Interview with indie comic book creators “Unbearable Comics”
Meet the team of “Unbearable Comics”- Bajro, Vignesh, and Prathamesh. And their first volume of Eyes n’ Daggers which has garnered more than 10k views on Global Comix and Vol.1 completely sold out at the Comic-Con Bengaluru 2022.
How did the 3 of you meet and decide on creating your own comics?
We’ve known each other since college. We were all comics / pre-viz students, and knew about each other mostly through our work. We’ve all been in touch with our faculty after graduating, and last year, one of our professors approached us with an opportunity to create a comic for Bangalore Comic-Con 2022. We were driven to put out the kind of stories that we liked, the result of which was Eyes n’ Daggers. We could’ve made a one-shot story, but we wanted to have something that had the potential to set up an expansive world. And after seeing how well Vol. 1 turned out, we knew we had to continue the story. Which is why we created Unbearable Comics.
What was your inspiration behind “Eyes n’ Daggers”? And the influence of Indian Folktales in the story?
We knew we wanted to create something that we would enjoy ourselves. We spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas and eventually came across this book called Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India by Rakesh Khanna. This was where the idea for Eyes n’ Daggers originated. The book is like an encyclopedia of the supernatural from different parts of India. Seeing the rich variety of ghosts from our folktales, we knew there was a strong potential for stories to take place in a world built around that.
Eyes n’ Daggers have garnered more than 10k views on globalcomix.com and all the comic books were sold out at Comic Con 2022, Bengaluru. Did you expect this kind of response from the readers?
We are really proud of how Vol. 1 turned out. We knew it was sellable but did not expect it to get sold out at Comic-Con. It showed us that people were interested in reading our story. Some even contacted us after reading it, asking us to keep them posted for future volumes. This, along with the brilliant response we got on GlobalComix, really strengthened our faith in the project. The online audience honestly came as a surprise, since we did not spend much time on marketing the comic except for some timely Instagram and Reddit posts. The site’s algorithm brought in its own readers, and even put Eyes n’ Daggers on its front page as a Popular Indie Title.
Slides from Volume 02
Three artists from different backgrounds and experiences and each artist with a different style of art. Was it difficult to work together as a team?
We surprisingly get along really well. Our styles might be very different, but we share lots of common interests in the kind of content we consume and the stories that we like. There is mutual respect for each other’s work and the abilities that we bring to the table and a shared drive for creating. Even as a team, we have different strengths that fit together perfectly, so assigning roles for production was easy. Everything’s been smooth sailing so far, we’ve even managed to come up with more stories to work on together in the future.
Each of you either has a full-time job or works as a freelancer on commercial projects. So how do you manage to take out time and work together in creating comics?
We honestly barely manage to; we constantly compromise on other factors of life to push forward the comic’s production. It’s currently like a personal project that we enjoy working on at the end of the day. There certainly are times when we can’t find any time to work on the comic at all, but the three of us are on the same page about dealing with it and have decided to just take everything at our own pace, and make progress steadily whenever we can.
What is the future of Eyes n’ Daggers? Are there any other projects lined up under Unbearable Comics?
We had always planned on setting Eyes n’ Daggers up as a long-running story. We’ve made rough plans for what we will be putting out in 2023, and Vol. 2 is already under production. The goal is to be able to sustain ourselves doing this. This is why we have already started thinking of ways for monetization, including looking for any interested publishers. Meanwhile, we’re focusing on creating a solid foundation for the world of Eyes n’ Daggers, amassing more readers, and building a community around the comic through channels like Reddit and Discord. We’ve also registered for the Indie Comix Fest, Mumbai, taking place at the end of March. There currently aren’t any other projects lined up under Unbearable Comics, though we do have more story ideas we want to explore once we’ve established a readership through Eyes n’ Daggers.
What is the story behind the name “Unbearable Comics”?
While trying to think of a name, we kept joking around the fact that our comics could turn out so bad, that they would be unbearable to read. Hence, Unbearable Comics. It also brought a nice visual pun combining a bear and a stop sign to mind, which could work as a great logo. One day we doodled the design for the logo and fell in love with it. Haven’t looked back since.
What are some comic books that have influenced you or Eyes ‘n’ Daggers?
All three of us are huge anime and manga fans. Stories like Akira, Avatar the Last Airbender, Chainsaw Man, Berserk, Uzumaki, etc. that we consider great pieces of storytelling hold a lot of influence over us, as we often find ourselves thinking of scenes from those stories when we try to structure ours. Action cartoons we watched in our childhood like Ben 10 and Generator Rex are still big inspirations for our design language. Essentially, Eyes n’ Daggers is a culmination of what the three of us have grown to enjoy over the years, not just in terms of comic books, but also shows and cartoons.
What is the one thing you learned the hard way being indie comic book creators?
Being indie comic creators, we’ve had to realize that unless we put our comic in front of people, they’re never going to find it. While printed comic sales are declining, digital comic readership has been on the rise, so there are definitely comic readers out there. However, there are also tons of creators out there, and people’s attention span is like a bee nowadays, which is something we’ve had to give thought to. In a time where content is churned out at a rapid pace, it’s a massive challenge to strike a balance where we can comfortably put out our story without having gaps of radio silence.
What do you think is the future of comics in India and what can be done to make it better?
Not just in India, but all over the world, people are mostly shifting to reading and producing comics digitally, given the convenience of the medium. Online readership is booming, and when it comes to the internet, you should always think about reaching a global audience. Don’t be too concerned about fitting the mold of an ‘Indian Comic’, and focus on creating a great story and building an audience. Due to the sheer amount of content being produced on a regular basis, readers are open to lots of new and interesting concepts, even though it’s difficult to stand out.
What would you like to see Indian comic artists create more of, that they’re not touching on enough at the moment?
There are thousands of original stories coming out every day. Currently, there’s an over-saturation of stories revolving around themes like cricket, bland re-telling of Indian epics, and ripping off the traditional superhero formulas. What we need is for more publishers to be open to newer kinds of stories instead of seeing comics as a medium exclusively for children.
Your advice for the future generation of indie comic book artists in India?
Don’t shy away from trying something that you genuinely like, but isn’t necessarily popular among the masses or well-understood currently. Create more of what you like, and keep at it. You want to make mistakes as fast as possible. Put your all into growing a community around your comic because as an indie, it will dictate your success as a creator. Think about the kind of audience your comic is for, and think about how you can get your comic in front of them. There is no lack of good storytellers in India, but it’s only now that talent is being appreciated and creator culture is growing. We hope the indie comic scene can grow along with it.
Eyes n' Daggers Vol.1 & Vol.2
Click here to read Volume 1 & 2 at GlobalComix.
You can connect with the team at the following links:
Unbearable Comics – https://www.instagram.com/unbearable.comics/
Eyes n’ Daggers – https://globalcomix.com/c/eyes-n-daggers#
Bajro Narayan Dutta – https://www.instagram.com/itslikeapileofgum/
Prathamesh Gandhi – https://www.instagram.com/potatoowithapen/
Vignesh Ramesh – https://www.instagram.com/rexydoesstuff/
