Overview
The debut issue of Nagraj was written by renowned writer Parshuram Sharma and illustrated by Pratap Mullick. Mullick successfully illustrated the character for around 50 issues, ending in 1995. Since 1995, the illustration work of Nagraj has been taken over by artist and writer Anupam Sinha.
The name Nagraj is derived from the word "Nagaraja"(Hindi:नागराजा ) which is itself made up of two words "Nāga"(Hindi:नाग) and "Raja"(Hindi:राजा) where the word "nāga" means snake and "raja" means king. Nagraj is believed to have been inspired by the mythological Ichchhadhari Nag (shape shifting snakes), known historical as Vishmanushya (venomous human). His stories create a rich blend of mythology, fantasy, magic, and science fiction. Many of Nagraj's fans believe that, over time, Nagraj's comics have developed a Snake Mythology of its own, which is unique to the popular Indian beliefs about snakes that are prevalent among the masses.
Nagraj was originally conceived as an enemy of international terrorism. Interestingly, in his debut issue, Nagraj was unleashed as an international terror weapon by the evil scientist Professor Nagmani. Nagraj, in this first mission, was tasked with stealing a golden statue of a Goddess from a temple that was protected by tribal devotees, snakes, and by a mysterious 300 year old Sadhu named Baba Gorakhnath. Nagraj succeeded in his task, but upon confrontation with Gorakhnath and his mystic Black Mongoose shikangi, was defeated. Gorakhnath read his mind and discovered that Professor Nagmani had implanted a mind control device in the form of a capsule in Nagraj's head, in order to keep him under his control. Gorakhnath operated and removed the capsule from Nagraj's head, setting Nagraj free of Professor Nagmani's control. Nagraj then became Baba Goraknath's disciple and vowed to eliminate crime and terror from the Earth. Since then, Nagraj has thrice toured the world and defeated many villains and terrorists.
Presently, Nagraj lives as Raj in a fictional Metropolitan City Mahanagar as an employee of a TV Channel that is secretly owned by himself.
Read more about this topic: Nagraj