Cyclopedia Exotica

by Aminder Dhaliwal

"Dhaliwal created a fictitious community facing xenophobia, fetishization, and media misrepresentation. It's resonating with her thousands of Instagram followers."—Robert Ito, The New York Times

“The characters in Dhaliwal’s stories sparkle. They’re tenderly rendered and their problems are real... The struggle of the cyclops unfolds in metaphors for race, sexuality, gender, and disability, tangling with ideas about fetishization, interracial relationships, passing, and representation.“—Carmen Maria Machado, author of In The Dream House

Following the critical and popular success of Woman World—the hit Instagram comic which appeared on 25 best of the year lists—Aminder Dhaliwal returns with Cyclopedia Exotica. Also serialized on instagram to her 250,000 followers, this graphic novel showcases Dhaliwal’s quick wit and astute socio-cultural criticism.

Doctor’s office waiting rooms, commercials, dog parks, and dating app screenshots capture the experiences and interior lives of the cyclops community; a largely immigrant population displaying physical differences from the majority. Whether they’re artists, parents, or yoga students, the cyclops have it tough: they face microaggressions and overt xenophobia on a daily basis. However, they are bent on finding love, cultivating community, and navigating life alongside the two-eyed majority with patience and the occasional bout of rage.
Cyclopedia Exotica is a triumph of hilarious candor.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, LGBT, Graphic Novels Comics

268 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2021

About the author

Aminder Dhaliwal is a native of Brampton, Ontario and received a Bachelors of Animation from Sheridan College. She now lives in Los Angeles, where she is the Director at Disney TV Animation. Previously, she worked as a Storyboard Director at Cartoon Network and Storyboard Director on the Nickelodeon show Sanjay and Craig.

She has serialized Woman World biweekly on instagram since March 2017 and has garnered over 120,000 followers. Woman World was nominated for an Ignatz Award for Outstanding Online Comic.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing but thought-provoking collection of one- or two-page Instagram cartoons features an ensemble cast of one-eyed Cyclopes dealing with identity issues, relationships, microaggressions, discrimination, and bigotry in a world in which they are a minority to the two-eyed people who treated them as outright monsters for much of their shared history. There's no big plot uniting the book, but all of the characters have their own little arcs that kept me engaged.

The world-building seems incomplete even though it's just supposed to be our world but with Cyclopes. I thought it was a little odd that the Cyclopes are portrayed as multi-colored on the few color pages, but skin color seems to play no part in the prejudice against them or within their own culture. And while a few of the humans are portrayed as BIPOC, no time is spent on how they specifically relate to Cyclopes, whether they are allies in the struggle against discrimination or not. Does traditional racism not exist because of the presence of Cyclopes? What were the historical implications as to slavery, civil and world wars, and genocides? Also, a large portion of the cast are models, artists, or writers, leaving me to wonder how the blue-collar folks are getting by.

If you enjoy this, be sure to check out the author's similarly structured previous book, Woman World.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Originally a web comic, Dhaliwal has a cartoonish but realistic drawing style that draws you into the story. She juggles a large cast of characters but finds space to individuate them and draw us into, and make us care about, their stories. The conceit of approaching difference through cyclopean characters is interesting and while none of the story lines is particularly groundbreaking, the examination of careers, families, relationships, and how they are all affected by difference is very entertaining and engaging.

**Thanks to the artist, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of graphic short stories about an interconnected group of people was compulsively readable and very interesting. Dhaliwal uses the concept of Cyclops--people with one eye, as well as other physical differences--to investigate difference and marginalization in all their difficulties and joy. Pressure to assimilate, internalized hate, commodification, community and belonging, what support from a privileged partner looks like, storytelling, exoticization, and more! There were many moments where I, as a bi woman, cringed in recognition. And the cool thing is that someone with a completely difference marginalized identity could cringe in recognition at the same moment, because the idea's been translated to a science fictional context.

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super funny book with some powerful messaging as well. Using the cyclops as a metaphor for race, sexuality, gender, disability, and really just being different than the norm. The cyclops people live among everyone else, just trying to live their lives but face struggles unique to them.

Dhaliwal has a super sharp eye and balances humour with social commentary. I thought this was a big improvement over her last book "Woman World" which was a little too on-the-nose for me.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

It makes sense that Cyclopedia Exotica got its start as a serialized Instagram comic. Every so often you get a quick four panel set-up and punchline, but it's at its best when it gets to stretch its legs and tell a story. Across a large ensemble it speaks to microaggressions, tokenization, self-loathing, and marginalization with cyclops as a clear stand-in for the other. But there's also stuff here about finding love, as well as worries about selling out, growing up and settling down. I'm not sure I need to know that male cyclops have two-pronged penises and that female cyclops have 3 vaginas which leads to (naturally) a second womb where a not-twin baby will grow simultaneously in embryonic diapause. I get it, they're different - they're cyclops! And yes, many a set-up and punchline fall flat and feel obvious, but on the whole the work is still a light distraction that never takes itself too seriously while poking at often serious topics.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This was such a funny, "eye-opening" book. Imagining a world where "two-eyed" humanity lives side-by-side with cyclopes, Dhaliwal is able to explore and convey the experience of marginalization, and how different people experience/grapple with being othered (among many other things!).

