A Happy Flowering of Discontent

I wrote a few months ago about the general lack of good Indian politically charged, satirical, webcomics. There was of course Crocodile in Water, Tiger on Land that one could look forward to every Monday. But the heart wants excess of it.

magine my surprise when I found an article about a happy flowering of discontent on Jabong of all places. I'm not complaining, I just didn't expect it to come from such a platform.I It obviously mentioned CWTL, and Appupen's newly created Rashtraman. I had seen the work on newslaundry (Full disclosure: I'm a proud patron and subscriber of News Laundry),

Image Source: Appupen

Then there was Sanitary Panels that has been featured on The Ladies Finger. So you can say I was generally aware of it but not really following it.

Image Source: sanitarypanels

Another one there was The Royal Existentials. Again I had seen an image or two floating around on the social media but it didn't occur to me to follow the trail and find the source. 

Image Source: The Royal Existentials

The one that was absolutely new to me was Inedible India. This is similar to Royal Existentials in the sense that they use older paintings, but they don't restrict themselves to miniature paintings.   

Image Source: Inedible India

Both Inedible India and Royal Existentials remind me of Wondermark by David Malki who uses illustrations from old books and newspapers to make his bizarre and wonderful comics. Some of these are just Facebook pages, others are blogs and websites. It's great to see the wide variety of expressions that are flowering. 

Of the disappointing Love affair that is Indian webcomics

Bhujwasis (and other junta) still recovering from the bought of loud fervor of Ganesh-utsav will totally relate to this webcomic:

Permalink: crocodileinwatertigeronland.tumblr.com

crocodileinwatertigeronland.tumblr.com

Can I just say I'm in Love with a capital L. I found this really awesome, super sarcastic and super meta webcomic that updates every Monday (the minuscule regular readership will know how I struggle with Monday mornings). Introducing Crocodile in Water Tiger on Land. I love everything about them including their introduction:

Crocodile in water tiger on land is a non-profit equal opportunity collection of below-the-belt cheap shots in comic form. Look for updates every Monday morning, the best time of the week for insults.

as well as their interview in Helter Skelter (which is where I discovered them)

flyyoufools.com

Not that I've not been in love before. There was Fly You Fools back in the day when Google Reader was a thing. [I have no idea who I have to thank for sharing this one but I definitely know who I have to curse for taking that beautiful community away from me. (Google, you are quite evil).] FYF had awesome pop-arty graphics and the foul-mouthed sarcasm that made it very relatable for me.  But it didn't last; not a peep from them since Feb 2011. 

mantaraycomics.tumblr.com/thesmallpicture

Then I discovered Manta Ray Comics and I used to look forward to their weekly comic, The Small Picture. It had so many things going for it: it had great art (Prabha Mallya, you're awesome!) and it was political and subtly sarcastic. It even had syndication; it used appear in the Live Mint. 

My favorite was this comic titled Toasted because it referenced Mad Men and when it came out, I was having a Don Draper moment. Needless to say I was floored (I loved the idea of Don Draper having to wrestle with advertising in the smartphone era.). However, all good things come an end and just like that, they went quite. But it was good while it lasted and it wasn't me, it was YOU. 

Any-the-who, one mustn't let past disappointments color one's judgement about future dalliances. Here's looking forward to Monday Mornings. 

On Persistence or the lack thereof

Not really my forte, you can clearly tell that. I started this as a daily blog because I wanted to keep myself on my toes. I wanted to make sure I reflected on my life regularly and I didn't slip into a sort of complacent coma of daily humdrum. The beginners' enthusiasm waned and daily became every-other-day, and then a couple of times a week, that petered off into a long drought as I hid behind excuses like work, and lack of connectivity, and just lack of brain-space to write something.

What better way to make a change than to share one's source of inspiration: the weird, sublime, and witty Grant Snider talks about words, their characteristics and how they shape you while you shape them in Your Words.

My fav part: 

"Keep your words weird

They will attract like-minded people."

Image Source: http://www.incidentalcomics.com/

Amen!

Call me Lazy

I haven't been feeling very creative these days and I find just the thing in my mailbox: Grant Snider's "Words and Pictures" about

Image Source: http://www.incidentalcomics.com/

You can find his work here. I find his self referential and self depreciating humor very interesting and very relate-able. Also his color palate and his whimsical drawing aesthetic make his work a treat for the eye.

P.S. I know I didn't put enough of myself into it. Guilty as charged.