'Solitude' was a 101 day running day comic I ran on Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, The Wire magazine contacted me and wanted to feature my comics on their daily alongside an article. This was the short article can went alongside what was the comic series itself. To take a look at all of 'Solitude', go to the link given at then end of the article.
Creating comics has always been my hobby since my school days. This translated into an Instagram obsession this past one month.
During the nationwide lockdown over the worldwide pandemic, there are only few things one can do. I decided to use my time to create something on a daily basis that helps people relate and find some humorous distraction from the chaos outside.
For me, comics and cartoons have always been a medium to express myself and tell a story in the simplest way possible. This outbreak has everyone dealing with a lot of problems: some old, that they tried to hide from, and some new ones that they discovered in self-isolation.
Humour might just be a defense mechanism to deal with all these emerging hamartias, but it is also a way to tell people something simple – “keep calm and don’t lose yourself”.
As we constantly scroll our newsfeed to read updates, we tend to forget how all the negativity and fear of the COVID-19 can subconsciously affect our mental health.
A simple comic, cartoon or film on your daily feed might just be the reason to cheer you up again. So be wise in what you are reading up each day and what you aren’t.
Being quarantined might help you stay away from the demons outside your doors, but self-isolation also sets free the demons in your head. Just find the strength to overcome them, perhaps with the help of some cartoons.
That’s what I did.
To read all of Solitude, go to the following link.