Doing the Kabul Disco

Q Afghanistan to Nepal why do diverse cultures intrigue youA Travelling to new places changes my perception of the world and awakens my senses and imagination It is as if I have the chance to be a child again This experience enhances my creativity and I have no other choice than to draw and report about it I have a specific fascination for the IndoEuropean world the story of civilisations and religions and how each of them travels through bordersNicolas Wildrsquos Kabul Disco gained much critical acclaim for his wryyetperceptive approach He will be at the Comic Con 2014 which begins in the city today Pic courtesyHarpercollins Q Are your works a way of culturally or politically engaging with the places you travel toA Not really Even if there are a lot of geopolitical issues in my work my books are more poetic and ironic than political Something between the carnet de voyage and the story of initiation My avatar in the book has a light and candid view of the world Through his eyes the reader experiences my own journeyThe Afghan musical roundabout from Kabul Disco Pics courtesy Nicolas Wild Q What fascination does India hold for you Any plans to write or report about IndiaMumbai A This is my sixth visit to India and my third visit to Mumbai specifically I wrote about my second trip to India October 2003 to March 2004 and it will be published next year in France in a compilation book amongst other trips that I have made in the last decade In my book Ainsi se tut Zarathoustra Thus Paused Zarathustra I mention the epic journey of Iranian Zoroastrians who moved to Mumbai Two pages are set in this cityAinsi se tut Zarathoustra is one of Wildrsquos latest works that narrates the advent of Parsis in IndiaQ Have you read any Indian graphic novels and what is your opinion of them A Yes I had the chance to meet many Indian graphic novelists in the last 10 years Amruta Patil Sarnath Banerjee and the contributors to the Pao Collective Irsquove read most of their productions and Irsquom amazed by the diversity of styles and topics they work on I hope to see more Indian graphic novels in the future itrsquos an exciting way to step inside the Indian culture through a visual storyTwo Bhutanese refugees rehearsing for a music competition is a scene from one of Wildrsquos untitled worksQ Being an expat in Afghanistan must have been stressful How did that empower or isolate your perception of the countryA Actually when I arrived in Afghanistan in 2005 the situation in the country was better than what it is today I could travel through the country easily But slowly from 2005 to 2007 the mood in the country has deteriorated Travelling has become more difficult and sometimes when the level of danger peaks we are forced to stay home The feeling of claustrophobia was difficult to handle as I recall but I was lucky to get along very well with my roommates Friendship helped me get through the hard times When in Kabul adrenaline pulls your stress apart Once in France the tension accumulated over the years got released and that is when I experienced a period of depression Writing Kabul Disco was a work of psychoanalysing onersquos self which helped me get through that period of depression I wrote it to understand what had happened to meQ Tell us about your love for comic books What led you to become a comic book writer and artistA I drew my first comic book when I was seven years old Irsquove always drawn stories since then and never saw it as a challenge Doing graphic novels is as natural to me as breathingNicolas Wild will meet the audience on December 20 at 230 pmat Mumbai Comic Con 2014The guide picksgtgt Head to the Star Wars Zone designed to resemble the bridge of a star destroyer with snazzy and futuristic display equipped with Star Wars weapons character figurines and inspired artOne of the most promising features of the Comic Con is the Star Wars experiential zonegtgtShop for funky merchandise from international publishers and merchandisers such as Marvel Comics Wacom Chimp Item Number Sony DADC Graphic Curry FGali Planet Superheroes Lazy Ninja Fukwas Urban Viking Something Sketchy and Bewakoofcom gtgtChoose from more than 15 new book titles including Parshu mdash Warriors by Orange Radius Rim Jim by Peachtree Comics Train Of Thoughts mdash The Bridge Crimzon Studios and Kaurava Empire II CampfireNicolas Wild Comic book illustrator and writergtgtTake selfies with figurines of your favourite superheroes like The Hulk Ironman Thor and Captain America who will make an appearance at the threeday event gtgtCatch special previews of the new superhero film Shunya directed by Goldie Behl and the teaser launch of Baahubali featuring actor Rana DaggubatiOn December 21 2 pm At Bombay Exhibition Centre Goregaon EgtgtThere is also Cosplay mdash the Costume Contest where kids and adults can come dressed as their favourite comic characters The winner will be chosen from each of the five categories namely comic book graphic novel animated series movie manga anime scifi fantasy and gaming One lucky winner out of the chosen five will win a trip to Oz Comic Con Sydney in 2015On Today 630 pm December 20 6 pm and December 21 530 pmAt Stage area Bombay Exhibition Centre Goregaon E