The Kaurava Empire: The Vengeance of Ashwatthama, Vol. Two

The Kaurava Empire #2

by Jason Quinn, Sachin Nagar (Illustrator)

The tales of the Mahabharata are updated in this new series from Campfire. Time and again the timeless nature of the greatest stories ever told have been highlighted by readers and fans. This space age rendering of these epic tales really proves the point. The Kauravas and Pandavas go high tech as their forces clash in the fiercest battle the universe has ever known.

Each volume in the series is a stand-alone adventure that will mesmerize and thrill readers everywhere.The Mahabharata goes science fiction in this graphic retelling of the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Ashwatthama, a reluctant warrior commits the ultimate crime and must pay for it by wandering the universe, friendless and alone for all eternity. A graphic reminder that war can brutalize even the best of men and that revenge is seldom worth the price. Cursed to wander the universe, friendless, alone and in pain, Ashwatthama has eternity to ponder his crimes and to yearn for forgiveness. Can he escape his terrible past and find peace or will he be doomed to live forever?

In the second volume of Campfire's Kaurava Empire series we focus on the story of Ashwatthama, the son of great guru and weapons master Drona, teacher of the Kauravas and Pandavas. When war comes to the empire, Ashwatthama is reluctant to choose sides as he is friends with members of  both the Kaurava and Pandava families, but in the end he sides with his father, following him into battle against the Pandavas. When Drona is killed through trickery on the battlefield, Ashwatthama swears vengeance and his revenge is bloody and terrible.

Genres: Mythology, Graphic Novels

92 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

Jason Quinn is the award winning author of Campfire's Steve Jobs: Genius by Design. He learned to read with Marvel Comics and was devastated when his teacher told him Spider-Man did not exist. He has worked in publishing for the last twenty years as an editor and writer, working on everything from Spider-Man toBarbie. He moved to India in 2012 and currently works as Campfire's Creative Content Head

Reviews

[Farhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everything about this war feels wrong, but then again, when was anything about any war right?

[Vikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you don't know yet, know now, I freaking love comics and Graphic novels after all they are just long comics. So now you know so coming to these graphic novels. This is the second part of wonderful graphic novels by the campfire group focused on The Kauravas yup from the Mahabharata. This second issue told us the story of Ashwatthama and delved into the backstory of the Kauravas and Pandavas. Through this series Jason Quinn is giving some important voice to Indian Graphic Novels these are high quality work and comparatively cheaper because the biggest hindrance for Graphic Novels is that they are mostly just too costly. But these are at a sweet spot of price and fun. Don't miss and enjoy this space opera with a new look but the same tragic and terrific story.

Well I can keep on saying good things about it but I gotta read more and you should too pick these and then just Keep on Reading.

I have always loved comics, and I hope that I will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics or Diamond Comics or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on the international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I can. I Love comics to bit, may comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.

[Sriram K R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashwatthama has always been one of my favourite characters from the Mahabharata and this book is a fantastic re-imagination of a familiar story from the epic. The art is pretty fantastic, and the stories themselves are quite faithful to the myth which makes for a very interesting combination. Would definitely recommend.

[Jayakrishna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the book however what I didn't like about this work is the illustrations which are heavily influenced from western work.

[Padma Baliga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the space opera premise but felt it wasn't taken far enough

[Salamah · Rating 4 out of 5]

After my experience with book one, I was a little skeptical about reading vol 2 but I must say I am happy I did. The illustrations are beautifully done and the story line is fantastic. I am now interested in reading the real Indian stories in which these characters come from to learn more. My only problem is Quinn did not provide a character outline like he did in his first book. I wish he did because that would have been helpful for me to understand the story line better. For example, who is the person who took the jewel from Ashwatthama's head?? I hope things improve with book 3.

[Amit Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great artwork! Story is better than Volume 1

[Hrishabh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the "nice" version of Ashwatthama but the dialogues leave a lot to be desired. Very monologue-y, single tone