Comics and Graphic Novels in Indian Context

By Dr Deepali Yadav | Banaras Hindu University

Learners enrolled: 114

ABOUT THE COURSE:

‘Comics and Graphic Novels in Indian context’ course is an exploration of unique and powerful visual medium. As storytelling continues to evolve, comics and graphic novels are significant art forms for bridging the gap between literature and visual art. We will examine the fundamental elements that make comics and graphic novels distinct—panel layout, pacing, character development, and visual storytelling techniques, etc. We will also study a broad range of works from classic strips to contemporary graphic novels, analyzing their artistic and narrative innovations. Highlighting the work of Indian creators like Raj comics, Indrajal comics to graphic novelists like Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Amruta Patil and Sarnath Banerjee, we will discuss the unique local contexts that shape their illustrations. Additionally, we will discuss the works of many national and international comics/graphic novel scholars such as Scott McCloud, Will Eisner, Nandini Chandra, Emma Varughese Dawson, Hilary Chute, etc., for better understanding and possibilities of this form. The course also explores essential tools and techniques, from traditional drawing methods to experimental techniques of storytelling in print thus tapping into India’s vibrant indie comics scene and global trends. This course is an invitation to understand comics as a means of social commentary, cultural exploration, and personal expression.

INTENDED AUDIENCE:

U.G. & P.G. & PhD students and researchers
Independent researchers

PREREQUISITES: Proficiency in English language

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Cultural Studies and Social Science institutions, Media agencies, Content writers, Visual storytellers/Creative artists, Literary publishing houses, Cartoonists, etc.

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	8 weeks
Category :	Multidisciplinary
Credit Points :	2
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	18 Aug 2025
End Date :	10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends :	18 Aug 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	29 Aug 2025
Exam Date :	25 Oct 2025 IST
NCrF Level	5.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Visual narratives in print: Background, concepts (understanding panels, gutters, speech balloons, and captions), techniques (layout, design, color texture), types (manga, cartoon strips).

Week 2: Indian Comics: Brief history of comics globally and in India, approaches (mythology, fantasy, history), word-image interplay, visual politics, production, distribution and consumption patterns, comics from postcolonial to liberalized India.

Week 3: Introduction to Indian Graphic Novels: Situating the shift from comics, form & content analysis, post-liberalized India, production, distribution and consumption patterns, popularity, themes.

Week 4: Drawing women from comics to graphic novels: empowerment and feminism of superheroines, politics of representation, changing notions of femininity, visualizing male gaze and women’s bodies.

Week 5: Indigenous art in graphic novels: folk artwork, distinct language and expression techniques, usage of traditional symbols and folktales, endorsing alternative visuality.

Week 6: Graphical biographies: from life writing to seeing life, production of a new self, photographic truths, viewer as a participant/eye witness, comparatively deeper affinity and insight with the narrated subject.

Week 7: Counter-reality through graphic visuality: Engaging with magical realism; censorship; conflict and resistance, alternative truths, reclaiming erased histories, lives, and images.

Week 8: The Contemporary Indian Graphic Novel: Intertextual references; multimodality; montage art; local to global readership, non-linear narrative, transformed spatial landscape, multiple voices.

Books and references

Williams, R. M. C. (2008). Image, Text, and Story: Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom. Art Education, 61(6), 13–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00043125.2008.11652072
Duncan, Randy, and Smith, Matthew J.. The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture. United Kingdom, Bloomsbury Academic, 2009.
Jeremy Stoll. “Indian Comics” Routledge Companion to Comics. Routledge. 2017.
Ritu G. Khanduri “Comicology: Comic Books as Culture in India.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics.1 (2). 2010. pp. 171-91.
Pramod K Nayar. The Indian Graphic Novel: Nation, history and critique
A. Chaney, Michael. “Introduction” Graphic Subjects: Critical Essays on Autobiography and Graphic Novels. Wisconsin:The University of Wisconsin Press. 2011.
McLain, Karline. India’s Immortal Comic Books: Gods, Kings and Other Heroes. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 2009.
Marie, Rachel. Williams, Crane. “Image, Text, and Story: Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom” Art Education 61.6 (2008). 13-19. Web. 10th March 2014.
Witek, Joseph. Comic Books as History: The Narrative of Jack Jackson, Art Spiegelman, and Harvey Pekar. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1989. Print.
Smith, S. 2011. “Human Rights and Comics: Autobiographical Avatars, Crisis Witnessing, and Transnational Rescue Networks.” In Graphic Subjects, edited by Michael A. Chaney. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.

Instructor bio

Dr Deepali Yadav

Banaras Hindu University

Dr Deepali Yadav teaches English in the Department of English, Banaras Hindu University. She holds M.Phil in English degree from the University of Delhi and has completed her PhD from Banaras Hindu University. She has been researching in the field of visual culture for over a decade now. Her research has been published in many internationally reputed journals including the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics (Taylor & Francis), South Asian Popular Culture, Comedy Studies, and book chapters in Routledge, Rowman & Littlefield, etc. She has recently published an edited volume titled Digital Popular in India: Mainstreaming the Marginal (2023) with Palgrave (Springer Nature Imprint). Dr Yadav has also received many prestigious international fellowships and awards including the Lord Crewe Fellowship, Durham University, U.K; British Council’s CWIT fellowship at The British Library, London. (2022) and Visiting Research Fellowship at CSRS, University of Victoria, Canada (2020)

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: 25 October 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 6 assignments out of the total 8 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup. It will have the logos of INI and BHU.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- INI team

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