ACK Media is turning a new leaf in its 50-year existence. Known for popular brands Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha, the publishing house has released a comic book that talks about the rise of the Tatas, spanning over 150 years.

Titled The Tata Story, the special edition comics are not available in bookstalls but interested persons can buy a copy from the Bombay House – the headquarters of the Tata group. “It was a great honour to be roped in by the Tata group as part of their 150th celebrations. We have a great working relationship with them because of our earlier Amar Chitra Kathas on Jamsetji and JRD Tata. We have also been doing a lot of work with their subsidiary Tata Mutual Fund,” said ACK Media head of creative services Kuriakose Saju Vaisian.

The illustrations for The Tata Story were done by long time Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha collaborator Sahil Upalekar. References were researched using the Tata150 portal, our own Amar Chitra Kathas, the fantastic JRD biography Beyond the Blue Mountain, and many online newspaper articles and think pieces.

“The Tata group approached us to put together a biographical piece on the history of the Tatas. This included research, scripting, storyboards, illustrations, letters and layouts. After the book was published, we took care of translations as well,” added Vaisian.

Commissioned projects are projects that the publisher does specifically for clients, be it for their internal circulation, their marketing and advertising, or their corporate outreach or social programmes. They are done at pre-approved budgets from the client.

Started in 1967 by the legendary Anant Pai, Amar Chitra Katha has so far released more than 400 titles, with over 100 million copies sold in more than 20 languages. In 2014, ACK Media launched its digital brand solutions division to explore more opportunities.