goodbadcomics

October 🎑

Published: November 15th 2024, 1:44:51 pm

I want to tell you about my October. I haven't been able to tell things the way I want to which inadvertently leads to not telling anything because of wanting to tell it perfectly, with drawings- like I "should" and want to. I have been made very aware of how I'm self-sabotaging my life by waiting and waiting for the right time to arrive. Yuck. Anyway. I have traveled and done a lot in October haha. I wanted to write entries about it but please accept these photos for now.

October began with me trying to start and finish the first 12-page chapter of my new story. I couldn't do it. It made me sad but I have decided to ignore that feeling for now. I managed to draw panels tho :

Then I went to Bombay for Indie Comix Fest. I took 20 books with me thinking that people won't buy because Bombay people usually don't buy. They tend to buy stickers more than comics but this time the people of Indie Comix Fest have made strict rules about not selling stickers and ephemera. Only comix! Which I think is a bit much, they should let people sell stickers that relate to their comic. Stickers make good side profit.

 

But I sold out of the 20 books lol :

 That was unexpected 🐡

Then I went to Delhi. Anand's (my partner) father won the national award for his film. I went to the award ceremony with his family. I saw some famous people. They were so tiny, like ants because I was sat all the way in the back. The second last image is Anand's father's film's poster. It's a Kannada short film called "Madhyantara":

 Then the main reason I went to Delhi, Brian from Bubbles Zine came to India. Anand and I took him around. Brian came for Bangalore Comix Fest but he squeezed in a short (re: month-long) tour of the country while he was here. He came all the way from over there after all.

Here's Brian shaking hands with a random man at Qutub Minar, New Delhi. This was the first of a handful of encounters with random people who wanted a photo with Brian because he's white, fairly and sadly, a common thing to happen to white people in India lol

Grumpy photo of me at Humayun's Tomb in Delhi. I wasn't feeling grumpy. I just look grumpy:

 Look at this creepy doll head I saw on the road:

 

Then we had to take Brian to see the Taj Mahal. We went to the Taj Mahal. I went there after 16 years. I think it still looks the same. Here's a photo of Brian with half of the Taj Mahal. :

 Then we came back to Delhi. Brian and I got a haircut at the footpath salon. It was fun and so dirty. The barber could use a new comb. I only got an inch cut off of my tips but I kinda regret it because my hair was growing in a nice shape and now it's a bit weird looking but it's ok it's just hair 🦓

 Then we went to Bombay. Saw some cats. Went to some bookstores. Brian is opening a used book shop in Richmond, Virginia. He collected a stash of books from every city we went to for his store.

 I hate that almost all my photos are vertical. Sorry!! Also, these are photos taken on my phone. There's nicer photos on Anand and Brian's phones but they haven't shared them with me yet :3

Anyway, we were in Bombay for a day and a half. Then we went to Pune! Because I had to take a comix workshop. I was stressed about it a bit but it went well!! So many people turned uppp. I learned a thing or two about myself. I need to learn how to present myself and my work with respect and not make fun of it 🤓

 We were in Pune only for a day. The workshop happened after we had booked our flights. Pune wasn't on our list. We were gonna directly go to Bangalore from Bombay. Ok then we went back to Bombay to catch our flight to Bangalore the same night lol Look at this tree we saw in Bombay!!! Terrible photo of me but such a nice tree. It made everything in me happy:

 Went to Bangalore for Indie Comix Fest. I put real vegetables on my table for decor. Then towards the end of the day, I give tomatoes and carrots away 🥕🍅 Lucky people get to take the broccoli, too! 🥦:

 Then we went to Mysore for a couple of days. At this point, Anand and Brian were sick but they pulled through. My body very kindly waited until the LAST day of our entire trip to fall sick. Thank you, body. Look at this statue of Mahishasura in Mysore. It glowed when I used flash, I was impressed:

 And here's two men who wanted a photo with Brian (because he's white) in front of the statue haha. There was a group of men. They later shook hands with him and asked him where he was from. Brian would feel bad every time this would happen lol :

 I love Milk Bikis :

 Then we went to the Mysore Palace and this time a whole group of school girls took a photo with Brian hahaha :

 It's so funny to be on the other side. I grew up feeling this way about white people too but not enough to want a photo with them. Mainly because of the neighbourhood I grew up in. When I was little, I remember my mother showing me this one photo she took with a white lady when my parents had gone to Mysore for their honeymoon. At the time I thought she was my mother's friend and I remember feeling pride in knowing that my mother had a white friend hahaha. When the lady was just a stranger. I understand how Brian felt and I understand how all of these people felt seeing him. It's sad if you think about it because white people gain immediate respect from the locals just for being white but it is also as amusing. It would be more shocking if all these people took photos with Brian because they knew about his zine haha. I wish it was that way. Brian is so cool for reasons beyond his skin colour 🐵

Here's the photo of my mother and her white "friend"! :

I like how co-incidentally me and my parents had the same experience in Mysore with tourists but on different sides haha

Also, look at this photo of her from the same day in 1996 in front of the Mahishasura statue I showed earlier :

 OH then we went to the aquarium in Mysore. It was soooooooooooooo sad. The fish were kept in poor conditions. I was so disappointed and angry!!

 

Then we went to this single scree theatre to watch this film :

 We bought the tickets, Anand and Brian got their cold drinks. We sat inside the theatre but it was just the three of us lol We were in there for at least 20 minutes, they were playing random songs till the show time :

 

But then one of the men who run the place came up to us and called us downstairs and asked us to leave after refunding our tickets because apparently they needed at least 20 people to run the film haha. It was fun. I heard a cat meowing from behind one of the doors in the theatre.

We went to an antique store in Mysore. I saw this interesting ad in a sports magazine :

 Then we came back to Bangalore. It was Diwali time, we went to the flower market to get some flowers for the Diwali party that our friend was hosting and also just to see the flower market hehe. It was super chaotic and loud, like a fish market :

 I had picked up these sexy-looking carrots in Mysore when Brian and I were feeding some stray cows. I couldn't let the cows eat these. Look at them haha Unfortunately I had to leave them in Bangalore :

 

Whew! That's the end of my trip. It was fun but there were also moments of stress where I was like shitttt I gotta do something about my Patreon. I told Brian that I've put my job on hold to take him across the country haha Brian was so nice, cool, and kind, he also paid for so many experiences because he was rich in India.

I came back to Pune looking at clouds... :

...to my cloud:

 

Check both these boys out! Anand and Brian. Anand is a brilliant cartoonist and my soon to be HUSBAND hahaha it's so funny that I'm gonna have a husband. He self-publishes his very cool anthology called "Zoo". You can buy Zoo from his shop.

Brian runs a comix zine called Bubbles. He reads a LOT and is so very passionate about what he does. Brian and Anand are collaborators. Brian published Anand's anthologies into an anthology. As I mentioned before, he is also opening a bookshop in Richmond, Virginia. If you're ever around, drop by and say hi to him from me and you!

Thank you for reading so much! And thank you so much in general!!!!

Aditi (who else)

💘💘💘