Publications
Note: This is an abbreviated list.
The Comics World: Comics, Graphic Novels, & Their Publics, Co-Edited with Dr. Benjamin Woo
The comics world is a social space, and it needs to be approached in those terms. With this volume, we seek to provide an accessible introduction to social-scientific approaches to comics and graphic novels while simultaneously filling in the social, cultural, and institutional contexts of comics’ production and circulation with respect to particular communities of people engaged in comics-oriented practices. University of Mississippi Press, 2021.
"Art & Avarice: Tracing Carers in Indian Comics," IJOCA, 2017.
In this article, I look at how comics creators in the Indian comics world - Sarnath Banerjee, Priya Kuriyan, & Prashant Miranda - frame themselves as people working with and united by a shared medium. Drawing out these creators’ experiences through interviews, online articles, and personal blogs demonstrates the multiple ways that artists and authors re-mediate visual storytelling to enrich their everyday lives, needs, and comics communities.
"Between Art & the Underground: Corporate to Collaborative Comics in India," In Cultures of Comics Work, eds. C. Brienza & P. Johnston.
In this article, I highlight creators who highlight the roots of comics culture in traditional visual storytelling in order to push for an alternative or independent comics culture that is focused on creators, their craft, and the communities that form around them. In particular, Orijit Sen of the Pao Collective in Delhi, Vidyun Sabhaney of Captain Bijli Comics in Delhi, and Pratheek Thomas of Studio Kokaachi in Cochin are working to develop more independent and community-focused platforms for their own and others’ work. This chapter briefly explores how each of these creators approaches the work of establishing an alternative or indie comics culture by placing craft and community over industry. Palgrave-Macmillan, 2016.
"Comics in India," In Routledge Companion to Comics, eds. R. Cook, F. Bramlett, & A. Meskin.
Many authors and artists in India are conscious of and even directly engaged with international comics. Yet, Indian comics remain relatively obscure in those same countries, even among scholars and critics. This not only loses the complexity of such works, but also holds them to transnational and often corporate standards. The result is a lack of appreciation for comics communities and an over-emphasis on works that reach readers in well-established industries outside of India. This chapter highlights the tapestry of the medium in this context – with a focus on the people, titles, publishers, and moments that remain important for creators and their communities in India today. Routledge, 2016.
"Telling Stories & Building Community: Making Comics in India," In Marg: A Magazine of the Arts, ed. A. Sengupta: 2015.
This article situates India’s comics history and culture in an international context to analyze what makes it unique. The medium has transformed from critical roots in cartooning through the rise of corporate comics, graphic novels, and a recent turn to alternative comics. Yet, what drives comics in India is a combination of international influences, critically aware creators, and an orientation around community. Through the support of important works, scholarship, and creator’s voices, drawing out this medium’s history reveals that what defines comics in India is a culture of passionate storytellers committed to excellent storytelling.
"Bread & Comics: A History of the Pao Collective," In IJOCA, 2013.
The Pao Collective includes some of the most insightful and innovative comics creators in India today. From graphic novels to political cartoons, strips, and other kinds of visual storytellings, the Pao Collective has set the bar for creative excellence high in Indian comics. In this article, I will provide a brief history of the Pao Collective, leading to and beyond their recent anthology in 2012. Along the way, I will shine a light on the main challenges and issues that Pao’s members, including Orijit Sen, Sarnath Banerjee, Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Parismita Singh, and Amitabh Kumar, have addressed in coming together as a collective.
Older Publications
These are in need of update but may still be helpful resources.
Follow the River of Stories: Comics, Folk Culture, & Social Justice in Delhi
Dissertation, Indiana University, 2013
Through the Page Darkly: Japanese Comic Art & Vernacular Religion
Submitted as Master's Thesis, Indiana University, 2009