This artist puts ‘Miss’ in ‘Misfit’

Many observant and funny people become comedians. They know how to lure their audience with satire and storytelling. But what if you are an introvert? Like 27-year-old Tanika Godbole, who finds verbal communication difficult and stressful.

The Mumbai-resident channels her creativity through cartoons with a serious heart. Missfit Comic, to be read on Facebook, takes on sexism and misogyny with sarcasm and realistic puns. “I want to make people think, make them laugh. I do that through my comics without being present in the same room,” says Godbole.

“The name ‘Missfit’ is a play on ‘Miss’ to highlight the feminist undertones of the comic,” says Godbole, a self-taught artist. Inspired by international web comics, she felt the urge to address issues that are prevalent in India and started drawing them herself. “My mother and a few friends were my first readers. Now I get positive feedback from strangers, and my comics are slowly gaining popularity.”

Talking about her most popular comic ‘Shaadikar lo sab theek ho jayega’ (Get married and everything will be alright), she says, “It was inspired by a conversation I had with friends. We were talking about the unsolicited advice which comes from random strangers, who insist that marriage is the solution to everything. I guess many young unmarried people could relate to it.”

Passionate about feminism, human rights, and social issues, she also likes to make comics about books, movies or TV shows. “Just some regular pencils, a few colour pencils and sketch pens, and there you go! Making the comics isn’t really difficult.”

However, it isn’t easy to convey thoughts using a few words. “Sometimes, people don’t understand the jokes because I don’t explain it enough or don’t provide enough context. I’m working on that,” she says.

She’s made about sixty strips so far and hopes to go digital soon, eventually, monetise this project.