On the floor, a group of people are hunched over their drawing pads. Their foreheads are creased in concentration as they carefully draw out the eyes on their manga characters’ faces. And this is crucial, as the eyes decide what emotion the character is feeling.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that for the majority of bibliophiles and literature buffs, it all started with comic books. Comics are inextricably linked to how our imaginations developed, and how we made room for the magical and the fantastic in our daily lives. Our earliest fictional friends, heroes whom we admired and villains we despised were all characters from comic books. The Kunzum Comics Fest that took place over the weekend at the Greater Kailash store of Kunzum Books in Delhi was a tribute to this nostalgia, among other things.
“We wanted to celebrate the art form of graphic storytelling,” says Subir Dey, a curator with Kunzum Books and the organiser of the fest. “Delhi has an annual Comic Con. There is an annual Indie Comic Fest as well. These events are only for a few days but the turnout and the enthusiasm of the participants are immense. I thought why not celebrate comic books more often, considering the wide readership that they have,” he adds. The fest is aimed at widening the space for both artists and publishers.
A comic space
Two artists, Abhik Borah and Mona Singh, are helping a group of participants, ranging from school students and college-goers to parents, make the right curves with their pencils. The beginner-level workshop titled ‘Manga Characters Made Easy’ is conducted by the comic book publisher VrindKavi, a graphic artist collective from Noida. Borah, originally from Guwahati, has been working with his team in creating a new interpretation of the Vikram and Vetaal legend. “We have so many stories in our country, especially our horror folktales and urban legends like that of the chudail, that have great comic-book potential. We at VrindKavi take inspiration from these stories and try to produce work that is characteristically desi using different styles, including manga,” he adds. VrindKavi launched its first three chapters of Vikram Vetaal at the comics fest.
Age no bar
On sale at another table are zines by the independent publisher Bad Press. Soumitro Datta, its founder, works in the IT sector. The Noida resident, who is originally from West Bengal, collaborates with his friends in making them. His zines tell personal stories and feature flowing poetic narratives using lyrics, pieces of conversations, screenshots, snack wrappers and a blend of multitude of other things from daily life. They also have numerous AI-generated artworks and photographs, a “collaboration of man and machine”, as Datta puts it. Project Bibliotherapy, an initiative by Nandini Swaminathan and Nitin Goel, which aims to promote reading, neighbours Datta’s table. They too sell their zines and fun book-themed stickers, and provide book recommendations and reading tips that will help form a habit.
Dey, a comic book fan himself, wanted to make the fest an interactive and fun space for readers and writers to meet. “In the ’80s, my father used to bring home comic books like Dennis the Menace and Popeye and abridged versions of classic novels. I grew up reading both simultaneously. So, I have never felt the need to demean popular literature as opposed to what people call high literature. Every medium has its message,” he says. Dey says that one can never categorise comic book readers under a single age group. “We had a young man who was buying comics for his 60-year-old mother.”Kunzum hosts the largest collection of comic books and graphic novels across its stores in the city.
No specific subject
The fest brought together works by giants of the genre like Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, including annotated editions. Works by artists such as Joe Sacco, Nicolas Wild and Osamu Tezuka showcase the variety of styles and approaches that graphic storytelling has adopted in dealing with a varied range of themes. Works by Indian artists such as Sarnath Banerjee, Amruta Patil, Malik Sajad and many more, present life in India as seen through their eyes.
Ajay Jain, owner of Kunzum books, says comics “are not just about old heroes and villains. We have graphic novels that deal with serious issues like feminism or the holocaust. Since they are graphical in nature, they are easier reads, and are convenient for readers who do not have long hours to spend on books”. Jain believes that even for people who love deep reading, comic books and graphic novels, with their unique visualisations; offer a “different joy”.