A lot of the reason discussions break down when we talk about privilege is the defensiveness. But when you're reading a silly comic strip about cyclopes, you can step back a little and see it more clearly. Oh well I'm not being called out, this is fictional! However, I am seeing some interesting parallels, HM.....

I love books like this! They ask tricky questions, empathize with so many different perspectives, and use humour to anatomize subtle yet persistent problems in how we treat other people, and how we feel when we are treated in that way.

I mean, part of me feels genuinely bad for my "eye opening" pun at the start of the review, because I genuinely have so much empathy for cyclopes now. It just seems in bad taste! I would say the author got me to buy in, if I'm still worried about hurting the mythological race of people in her book.

[Maia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to read this book early to give it a back cover blurb! I really liked the book, I had already read portions of on insta but the new material really fleshes out the story and brings it all together. The lives of ten characters in the same city intertwine as each grapples with living in an otherized body. Their physical differences are fetishized, marketed to, discriminated against, and misunderstood, as bodies are in our own world. What to do when people see your single eye but not yourself? Rage about it, laugh about it, make art about it and work to change the world for the better. Dhaliwal is such a deft and clever storyteller! This book made me giggle and made me think, and it fueled my own determination to continue pushing for real social change.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Original, topical, and charming

[Tonia Kestner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a 3.8

[Luke Spooner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool concept.

[cassia powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

love my cyclops book

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly smart satire that delivers on the promise of Dhaliwal’s earlier WOMAN WORLD. I love the way the book relentlessly jumps around to explore different facets of the concept, although some may find the lack of a true narrative centre off-putting. The art is incredibly charming and I love the way colour is interspersed throughout. This is technically the second time I’ve read this, and I feel confident saying this is a book that will stay with me. 4.5 stars rounded up.

[Bandit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so here’s a perfect instance of stepping up one’s game. The author’s previous book, Women’s World, was perfectly decent and…that’s about it. Cute silliness or silly cuteness presenting itself as the notes on the apocalypse with only women left. The jokes are amusing, but fairly basic and obvious. Enter Cyclops and watch the author’s game go up and up and up.
Guess sometimes one just needs to find a proper subject to let themselves shine…because this was lovely. Beaming up from cute and silly into charming and clever.
The episodic structure of this book is quite similar to Women’s World, only now it’s a Cyclopean World or more like a world where Cyclops live side by side with Two-Eyes and must deal with all sorts of prejudice and navigate the world that isn’t always built for them. Which isn’t merely charmingly whimsical, it’s also a very clever tool to have conversations about race, prejudice, sexism, isolation, belonging, etc. Only where so many books do it in a straight-forward heavy-handed way and allow the message to overwhelm the book, here the author gets to do in through metaphors and allegories. Subtlety is a fine art and should be utilized more. And lo and behold, here it is, among these adorable cartoons. It’s so nice, so refreshing to see someone actually tackling important and timely subjects topics this way in this day and age of overwhelming confessional style sincerity and nuance-free earnestness.
There’s also quite a considerable amount of world-building or maybe more like world adjusting to fit the Cyclops in it. A lot of thought obviously went into it, from characters’ names to backstory, read the extensive afterword and be impressed.
All in all, this was definitely a winner and a dramatic improvement upon its predecessor. Less pages, more to say. Still a very quick read and absolutely worth it. Recommended.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/

[diytrasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, give me everything ever written by Aminder Dhaliwal. I want it now.

The othering of cyclopes was a really heart-warming and hilarious narrative structure — it served as a wonderful allegory for the confusing experiences often associated with invisible marginalization. As a brown person who's struggled to articulate the discomfort of microaggressions (a word I hate) to my white friends, this book made me feel very seen.

For anyone whose struggles often feel invalidated, this book will provide you with the hope you need. And for those who struggle to understand the grating nature of othering and invisible marginalization, this is a great book to help you re-evaluate your privilege (but have fun doing it!)

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is obviously about racism, with a cyclopean race bearing the brunt, though nominally accepted in society. The art was nice, and the book clearly showed a bunch of issues with racism and our culture. I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't particularly move me.

[Flora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading it but I was sort of expecting to get some new insight into the experiences of people with marginalized identities/bodies and I don't think I really did.

[Melissa Kapadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful--felt like an extra important and enjoyable read as a disabled person. Loved the layered storytelling and the author's appendix!

[Hailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel the same about this as I did about woman world; it’s cute and light, but it didn’t move me and I probably won’t think about it much

[Michi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story to highlights the experience of being a minority!

The narrative flows so well with how an icon of a community reveals all the little things that make up of that community. From this icon, we get to hear the voices of the minority and how not every representation is good representation. But what I love most is the way the author was able to let us audience see the world the way the cyclops do with such wits.

There are definitely enough stories highlighting the experience of a minority that are and should be serious and heavy. This story is breath of fresh air! It is so witty without being too on the nose. The cyclops are navigating the world where they are still not entirely welcomed just as people do in real life. They just do. And not everything has to mean something. Love it!

