Camillus Perera

• Birth Name — Camillus Perera • Born — 1 December 1939 • Birthplace — Negombo, British Ceylon • Died — 17 December 2023 • Nationality — Sri Lankan • Area — Writer, Editor, Publisher, Producer • Notable Works — Gajaman Don Sethan Siribiris Dekkoth Pathmawathi

Perera was born in Negombo and was the eldest son in a family of four. He was educated at the Roman Catholic Sinhala School, Maris Stella and St. Mary's College, Negombo. Perera first dabbled in art in the lower grades. He also briefly pursued a career as a sportsman in his teens leading the Jupiter Football Association in Negombo.

Perera began work as a cartoonist in 1966 developing characters for the Observer and "Dekkoth Pathmawathi" for Lake House's film magazine. In 1972, he created Gajaman, his most popular character which eventually became a cult classic in Sri Lanka. Gajaman first appeared on Sathuta, a Lake House comic art publication and from 1975 to 1984 occupied a spot on the comic publication Sittara. He eventually transformed himself into an household name in Sri Lanka among the general audience through the creation of cartoon characters such as Gajaman and Siribiris. • Illustration — Perera's characters In April 1984, Perera produced a magazine devoted to his work titled Camillusge Gajaman. Its success, with over 200,000 copies sold, prompted the followups Camillusge Samayan in December and Camillusge Gajaman #2 the next year. Both sold between 200,000–300,000 copies and resulted in the formation of Camillus Publications. Perera cited copyright issues as a primary reason for the creation of his new company. He subsequently registered his 15 characters with the Department of Registry and Patents. Camillusge Gajaman Samaga Sathsiri (later shortened to Sathsiri) released in 1986 was the first comic magazine by Camillus Publications and immediately sold over 150,000 copies eventually achieving a circulation of 200,000. Their second magazine Camillusge Don Sethan Samaga Rasika (shortened to Rasika) followed the misadventures of Don Sethan, Perera's oldest creation. Don Sethan first appeared in the daily Janath on 1 May 1966. In the 1990s, Perera worked on several periodicals including a weekly comic magazine.

Perera died on 17 December 2023, at the age of 84.