With a burst of colours and swirling panels, the story opens on a woven mat strewn with comic books. On one page, a lone hero grips a silver staff beneath an orange sun. On another, skeletal twins face off in stark black and white. Bright titles crowd the frame: Chronicles of Junji, Hell Hole, River of Stories, Technicolour Lovers. This is where the adventure begins.
Meet Sumi Alexander Anup, founder of Red Eye Chapters, an online store dedicated to graphic storytelling. Her love for comics began in her childhood in Thiruvananthapuram Kerala, where roadside stalls sold Phantom, Mandrake, Flash Gordon, Tarzan — alongside Malayalam staples like Balarama and Poompatta. “We used to get popular comics with the daily newspaper,” she recalls. These comics were companions on train rides and bus journeys spun into the textures of everyday life.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Sumi realised that many of the English comics she grew up reading, were no longer in print. “There were a couple of publishers bringing them back. I bought copies for myself and really liked them. That’s how I started selling.” What began as nostalgia, sparked a transformation from reader to retailer.
With a background in civil engineering and a stint in 3-D animation in Hyderabad, Sumi had relocated to Chennai and taken a break from full-time work after her daughter’s birth. She freelanced with her brother’s advertising firm, but after the pandemic, there was plenty of time. She says, “I thought, what could I do that I truly enjoy?”
Red Eye Chapters was born out of instinct. She started selling through Instagram, packing and shipping the comics herself. Soon, she noticed a gap: most mainstream bookstores offered little space to independent comics. “I thought of starting a platform where these people have a voice, or a chance to promote their books.”
That clarity and her personal investment in the stories gave her confidence. “I found that I can sell the product because I like it, and I have read it.” Her first pop-up stalls appeared in Chennai’s Amethyst lifestyle bazaars, amid trinkets, sweets, and clothes. Footfall was high, but comic readers were a niche audience. Still, she stayed steady. “People always appreciate my collection. It’s colourful and has a lot of variety.”
A turning point came with The Sunshine House, an art space in Chennai that promotes inclusive art. They encouraged her to bring her work to an audience that would appreciate it. With their support, Red Eye Chapters found a place among students, illustrators, and dedicated readers. “It’s been uphill,” Sumi says. “I meet a lot of people, and new customers come up. Slowly, people are recognising the brand.”
“There’s fiction — fantasy or superhero stuff, good versus evil. There’s non-fiction, like River of Stories, which talks about how in the name of development, forests are encroached and land is taken from indigenous people.” She also stocks powerful literary adaptations like Vaadivaasal: The Arena by CS Chellappa and Perumal Murugan, illustrated by Appupen.
Her growing catalogue includes Kashmir Ki Kahani, which covers the region’s socio-political history from Partition to 2021, and graphic retellings of historical epics like Ponniyin Selvan in five volumes. Sumi sees comics as a powerful tool for young readers. “Even seven- or ten-year-olds read Ponniyin Selvan. They say — we wish our school books were like this, it makes studying so easy.”
Her shelves include graphic novels that explore mental health, relationships, and private inner worlds — titles like Hop On and Thought Circuit, many of them anthologies. Some are created entirely by women — writers, artists, and editors — and tackle feminist themes and everyday struggles rarely voiced. Publishers like Zubaan offer such collections, including Movements and Moments, which documents women’s resistance movements across Southeast Asia.
Sumi is expanding her collection by curating titles from emerging independent artists and rediscovering older works that slipped through the cracks. “I’m always on the lookout for good stories and good illustrations,” she says.
Ordering is simple. A DM on Instagram or a WhatsApp to the number on her page: @redeye_chapters on Instagram.