[Marc Kozak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one from the Best Comics of 2021 lists. This was a breezy series of short comics (originally shared on the author's Instagram) that follow a few different characters in a world where there are cyclopses, and they are finding their way in modern society after a history of discrimination. You can see the parallels between the cyclopses and real-life marginalized groups, and Dhaliwal uses this set-up to make some commentary on "race, sexuality, gender, and disability, tangling with ideas about fetishization, interracial relationships, passing, and representation."

It sounds like it could be heavy, but it's really not -- Dhaliwal's characters go through difficult and very relatable modern problems, but the tone is light; more of a gentle poking fun at the issues. It's an often heartwarming approach that will have you going "awww" more than once, but can often make you consider the very real issues at the heart of things.



Some of the overly cutesy humor didn't really land with me (there's lots of puns and gags related to people having one eye), and a lot of ideas seemed pretty obvious, but it could just be I'm a heartless bastard. Also the disconnected narrative, despite recurring characters and barely-there storylines, isn't my favorite. It really has the feel of a coffee table book that you pick up and flip through on occasion (which totally makes sense given its Instagram origins).

All said, it's a nice piece of work that covers some very real feelings about how it's like to be "othered" in a dominant society, and I'm sure there's plenty of folks out there who will really connect with it.

[Debby Tiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book more than I was expecting to. Normally I don’t love comics, especially if they don’t have a through line in the story. While these comics followed a whole cast of unique characters with different stories, they intersected in interesting ways and had similar themes. The book’s sarcastic tone calls out stereotypes, exploitation of minorities, and othering.

The book started out as encyclopedia entries and merged into stories, which I thought was original and well-executed.

I also really enjoyed how the author broke down the storyline and characters at the end of the book explaining what the intent behind the story was.

Favorite character: Latea.

[Eris Tiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book felt as if I were watching a documentary on another reality. The shift between our two eyes only world and the one eyed-two eyed world found in this novel was lovely. The messages of struggle, identity, creative expression, doubts, taking risks, expressing goals and what chaotic situations people experience throughout their life are all felt in this novel in a caring way. I had to stop myself from crying especially with the experiences written down of losing something you once had and finding what you have gained which propelled this book into a nice spot in my read bookshelf. I did however felt a bit jumped around with some of the stories moving in different directions right after one another. Perhaps that shall be mended when I reread this novel in the future.

[Jenna Loa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this artist. I somehow found her on Instagram and have really enjoyed the content she puts out.

The topics in the book hit home but landed gently since it’s a satire. There’s a praise on the back from Helen Jo that states “ …for anyone who has experienced the turbulence and pride of being “othered” in a dominant society, Cyclopedia Exotica will serve you equal parts reassurance and wistful pain.” It’s true!

Would recommend this to anyone.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much perfect.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is cyclopes were among us (and had 3 vaginas)? A funny at times critique of zenophobia and just living together in a society. Dhaliwal's got a good eye and lots of good stuff in this volume.

[That one psychopath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Humans are racist to people to Cyclops

That sums it up

[elin]

so whimsical and fun with lovingly crafted characters

[Sundry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admiration abounds!

This is one of my favorite reads in a long time, all genres and formats included. I wasn't sure whether it was a collection of stories or a novel at first, but it all weaves together beautifully as the narrative processes. The appendix kind of blew me away.

Wonderfully inclusive and fluid. We don't need to know every little identifier to know we like someone. Listen.

[Meshua Arcieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conoscevo già l’argomento di questa graphic novel perché per un GDL avevamo letto alcune delle strisce in esso contenute. Allora la graphic novel ancora non esisteva e le strisce erano presenti online in lingua originale. Già in quel momento però le avevo apprezzate.

Leggerle su carta e in italiano devo dire che me le ha fatte apprezzare ancora di più, anche per l’introduzione che è stata fatta a inizio libro. In questa introduzione l’autrice ci spiega un po’ il tema che ha deciso di trattare e ci presenta il personaggio del ciclope. Ho apprezzato davvero tanto questa parte introduttiva perché ha spiegato bene il suo intento e ci ha dato una spolverata teorica. Anche alla fine c’è una nota che ho ritenuto fondamentale: qui l’autrice ci presenta i diversi personaggi e per ognuno di essi ci dice il messaggio che voleva trasmettere.

In generale comunque il messaggio che vuole farci arrivare è quello della discriminazione: di come il diverso venga discriminato e visto malamente dal resto delle persone. In questo caso il diverso è rappresentato dalla categoria del ciclope, ma può essere adattato a chiunque. Inoltre ci fa vedere gli effetti della discriminazione, come le persone discriminate vivono la situazione e come reagiscono diversamente alla stessa situazione.

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging collection of cartoon short stories about how society treats marginalized groups, and the different ways that individuals in those groups react and find ways to live their lives. As a cis bi white woman, I was very much reading this as "oh gosh yeah, how relatable for queer folks" and also "oh gosh yeah, I was raised in a culture & I'm part of the group that absolutely marginalizes people in this way." So, enjoyable reading but also a lot of good food for thought.