Nagraj

Nagraj
Publication information
Publisher	Raj Comics
First appearance	Nagraj GENL #14 (release date 1 April 1986)
Created by	Rajkumar Gupta Manoj Gupta
In-story information
Alter ego	Earlier Mr. Raj, Public Relation Officer of Bharti Communications Now Mr. Nagraj Shah, CEO Snake Eyes Securities
Team affiliations	Brahmand Rakshak (Protectors of Universe), Panchnag, Sheetnag, Neernag
Notable aliases	Snakeman, Greenman, Green Death, Venomous Gunpowder, Nag-Samrat
Abilities	Superhuman strengths Superhuman stamina Divine powers flight Infrared vision Energy absorption Energy manipulation Super regenerative healing factor Sixth sense Infrared sensing Expert martial artist Unique hypnotism Compound powers phenomenal will powers invisibility Poison bite Snake spit Venomous breath Skin shedding Millions of microscopic shape shifting snakes in his body Telepathy

Nagraj is a superhero appearing in Indian comic books published by Raj Comics^[1] created in the late 1980s by Rajkumar Gupta.^[2] Nagraj first appeared in the comics Nagraj GENL #14 which was written by Parshuram Sharma and illustrated by Pratap Mullick.

After that Sanjay Ashtpure, Pratap Mullick, Chandu, Milind Misal and Vitthal Kamble alternately illustrated the character for 44 issues, ending in 1995 with Visarpi Ki Shadi.^[3][4][5][6]

Nagraj is believed to have been inspired by the mythological Ichchhadhari Nag (shapeshifting snakes) and historical Vishmanushya (venomous human).^[7] 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 snake mythology of its own, which is unique to the popular Indian beliefs about snakes that are prevalent among the masses.

In the middle of the nineties Anupam Sinha (who was already running the mega-successful Dhruv series) took over the helms of Nagraj as well. Anupam Sinha's expansive narration could not completely fit in a single comic, so he used multi-comic stories to layer and enrich his tales. The Khajana arc by Anupam Sinha set up the backstory beautifully, and discredited Nagmani many years after the comics began. He also led to increase in frequency of Two-in-One comics, which combined Nagraj and Dhruv and started happening once in a year.^[8] Nagraj has changed a lot in his 25 years in print, both in terms of looks as well as powers and abilities. With time many new artists such as Lalit Sharma and Hemant Kumar have done illustration of Nagraj.