Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Aminder Dhaliwal, Cyclopedia Exotica, drawn & quarterly
Drawn & Quarterly To Publish Cyclopedia Exotica by Aminder Dhaliwal
Woman World was a webcomic and graphic novel by Aminder Dhaliwal that topped the Best Of 2018 lists, including Nylon, the New York Public Library, Boing Boing, and The Cut, with a story that saw men wiped out and women taking over in a satirical tract with men becoming nostalgic memories and survival of humanity gaining new importance, alongside the mundanity of day-to-day living and relationships. Dhaliwal has a followup, Cyclopedia Exotica, already serialised on her Instagram feed.
A comic about dating, the art world, and being a cyclops, from the creator of the wildly popular Woman World
Following the critical and popular success of Woman World―the hit Instagram comic which appeared on 25 best of lists―Aminder Dhaliwal returns with Cyclopedia Exotica. Also serialized on instagram to her 250,000 followers, this graphic novel showcases Dhaliwal's quick wit and astute socio-cultural criticism.
In Cyclopedia Exotica, doctor's office waiting rooms, commercials, dog parks, and dating app screenshots capture the experiences and interior lives of the cyclops community; a largely immigrant population displaying physical differences from the majority. Whether they're artists, parents, or yoga students, the cyclops have it tough: they face microaggressions and overt xenophobia on a daily basis. However, they are bent on finding love, cultivating community, and navigating life alongside the two-eyed majority with patience and the occasional bout of rage.
Through this parallel universe, Dhaliwal comments on race, difference, beauty, and belonging, touching on all of these issues with her distinctive deadpan humour steeped in millennial references. Cyclopedia Exotica is a triumph of hilarious candor.
To be published in April from Drawn & Quarterly – and can be checked out on Instagram right here. Of course none of this is any surprise to Bleeding Cool readers who know just what Cyclops has been up to for quite some time.