Madhu Muskan (Sweet Smiles)[1] was an Indian weekly comic magazine from the Gowarsons Group of Companies which was published from 1972 to 2004. Its circulation was as high as 100,000 during the late 1970s.[2]
Gowarsons began publishing Madhu MuskaninNew Delhi in 1972.[1][3][4] The magazine was first published fortnightly, and then weekly.[5]
Not strictly a comic book, 90 percent of Madhu Muskan's pages contain illustrated comic stories with characters popular at the time. Four to five pages contained magazine-type stories, and the remainder were comics.[4]
The Gowarsons Group also held the Indian rights to Archie, Asterix[6] and a number of other titles.[2]Madhu Muskan ceased publication in 2004, when comics in India experienced financial problems.[7]
Madhu Muskan's characters are primarily humorous. Characters during the 1970s and 1980s include:
Daddy Ji, the main character, who appeared for almost 25 years[8] and appeared on the cover of each issue. Daddy Ji's creator, Harish M. Sudan, modelled the character on his family and his brother-in-law.[4]
Babloo, a young detective appearing in every issue and whose uncle is the superintendent of police.[4]
Popat-Chaupat, a hapless comic duo beset with money problems.[4]
Sustram-Chustram, another comic duo with many problems. Chustram is overly energetic, and Sustram is extremely lazy.[4]
Bhootnath Aur Jaadui Tulika, a popular ghost with a magical paintbrush called Tulika.
Minni, a clever, mischievous and helpful little girl.[4]
Dakoo Paan Singh, a fun- and danger-loving character who developed super-human strength when he chewed paan quickly whipped up by Supari Lal, his side-kick. His enemies included Madam Motallo, a fat woman who became a bouncing ball and flattened everything she bounced on; Serpa Soongh, a snake charmer; Cheenku, who could knock things down by sneezing; and Jadugar Jhundu, an evil magician. Their author was Murli Sundram.
Filmi Reporter Kalamdas, a reporter who interviewed Bollywood stars; actual movie stars had comic names.[9]
After seeing the popularity of their characters in Madhu Muskan, the publishers began publication of comics. They began with Mudhu Muskan Comics, with issues featuring Madhu Muskan characters; Trishul Comics also contained Madhu Muskan characters. Gowarsons Comics published foreign titles in Hindi, including Asterix,[6]The Famous Five,[10]Lucky Luke and Khalifa Haroon-Al-Paasha and Iznogoud.[11]
