A novel idea, telling it with graphics!

Bengaluru: “The future of storytelling is definitely set to be very visual, be it comic books, animations, augmented reality or the newer technologies or all of them together, I think storytelling is moving on from just reading. More and more readers and also artists prefer visuals along with the story. It not only keeps things interesting, but also has a much stronger impact,” says American artist, writer and designer Dan Goldman.

He has worked in producing graphic novels and comics for companies such as AMC Television, Random House, Time Magazine, Hachette Books, Entertainment Weekly and New York Magazine.

His latest work is closer to India, in the form of a comic series, Priya’s Shakti, which aims to empower women and create awareness on social issues involving gender-based violence like rape and acid attacks.

“The story is inspired by the Indian mythology, because we felt that it would become easily acceptable, not only in urban, but also rural India. The comic’s protagonist, inspired by Durga, is named Priya, who travels around India on a tiger, chanting a mantra that makes her powerful. The story continues with the adventures that she has on her journey. Her back story is that she is a rape survivor herself and yet she discovers confidence and power within herself. It has a lot of deep underlying meaning, and the beauty of graphic novels is this ability to tell a serious story in a fun, catchy way,” he says.

The stories require intense research, he explains, and though it may seem like the hardest part, it is the easy one. “When I came to know I would be working on Priya’s Shakti, I just dug into the mythology, history and culture of India. We didn’t want to hurt any emotions as the storyline was inspired by something that was close to the hearts of the common folk. I found that the creation of a comic like this is a long and complex process, but though it’s hard, it’s the easy part.  The real hard part is making the impact,” he says.  The second volume of the five-book series focuses on acid attack survivors and will hit the stands sometime soon.  The series, written by Ram Devineni, received the Tribeca Film Institute New Media Fund from the Ford Foundation and is supported by the World Bank and was showcased at New York Film Festival 2016.

‘Graphic novels are powerful art form’
The U.S. Consulate General Chennai, in association with the National Institute of Design, had organised a one-day workshop on spreading awareness on social issues through comics and graphic novels, called Cartooning for Cause, on Monday at the NID Campus in Yeshwanthpur.

The workshop aimed to teach students and professionals on how to create digital and interactive comic books and cartoons to address social evils using innovative new technologies.

Comic book and cartoon creators Ram Devineni, filmmaker and publisher, whose film The Russian Woodpecker won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, Dan Goldman, artist and writer, and Benjamin Dix, anthropologist, writer and director, were part of the workshop. The guests presented their work and narrated the processes involved in creating them.

Benjamin Dix, who presented his work on transforming his experiences in war-torn areas around the world into comics, said, “How do you tell stories this sensitive without feeling like you’re not doing justice to the emotions? Like describing a torture room, a war-torn man or the things people think of when they are frightened to death? Illustrations help convey complex emotions just the way they are without needing explanation. It is an extremely powerful art form.”