But that is starting to change. Businesses are eager to tap into India’s growing youth market; more than 30 percent of the country’s population is 14 or younger. “Advertisers are demanding local content, and they are willing to pay a premium for it,” Mr. Patil said.

Amar Chitra Katha  which translates as Immortal Illustrated Stories  has something of a natural advantage because it enjoys wide name recognition across India and among people of Indian origin overseas. The company, which employs 150 people, sells about three million comic books a year, in English and more than 20 Indian languages. It has sold about 100 million copies since it was founded in 1967 by a newspaper executive, Anant Pai.

Still, the firm that Mr. Patil bought cannot claim exclusive rights to the age-old myths and stories that form the core of its library. Some of those stories have already been turned into lucrative TV and film franchises by others. Mr. Patil acknowledges that he will have to diversify into new stories and characters to succeed.

Other industry officials caution that it will take time for comic book publishers to succeed in other media. Mainstream media companies have traditionally been dismissive of comics and have only recently begun to warm up to them, said Sanjay Gupta, studio head at Raj Comics, a firm based in New Delhi. Raj publishes action books, including the popular “Doga” series about a vigilante who wears a dog mask, which is being adapted into a Bollywood movie.

Image An online game, the Legend of Katha, which is set in a world inspired by Indian mythology. Credit... ACK Media

“There is still not that much local content” on the air, Mr. Gupta said. “On TV, they have been repeating the same things they have been doing for the last 10 years.”

L. Subramanyan, the chief executive of Chandamama, a children’s magazine publisher based in Chennai, said electronic media provide a “fantastic opportunity” for Indian publishers, but it may take a few years for them to break through.