Ad Astra Comix, in cooperation with Zubaan Books has officially opened pre-orders for “Drawing the Line: Indian Women Fight Back!” here in North America. If you have already ordered your copy off our Kickstarter but can’t wait to see what’s in store, here’s a little teaser to keep you going! Below you’ll find an exclusive sneak preview of the beauty and power of ‘Drawing the Line’, which connects issues of gender, sexuality, shade/race, class, and inter-generational dialogue in one exciting volume. In short, we feel that this book includes a little of everything that North American feminism needs: international and intersectional perspectives on the ‘every day’ of womanhood.

We hope you enjoy. …And if you do, we encourage you to follow us on social media, and pre-order your copy of Drawing the Line on September 1st!

This preview is brought to you by the incredibly talented illustrator, Samidha Gunjal. Here’s what she has to say about her comic:

‘Someday‘ is a story about one day, a day unlike any other. The girl in my story has to deal with what is euphemistically called ‘eve-teasing’ from the men she passes on the street. This kind of sexual harassment is a daily reality for most women in India. Initially she ignores the cat-calls and whistles. Her fear grows but in that moment she finds her strength. Her anger takes over and her emotions explode- she becomes Kali !

Kali is a Hindu goddess associated with Shakti, the force of divine female energy. Kali is the fierce avatar of the goddess Durga who, in need of help summons Kali to combat Rakshasa – the demons. Kali is the goddess of Time, Change, and Destruction, and is often portrayed as dark and violent.’

Samidha participated in a week-long workshop with other Indian women to produce her comic. To get an idea of what that process looked like, check out this slideshow of her creating.

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Now that you know a little about the artist and the process, check out the incredible final product… Samidha Gunjal’s “Someday“.

About the artist, Samidha Gunjal:

‘I am an artist who love visual storytelling through illustrations and animation. I enjoy drawing and painting using traditional mediums keeping it simple with multiple layers of meaning.

As a self taught artist I keep exploring and experimenting with drawing styles and mediums to develop my own style. Anything and everything from day to day life inspires me to draw but nature is the main inspiration! I love reading children story books, graphic novels and mythology which keeps me inspired and motivated to create more stories.

I started my journey as children story book illustrator but ‘Someday‘ is my first graphic narrative where I got full freedom to express visually, the way I feel I should be! And I am grateful to Zubaan who gave me that opportunity by publishing it as a part of graphic anthology ‘Drawing the Line- Indian Women Fight Back’! Currently I am working on my own drawing series called ‘Silent Conversations’ and an animation film project to be revealed soon!

Samidha has more work on display on Facebook, Instagram, Behance, and her blog.

For more information about the comics anthology ‘Drawing the Line’, or to get your copy today, check out our Kickstarter page.