This episode is the second in a two-part series on  political webcomics in India. In the context of an increasingly  repressive regime, the role of allegory, especially in the mode of  fantasy and parody, becomes vital. On the Indian Internet, an example is  the figure  of  Rashtraman, a dubious superhero starring in his own webcomic series. I speak to its creator Appupen, a visual artist and musician who  tells stories from the mythical dimension called Halahala. Having published several books of graphic fiction, he launched  his online comic series with the popular superhero satire  'Rashtraman' and the politically charged ‘Dystopian Times’ in  2015. He is the  founder/editor of Brainded India, an arts collective with an agenda. We  discuss how visual satire can show us the workings of power, the history  of cartooning as political critique in post-Independence India and why  the MCU is a technocratic dream.

Click here to access the Image Guide+ & view the images and material being discussed in the podcast: https://sites.google.com/view/artalaap-podcast-resources/episode-5

Credits:

Audio courtesy: Vernouillet by Blue Dot Sessions [CC BY-NC 4.0]

Images: Instagram @appupen

Additional support: Kanishka Sharma, Amy Goldstone-Sharma, Raghav Sagar, Shalmoli Halder, Arunima Nair

Dedicated to Dai, whose booming voice will always be remembered.

References:

Prabhat Patnaik, 'Neoliberalism and Fascism', Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, 27 Feb. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2277976019901029