To honour the sacrifices rendered by the brave soldiers of the 1965 India-Pakistan war, on this Defence Day, the first part of the comic series ‘Haider: 5 Days of Glory’, an exceptional narration of Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed’s story of courage during the war, is bound to bring out the patriotic spirit in you.

Created by CFx Comics, an innovative digital entertainment company which has recently taken the comic book industry by storm with the launch of its debut series ‘Paasbaan: The Guardian’, ‘Haider’ retells the stories of Pakistan’s valiant war heroes.

Being aware of the potential of effectively delivering any message through storytelling and using visuals and animations for a ‘better and longer impact’, founders of CFx Comics and creators of these comic series, Mustafa Hasnain, Gauher Aftab and Yahya Ehsan, felt it was the most fitting way to pay a tribute to the martyrs of the 1965 war.

Its first, two-issue story titled ‘5 Days of Glory’, takes the reader back to 1965 and brilliantly captures the war zone scenes where soldiers like Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed fearlessly fought to defend their country from Indian attack.

Using remarkable illustrations coupled with a powerful script, it unfolds how despite being outnumbered, Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed led his troops to victory by tactfully fighting for five consecutive days and nights without any rest.

In the end, it encapsulates the moment he embraced martyrdom, showcasing his love and passion to protect Pakistan, through a medium like comics, in the most commendable manner.

Selecting Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed as the first war hero was a simple choice for the CFx Comics team.

“As our series ‘Haider’ highlights the stories of Pakistan’s finest heroes in illustrated form, immortalising their tales of courage and sacrifice to inspire the coming generations, Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed was an automatic choice,” explained Mr Aftab, also the writer of the comic book script for ‘Haider’.

In addition to ‘Haider’, CFx Comics has produced some extraordinary work in the past and the response they received was equally overwhelming.

Earlier this year in June, CFx Comics launched its critically acclaimed debut comic series called ‘Paasbaan: The Guardian’, which is a story that highlights the issue of religious extremism in Pakistan and addresses the youth to counter this problem.

Another series was launched on Aug 14 which sent out a message of unity and embracing differences to work for a prosperous Pakistan.

‘Paasban: The Guardian’ was distributed to 5,000 children in many cities of Punjab for free and received positive feedback from children belonging to both rural and urban backgrounds. In addition, both the comic series have gone viral upon their release on various social media forums, creating a demand for these books.

Mr Aftab too seemed quite positive: “The local audience loved the content; most hadn’t seen something like this before. Even the audience in larger cities like Lahore, is not used to the idea of comic books yet. As far as the message is concerned, our research and feedback has shown really promising results.”

By making the comic series available in not just print form but also through an easily accessible digital platform, the team hopes to make it an equally valuable experience for people who do not have access to reading materials. The CFx Comics app has, hence, been made available in ‘Lite’ version that can run on low-end phones.

The first part of ‘Haider: 5 Days of Glory’ is releasing today, Sept 6, for Defence Day while the second part is expected to be released by the end of September. The first story of the Haider series will be available for free at www.cfxcomics.com as well as on free CFx Comics app.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2015

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