Stories from Zoo

by Anand

The third book from Bubbles and the first collected works from Anand, one of India's best young cartoonists. Born, raised and based in Delhi he's been self-publishing a one-man anthology called Zoo for a few years now, and inside this collection is the first three issues. I first read Anand's Zoo a couple of years ago and I was immediately struck by his creative storytelling. Incredibly human narratives that come with a dash of surrealism and comedy. A fantastic brushstroke to guide you through these eight amazing comics. I'm very excited to be publishing his work for the first time in America, truly one of my favorite artists going. -- Brian Baynes

Genres: Graphic Novels

120 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

P. Sachidanandan (born 1936), who uses the pseudonym Anand is an Indian writer.
Anand writes primarily in Malayalam. He is one of the noted living intellectuals in India. His works are noted for their philosophical flavor, historical context and their humanism. Veedum Thadavum and Jaivamanushyan won the Kerala Sahithya Academy Award. Marubhoomikal Undakunnathu won the Vayalar Award. He did not accept the Yashpal Award for Aalkkootam and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Abhayarthikal.

Reviews

[Méli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing collection of stories 10/10

[Rick Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories from Zoo is a collection of eight short comics, originally published in the Bubbles fanzine, by India-based cartoonist Anand. The storytelling is remarkably efficient as Anand sets up the premise, settings and characters within a few dozen panels and capably produces a winding narrative in each one that has well executed surreal bends and twists involved. Some of the setups are highly ridiculous like in the story entitled "My Cold Brother" which features a child who grows up inside a refrigerator to avoid the heat of the outside world. But Anand manages to craft a story that feels conclusive and poignant by the end - an accomplishment for a story that was roughly a dozen pages long. Surrealism can be tricky to pull off effectively as many other works tend to leave a bit of an unsatisfactory or unfulfilled sensation by the end, but Anand's work here represent a pretty robust understanding of how to craft offbeat stories without straying too far from conventional narrative structures. Highlight stories for me include the opening "People Photo Studio" story which features a desperate photo studio owner who engages in crime to keep his business afloat and "6 Feet Under the Ground" where the narrator learns that a man he used to hang around with in his youth has recently been discovered to be a serial killer.

Anand's cartooning is pretty loose and somewhat uncontrolled, but the resulting effect is actually quite brilliant to behold. I find the style to be somewhat of the Garo-esque quality where it seems like Anand took inspiration from the eclectic King Terry covers or that of other gekiga maestros. It's a perfect match for the bizarre quality of the storytelling and I can only imagine he'll get even more refined and distinctive as he progresses in his career.

[Titus · Rating 4 out of 5]

As suggested by the title, this is a collection of eight short comics that were originally self-published in issues #1–3 of “Zoo”, a one-man anthology series by the Indian cartoonist Anand Shenoy. The comics all follow lonely characters who are absurd and pathetic in ways that are simultaneously amusing, tragic and relatable – a recipe that reminds me of two of my favourite cartoonists, Josh Pettinger and Olivier Schrauwen. There’s also a similarity to Schrauwen in the art style – not necessarily in the ultimate appearance, but in the way everything’s a bit rough around the edges, the characters ugly and awkward-looking, all of which lends a certain “outsider art” feel and enhances the overall offbeat atmosphere. On the other hand, there’s also some common ground with the short comics of Yoshihiro Tatsumi, in the way that Shenoy depicts the unglamorous lives of ordinary working-class people, with occasional veers into surrealism.

This isn’t necessarily anything I’d call a masterpiece, but it’s work that greatly appeals to my personal tastes: funny, thought-provoking, at times rather uncanny, and occasionally even moving. Without a doubt, it marks its author as a talent worth following!