Bhavani Balasubramanyam
Empire Biscuit is a journey of rediscovery. When Shree discovers Tipu Sultan’s automaton, Tippoo’s Tiger, in the V&A Museum, it sparks a journey through imagined histories of looted artefacts from the British Raj. Blending fact and fiction, the comic explores identity, reclamation, and the enduring impact of cultural inheritance in the shadow of empire.
How much of the story comes from your own experiences and life? How did you balance reality and non-reality, and how do you view the line in between?
A large chunk of the story is inspired by things I've noticed or experienced. It is usually stuff that has enraged me in a given week. There is a lot of that these days! My work has evolved from direct references to my life to a more “magical realistic” flair. I honestly think real life and the mundane can be quite magical (blame the hopeless romantic in me!) an I try to portray that in the work that I do.
How did you start making comics?
I used to make tiny comic strips as far back as I can remember- usually in the style of the Sunday cartoons in the newspaper. I grew up on Garfield and peanut strips, so it was a major influence. I only started believing I could do long-form comic work after I joined my master's degree at the Glasgow School of Art. I worked on my first comic, Avial, through that and finished it in 2024.
How do you approach storytelling in comic form?
I visualise storytelling as film stills - I took a lot of film electives in my undergrad, and I approach the comic process similarly - establishing shots, push in, close-ups - that sort of thing. I do think about the comic's form while developing the concept. For eg, in Empire Biscuit, the protagonist’s imagined history is realised in a collage of historical images and sketches - a nod to the fact that she is cobbling together these scenes from her imagination and her limited knowledge of the event itself, while the “present day” scenes are done in a sketched style.
Tell us a bit about your process (ideas, sketching, drafts, the medium, analogue/digital)
My process is a little bit all over the place, if I’m being honest. The ideas spawn from whatever the most recent thing has affected me emotionally, and the seeds of a comic build from there. The sketches follow; I rarely write a script, the characters come first, and I use their motivations and designs to build the world and the story after. As I’m sketching, I also think about the form the comic will take, whether it would be a digital sketch, or something more analogue with print-making or collage styles. I try to vary it up and let the form of the publication inform the content.
What comic artists/illustrators are you inspired by?
That is a hard one to answer! My first comic was heavily inspired by Ram V, Felipe Andrade, and Jon McNaught. I love anything that has considered, detail-oriented, and lived-in world-building, and a more illustrated, sketchy style like E.M. Carroll. I’ve had the wonderful fortune of actually meeting Ram V at a convention!
The Spider-Verse films are among my biggest influences as well when I sit down to consider my work. I am also inspired by indie video games, like Venba and Raji.
What do you listen to when you are working?
I have a bit of an odd answer; I watch Dungeons and Dragons Let’s Plays on YouTube. I am currently watching a lot of Critical Role, and it is a great thing to have on in the background; the storytelling is truly inspirational.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am working on getting Empire Biscuit off the ground; there is a lot of research involved, so it is slow going, unfortunately! I am also working hard with my co-founder to get some new zines out for our mini-publishing experiment Kutty Press.
Find us at @kuttypress.studio on Instagram.
About Bhavani
Bhavani Balasubramanyam (She/They) is a visual storyteller and facilitator based in Glasgow and Singapore. She graduated with a BA (Architecture) from the National University of Singapore in 2016 and an MDes (Communication Design) from the Glasgow School of Art in 2024. Their creative practice is a means of enabling the creation of authentic, evocative stories. Through comics and illustration, they explore themes of south asian identity/history, mental health awareness and featuring (the star of the show) their cat, Kevin. She is very interested in the ripple effects of empire on modern society, and how history can be a tool for making sense of the world today. Bhavani melds community engagement and storytelling through my workshop facilitation practice primarily in Improvisational theatre.
Bhavani is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of Kutty Press, a mini publishing experiment rooted in the spirit of play, process, and print.
See more of Bhavani’s work here.