"Oh, Dakuwaqa!" - The shark comic strip

Amazing facts about Sharks!

2013-05-10T11:41:00.000+05:30

Here's a poster I'm making for the upcoming Comic Con.
I wanted to make something that would talk about how interesting sharks are but also give it a humorous edge. Have I got all the facts straight? Are any of them wrong or wrongly sourced? Can you read it clearly? If not, please click here.

Comic Con India!

2013-05-02T10:18:00.000+05:30

Comic Con India is happening in Bangalore in less than a month. I didn't really think of having a stall to showcase my comic. But a friend suggested that I use the stall to promote shark conservation..now that seemed like a better idea. It would primarily be a comic stall but showcasing shark awareness in a fun way and hopefully I'll get people excited about sharks. I don't have a lot of space - only 2x1m - but it would be awesome if I can display a collage of shark art/facts/comics/fan photos from all over the world. Since I haven't done anything like this before, I could use all the help/ideas/suggestions/resources I can get! Nobody really knows my comic so it will be a bit challenging but I hope it goes well.

Looking forward to hearing from you! Thanks a lot.

ps-
Here's a list of what I thought I should have:
1. A couple of self-published books with a collection of comics from my site
2. Cardboard cutouts of characters
3. A fun fact sheet about sharks with information about my comic
4. Banners: One showing various sharks in the world of comics, one about shark conservation and one with stuff about my comic.
5. Coffee mugs? T-shirts? Badges?

Her shark is worse than her bite!

2013-04-29T14:27:00.001+05:30

Sorry if I made a bad day worse with this groaner.

The Shark's Poem

2013-04-25T00:21:00.001+05:30

I grew up reading the poems/rhymes of Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, Ogden Nash and Shel Silverstein. I love those but I really can't appreciate many other forms of poetry. Especially the "deep" and "painful" ones.
Many years ago I wrote a poem about a shark which I thought was pretty good for a ten-year old. I've searched all over for that notebook but sadly, it is lost. And so, I attempted to write another shark poem. My poetic skills obviously haven't improved but it was fun writing this. I didn't get to do an Earth day strip this year but I mentioned it in the poem. :D

Here's a separate panel with just the poem.

Cookiecutter shark is not impressed.

2013-04-05T15:10:00.002+05:30

Cookiecutter sharks are hilarious!
PS- My comic characters do more baking than I do.

A Shark and a T-Rex. Need I say more?

2013-04-03T22:24:00.000+05:30

A tribute to the awesome comic "T-Rex Trying".
Shark meets Dinosaur...how cool is that? We definitely need more movies with that theme. I'm super excited about "Jurassic Park" in 3D...even though there aren't any sharks in it (and I'm not even a big fan of 3D movies!).
Mr.Spielberg, Jaws in 3D next, please?

When I see a shark fly

2013-04-01T11:09:00.000+05:30

This little Dumbo-dig at the Oceanic whitetip has nothing to do with the earlier strip. The shark isn't at all upset that the stripey fish don't want to hang out with it.
Oceanic whitetip sharks are pretty awesome. They have these special (aka "conspicuously larger an rounded") fins and they look rather cool swimming about with their groupies. Sadly, they have been the victims of over-fishing because some people think cool fins = tasty fins. The possibility that those fins are to help the shark fly higher never crosses their mind.

Thankfully, CITES delegates voted for their protection this year.

Por"beagle" shark!

2013-03-15T12:38:00.000+05:30

Get it? It's a por"beagle", that's why! :p

Fisher of fish

2013-03-15T11:32:00.001+05:30

Those Oceanic whitetips are always surrounded by those striped fish! They must be pretty cool. The rest of my annoyance speaks for itself.

Wireless kite flying

2013-03-05T11:25:00.000+05:30

The image in the second panel has been on my mind for a while. It would be a lot of fin (pun intended) to have a wireless kite!

Sharks - Extinction is NOT an option - CITES 2013

2013-03-04T19:35:00.000+05:30

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Over the next couple of weeks in March 2013, parties will vote on a record number of proposals for controlling trade in a variety of threatened sharks and rays, including hammerheads and mantas.
Project Aware started this campaign #CITES4Sharks to raise awareness about the importance of this meeting. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to draw and comic and be a part of this.
Sharks and Rays need your love and awe and support.

Monster pet goldfish

2013-02-08T12:07:00.000+05:30

This comic would work on its own - I thought it would be a nice follow up to the wanting a pet wolf one. I don't think I'd ever stick my finger into a fish bowl even if it contained just goldfish. I'm certain that they like finger food.

