Sonal Varma joining him as trustee. The advisory council includes Ashish Kulkarni, chairman of FICCI's animation, visual effects, gaming and comics forum and head of MCCIA's animation and gaming committee; Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming; Manoj Satti of Penguin Random House India; and entertainment editor Mayank Shekhar.

The Trust's first major initiative will be the 'Indian Comic Book Awards', a national platform to honour excellence in Indian graphic storytelling. The inaugural awards ceremony is scheduled to be held in Mumbai on May 9 for which the submissions are open till March 31.

The awards will be presented across categories such as 'Best Writer', 'Best Artist' and 'Best Webcomic'. The jury will include International Emmy-nominated filmmaker and animator Vaibhav Kumaresh and Dan Parent of Archie Comics.

(PTI)

This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.