Today, as the world celebrates women and everything that they stand for, there is also the realisation that just one day will never be enough to honour everything that womanhood encompasses. A woman has tonnes of roles to play: a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a partner; but it is so important to understand that above all the roles, she is her own person first. Thus, saluting their spirit, here’s remembering some iconic Indian female comic characters.
Though comics has always been a male dominated entertainment section, this is not the scenario anymore. The number of female comic characters is only growing with coming days. Comic artist Abhijeet Kini says, “I always keep this line in mind when it comes to female characters, ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’. An angry or upset woman is powerful enough to rattle everything around her.”
Diamond Group of Publications director Manish Verma said, “Diamond Group has a lot of female characters under its own banner who stand out. They have a relevant part in the story and have been favourite among our readers.”
The famous Tinkle Comics characters Ina, Mina, Mynah and Mo are siblings, they each have their own quirks. The series initially focused on how much trouble the girls gave their miserly father but is now exploring the individuality of each of the siblings as well as the coming-of-age of their mother, Bina, who has become a chef in her own right.
“We have worked on gender roles by assigning male characters with roles seen mainly as female—such as cooking, doing household chores, crying or even playing with dolls. Female characters on the other hand have been shown as cops, powerful villains and even mechanics,” comments Tinkle Comics editor-in-chief Rajani Thindiath.
“Our idea is not to compare female characters to male characters or compete with them. The effort is to show all characters—female or male—as individuals with their own quirks without being shaped by pressures of hackneyed expectations of gender behaviour or expression,” expressed Thindiath.
Fenil Comics founder Fenil Sherdiwala feels, “Females are always unique from male characters. Sometimes they are much better than male characters. In Fenil Comics universe too female characters are playing an important role.”
TBS Planet Comics founder Rajeev Tamhankar said, “Women are the start of everything. Without a mother, nothing can start. Our organization too is indebted for some incredible women without whom none of our stuff could have come to life. The favourite characters from TBS Comics are written and illustrated by female writers and artists, our website is managed on logistics front by a lady. These amazing women are the real reasons why TBS Planet Comics is able to bring out high quality content and we are always indebted to them.”
“Diamond Group have always applauded the facets of feminism through the work. We take pride in featuring female role models who are opiniative, brave, determined and decisive. We aim to break more stereotypes through our creativity and story telling to build a strong presence for female protagonists not only in the society but in our creative world as well,” concluded Verma.
Happy Women’s Day ladies! Keep celebrating everyday!