Pet wolves and zombie roadkill

2013-02-08T11:43:00.001+05:30

I've wanted a pet wolf for ages. I may have to move to Canada or Alaska for that, right? I once adopted a wolf from the Sawtooth pack of Nez Perce via one of those adopt-a-wolf things. The wolf I wanted (Kamots) died by the time they got my application so they gave me another one (Wahotts).
Can you tell that my wolf drawings are inspired by Balto?
A friend of mine refers to ferrets and possums as roadkill. Zombie roadkill just seems funnier.

The Blackheads of Lorenzini

2013-02-07T09:10:00.002+05:30

I recently saw a close-up photo of a shark with very visible Ampullae of Lorenzini which sort of led to this. I wanted to draw them on the shark to make the point but it ended up looking like facial hair! Besides, you can't see them from this far away.

Facebook must be wrong. Everyone loves me!

2013-02-06T09:38:00.000+05:30

Strangely enough (I'd drafted this comic several weeks ago), my post yesterday only got about half a dozen likes but Facebook claims that about 200 people viewed it. It must be because I posted a link instead of the full picture. No one seems to like moving from one page to another anymore. It's one of the more difficult chores of the new century. Lazy humans.

My original comic didn't include the last panel. I wasn't sure about adding it but then I thought it would be fun to get a bit dramatic.

Shark vs. Penguin

2013-02-05T09:23:00.001+05:30

Penguins have comic potential, don't they? They could almost be as good as squirrels. This is just a random comic... no point or purpose.

Shark Stanley and friends!

2013-01-30T23:31:00.000+05:30

Shark Stanley and friends from Shark Defenders are looking for supporters and friends all over the world. It's fun to see how many countries they've been to so far. It would be great to see you all in the list too. Please check out sharkstanley.com or sharkdefenders.com for information.

Crazy Shark Lady

2013-01-22T10:44:00.000+05:30

This is probably the most elaborate sketch I've done so far. I've never spent this much energy or time on backgrounds before. It was hard. Harder still was having my sister pick on all the imperfections and making me correct/change things.
I'm not sure if all the details will be visible here so I'll put up a bigger image on the Facebook page. See if y'all can find all the shark related items in the room! Some items are imaginary (aka "I hope they make these), some are real and I'd love to be able to afford them (like Victor Douieb's sculptures) and others are stuff that I probably want/have. :)

Shark Tag

2013-01-21T09:19:00.000+05:30

This is just a random comic. I don't even know if the shark in it is my usual shark. I saw the question "What would you do if you were stranded on an island and find sharks swimming all around you?" on Facebook and thought that it would be funny if this happened.
I also had a few alternate last panels. Please pick whichever one you like.

Or how about this one? The sharks were probably having a wine and cheese party. You'd never know.

The Green Lanternshark

2013-01-17T12:27:00.000+05:30

Drawing that Lanternshark...AND turning it into the Green Lantern was so much harder than I expected. Watch out for more adventures of The Green Lanternshark!

Here's more information on Lanternsharks (I wasn't sure if it was 'Lanternshark' or 'Lantern shark' - they both seem to be used). There are also a few other kinds of lanternsharks, for those of you who are interested.

The Grim Thresher

2013-01-17T10:39:00.001+05:30

For those who aren't that shark-smart [yet], the shark being held is known as the Thresher shark.

Also, "unfin" is not the same as "de-fin".

I want a shark scooter!

2013-01-16T11:11:00.001+05:30

My sister mentioned that every time she sees a hammerhead shark, she feels like holding on to the head and play water scooter. I doubt that the shark would find that very amusing.

Sharks' public image: Parakeets bite too! (aka "Improve the public!")

2013-01-15T11:05:00.000+05:30

It's probably easier to get the sharks to behave like goldfish than to get the general public to improve. I saw this very funny comic about animals' New Year resolutions and the part about sharks improving their public image inspired me to draw a strip about various attempts at doing so. But while musing on this strip, I was like "um, it's the public that needs improving". So, while this strip probably does nothing to improve sharks' public image, it does point out that parakeets bite too. I love that line... especially after google search results showed me these links. Biting Parakeets and How to stop a parakeet from biting.

The "Social Obligation Smile"

2013-01-11T10:58:00.000+05:30

About five years ago, I wrote a blog post titled "The 'Social Obligation Smile'". I'd written the title down in my sketch notebook to remind myself to someday do a sketch about it. Re-reading my old post shows me just how cynical and sarcastic I used to be (I'm definitely mellowing down). However, I still believe that this is a highly useful skill in societies/cultures where social interactions are strangely superficial and yet extremely fundamental.
Also, this could probably help the sharks with their public image, right?

Wise words: Discontentment

2013-01-07T10:00:00.000+05:30

I thought that it would be nice if the first post of 2013 was an insightful and wise one.
And in case you were wondering, sharks are wise as well as witty.