Comix India Vol 6 : Book Review

Got my copy of Comix India recently, and loved the user-friendly format. The cover was appealing, and the size of the book immediately appeals to you. The book has a quirky short in the beginning, called The Tree of Life, which philosophizes on life without being boring, and there is a fun Austin Powers reference to boot.

Worth It by Tarun Padmakumar

A nicely drawn piece about a daydreaming romantic, waiting on a bus stand. His imagination flashes his whole life with a random girl until she asks him the time again..

The Contract by Shirish Deshpande

I liked this surrealistic piece of a college guy and his interactions with a Death Note like demon who promises to solve all his worries if he gives him few drops of his blood on a contract. The lines between dreams and realities and nightmares blur and characters names Steve, Martin(is this a coincidence?!) and Maya crowd the panels with sometimes grim sometimes wild sequences. The writing gets a little inconsistent and confusing at times, but it is still quite a good effort.

Birth is the Cause of Death by Bharath Murthy

An excerpt from (what I am guessing) Murthy’s upcoming graphic novel project, unique and distinct in its autobiographical style of narration and attention to detail. There is a journalistic vibe but also wit in places, that lend the piece a lighter, friendly tone.

Yaksh by Shounak Datta

This one was a crime story, bordering on the supernatural theme of Yaksha or demons who guard divine treasures. The associated story of a group of robbers killing a rich old man for a huge sum of money, takes a darker turn when the Yaksha unleashes his wrath…

Junk N Memories & Mall Bots by Kailash Iyer

I loved the first story, for the nostalgia it evokes. Has a very handcrafted look, and drawn in detail with coherent frames and pleasing artwork, this is a 4 page comic about finding old stuff in a room. Anyone growing up in the nineties can relate to. These are experiences one considers unique only to be surprised much later on in life. Yes, I played with disfigured G.I.Joe action figures too!

The second story, Mall-Bots, is what the name suggests, is a take on bots cribbing about their lives, the existential crisis reflecting any office cafeteria talk. I found the font a little too small to read clearly, but the writing is precise and brings out the Kafkaesque-drone-human talk quite nicely, with a brutal finale.

Everyday Love by Tina Mary John

A light, romantic ‘chick flick’ story drawn in the style of Shojo Manga, about flirtations, dating and a dance contest. I had to struggle through this as I am anti-chickflick and the story didn’t hold my interest either.

 Fragments of the Past by Sudeep Menon

Sudeep Menon must have a disturbed mind! The way he brings darkness in his stories feels so real. I loved that this story does the masterful tightrope between a personal narrative yet a cool take on a ghetto-city-by-night. The story is told from the p.o.v. of a serial killer, the nameless shadow parading the city silhouettes, and also chronicles the rise of crime just as a character of the city, like the foul air and vagabond pigeons.

Comix India Vol 1 : Book Review

I am horribly late in checking out Comix India, but I am glad I did. This looks like the platform we need to showcase Indian creators on a regular basis. To my knowledge, there have been six volumes of the anthology and I checked out the first volume which has 14 short stories.

Comix India starts with a funny 2-pager self-referential strip where Charkha (Dutt) reviews the editor of the magazine, a Mantis, no less! 

The Halahala Observer - Appupen

Appupen’s comics are always rather dark and trippy. There are no clear messages but overriding themes of ennui, surrealism, and a Kafka-esque working class angst. The Light of The Prophet, The Cameraman and 1300 also explores these themes. Although the first two are shorts, 1300 tends to drag and goes too far in its theme of everyone chasing time.

Visioncarnation – Orijit Sen

Having read Sen’s works in anthologies before, I was familiar with his style, satire on intellectuals and urban fads(much like what Whit Stillman does in films). This one too is a nice short surreal take on a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals running after Bombay Baba, an old school camera talks to a chair and soon we launch into claustrophobic frames echoing bare emotions all ending happily in an urn in Banaras? Another of those wish it was longer pieces. 

Just Another Job – Sudeep Menon

A story of a Bombay nightbar, a gun for hire, and a job well done. You get the idea.

The piece looks pretty amateur and does not total up to much, the end seems pretty rushed too. May be this again needed some more pages. 

Adventures of a Comic Book Artist- Gokul Gopalakrishnan

Hilarious and autobiographical account of Gokul’s becoming a comic book creator. The writing is cathartic yet entertaining, all panels beautifully drawn and narrated. I chuckled at the bit where he spends days trying to put together his comic and his wife brushes it off in seconds. This hard reality has hit almost everyone in life some point or the other. 

Ear Rings- Dr L. Prakash

This felt like a sob story with a happy ending to me, I tried but couldn’t finish it. 

A Form of Writing – Bharath Murthy

Murthy creates a comic on the art itself. Not my favorite genre, but each frame shows the effort and knowledge behind it. May be this would look better in a standalone book.

Press Snooze for Freelancer - Vidyun Sabhaney & Pia Alize Hazarika

Nice funny story about the perils of freelancing. I could relate to how one delays sleep and then when you wait for it, morning never comes. The main character talks to the alarm clock, and the conversation doesn’t go down well… I liked the experiments with panel size and fonts.

The Replacements - Shirish Deshpande

I quite liked this mystery-horror kind of story. The theme is heard of before but the panels are drawn nicely, and the story moves fast.

A Remembrance of Loss- Somesh Kumar

A nostalgic, melancholic story of a man tracing back his routes on way to his home town, and going through passages of memory, guilt and emotions. The story moves through personal moments, that anyone who has grown up in a small town would relate to. Very nice art, although I am little wary of reading emotional pieces like this.

Throwing off the Bowlines- Pratap Aditya

Very good little political piece of extremist groups, reminded me of Joe Sacco, although it could use some satire to lighten the tone.

Last Defences of Mankind- Aditya Bidikar & Nitin Veturkar

I struggled with the font in this one, but liked the noirish urban frames…

Kinnari - Meenakshi

Really enjoyed this one, I went and read quite a few pages of the web comic too, this is how mythology should be used as a medium, not an end seen so often in Indian comics. No preachy panels, or overlong dialogs, just a fun, fantasy ride. Reminded me of Delilah Dirk.

Comix India

An Interview with Kailash Iyer

An Interview with Bharath Murthy

Vol 4 review by Sumit Ray

Kinnari webcomic