CNN-IBN

New York, Jun 28: The comic book hero, Spiderman, has traveled to India in the series of comics, Spiderman India, where Peter Parker is Indianised to Pavitr Prabhakar. But this year in September the Ramayana will take on a new avatar in the US, as the comic Ramayana Reborn is launched.

The 30-part series is being published by Virgin Comics, the brainchild of British industrialist Sir Richard Branson, spiritual guru Deepak Chopra and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

But Ramayana Reborn will be unlike the folklore we all grew up with.

"India has a wealth of artists, a wealth of storytellers. I and some of my colleagues began to tell the story, so the first few stories are ours. But we are hoping to attract other people into it," director, Shekhar Kapur said.

"They've created a new epic that's not really the traditional Ramayana but really set in the future, as 10,000-year-old futuristic, science fiction-based property that had some underlying themes that would resonate from the original Ramayana but in no way do we say this is the original. This is a fun new reinvention," Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Comics, Sharad Devarajan said.

This Ramayana is set in a post-apocalyptic world where technology has gone berserk while Lord Ram battles the Demon Lord Ravana.

But before this comic comes out, Virgin Comics will release three new titles based on Indian mythology in July. These include The Sadhu, Snake Woman, and Devi, which again has been inspired by an idea from Shekhar Kapur.

"Devi is Shekhar's vision of the Goddess with 1000 faces. All the different elements of the Devi, the sexy, seductress side of divinity but also the devoted side, the devoted housewife. So, it's the wonder woman. It's the archetype of all the different facets of the Devi," Chief Creative Officer, Virgin Comics, Gotham Chopra said.

Each of these comics will also be published in India and will be available in late August.

There have been several books on the Ramayana published in the US. But this is probably the first time it's being introduced to an American audience in a form that's as accessible as that of a comic.