One of the greatest joys in considering self-published comics work in print is the opportunities it affords for unfiltered experimentation with the form’s possibilities. To see something like Bhavani Bala’s Meep, Logging Off_, for example, where the tactile nature of the minicomic is used so cleverly and intuitively to enhance its themes is a testament to the artist’s inquisitive mind in embedding subject matter into presentation in a manner that reminds the reader of the things that comics and comics alone can do narratively.
In terms of construction Meep, Logging Off_ would have began life as an A3 sheet of paper folded multiple times so that the cover opens up into ever increasing layout sizes with each “turn” of the page until it unfolds completely, leaving us with one giant image on the flip side of the comic.
Meep explores the experience of depression through one extended use of visual metaphor. Our protagonist is an astral explorer who has become lost in the void of space, drifting ever onwards alone and untethered. The parallels to living with anxiety and solitude are obvious in their plight and Bala uses that eloquently to create a fitting sense of emotional detachment. A limited colour palette also enhances this sense of aimlessness and spiritual oppression, the magnitude of which is so powerfully realised in a truly haunting final image. A most articulate use of the medium to communicate lived experience.
For more on Bhavani Bala, including their publishing venture Kutty Press, check out our interview this week here. Our Broken Frontier comics resource list on Mental Health Awareness can be found here.
Bhavani Bala (W/A) • Self-published
Kutty Press will be tabling at the Glasgow Zine Fest this coming weekend. Selections of their titles are available from Hot Cock Soup and Good Press.
