When an engineering student after working as an assistant manager for a leading brand for two long years suddenly feels something is amiss, he tries giving himself a THERAPY!
Rahul Bhandare, a graduate from Bhavans college realised his love for comics while he was still pursuing engineering. Thinking of it as just a hobby, he continued creating comics on his website The Comic Space.
After doodling and drawing since school, Bhandare realised his liking towards story telling. And eureka! The idea of something new and unknown struck him. He did a PG course in advertising and made his switch towards copywriting. Of course, creating comics never stopped!
“To tell a story, make someone smile, and maybe even make someone’s life a little better through my work. That’s what inspires me,” says Bhandare beamingly.
Bhandare feels that simple illustrations work better depending on the story of the comic. Too much detail can make an illustration just seem like a still photograph. It’s about balancing both these approaches. He thinks simple designs bring the characters to life.
“Circuit Therapy has robots. We see a bit of ourselves in the basic face structures. Also I wanted the characters to have a more silly and relatable feel,” he adds.
Anyone who is open to reading to something new, funny, interesting and uniquely Indian, here is something just for you. With unique illustrations and quirky concepts, Bhandare gives you a view in the outer world with his comics.
Tick Tock
Life isn’t easy. Even for a wrist watch. This comic is a silent tale reflecting on the many ups and downs we all go through. And through the journey of the watch, we look at the struggle life can bring in all our lives.
A really different take on the aspects on life, Bhandare with his simplified illustrations and easy to understand language puts up before us or maybe teaches us what life actually is!
Circuit Therapy – Time Turners
The characters (robots) in this comic can make time go slow or fast. They can see the future. They can alter your timeline. In this story, the robots face one thing that defeats all of us in the end – Time.
Circuit Therapy is a blend of fantasy and science fiction. But at the same time it’s also about various human conditions. Time Turners is in part about Kulfi’s struggle with forgiving himself.
Circuit Therapy – The Code of Light
This comic was published at the 2018 Indie Comix Fest.
The programmer wants every robot on a planet to behave as per a strict moral and religious ‘Code of Light’. So how do you fight something that is now inside your own mind? The robots will soon find out in their mission.
The Code of Light is about oppressive social conditions and how to deal with them.
Every comic from Bhandare has a deep thought behind it. Though portrayed in the most simplified way, these comics tell something beyond one’s imagination.
Through his seven years of making comics, Bhandare worked on a comic with Tinkle, published comic strips, showcased longer comic books at the Indie Comix Fest, and worked on a few illustration projects. His other works include Monsoon Moments which is a play on pop culture and Detective Das, a silly take on the detective genre.
When asked about his own favourite, Bhandare without a blink says, “Tick Tock was my first proper long comic and hence it’s special to me. I made it while I was still working as an assistant manager. I really enjoyed drawing the various characters in a Mumbai-like city. Many people have been very kind and appreciative about Tick Tock, so that feels great.”
Bhandare looks forward to his web-comic series, The Friend Zone which will be launching soon. It’s a story in where a ‘Friend Zone’ is an actual place. The web-comic is a funny take on rejection and also explores the nature of our restless mind.
“There’s an audience out there that is curious about comics. Events like Indie Comix Fest and even the artist section in Comic Con India are helping artists showcase their work. So the future does hold promise. Hopefully as artists gain more visibility, the Indian comic industry as a whole can gain greater recognition, “Bhandare expressed.
Bhandare has worked on a comic with Tinkle, comic strips with the Youth Incorporated magazine and few illustrations for Filtercopy, but his passion to do something for kids never ceased. He will soon come up with story book for children and also another Circuit Therapy story. And we are waiting!