New Delhi: In a media landscape saturated with billion-dollar franchises and superhero fandoms, lived experiences often get lost. Yet, the realisation that comics are not merely for laughs, or for marvelling over superhuman chronicles, is gradually permeating into the mainstream. With the advent of comic journalism, indie publications, and candid personal accounts, comics have broken conventional moulds to encompass a myriad of narrative styles and themes over the past few decades. Independent comics have played a large role in shattering this artistic ceiling — dealing with ‘heavier’ themes such as political satire, queer rights, feminism, and social stigmas — bringing frequently-marginalised experiences of the societal underdogs to the fore of storytelling. They teleport readers to a liminal space between unflinching truths and uninhibited imaginations, providing glimpses into the artist’s psyche, an aspect glaringly lacking in corporate-driven comics. Independent comic festivals are integral to keeping this world of witty commentary, social critique, and self-expression alive.The Indie Comix Fest (ICF) is one such platform that celebrates stories from independent creators, honouring nuanced protagonists and embracing the uncensored art of storytelling. First organised in Mumbai in 2017, as a space for self-expression through comics, the festival has since expanded into a multi-city endeavour: holding annual events in Delhi, Kochi, Bengaluru, Kozhikode, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad, with an addition of Guwahati to the repertoire this year. The fest is returning to Delhi for its seventh edition on March 15, at the Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, with a diverse group of over 50 creators, small presses, and publishers. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Niloy Duttagupta (@thewordofboka) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Indie Comix Fest (@indiecomixfest)Ideated as a volunteer-run, not-for-profit festival, ICF fosters a community of comic lovers, thriving on artistic expression and creativity. Organised this year by Anupam Arunachalam, Ashwitha Jayakumar (Indian Summer Press), Shikhant Sablania (Studio Choorma), Shivangi Singh (BlueJackal), and Vidyun Sabhaney, the fest will feature three events: an interactive conversation between artist, activist, and muralist Orijit Sen and Angshuman Chakraborty, the co-founder of Indian Summer Press, a comics mixer open to both readers and creators, and a panel dedicated to Manga comics fans. Ashwitha Jayakumar, author of The Book of Emperors: An Illustrated History of the Mughals and Incredible Indians: 75 People Who Shaped Modern India, reminisces about her experience as a first-time visitor to the fest. She recalls being enthralled by how the festival was one of the very few places dedicated purely to storytelling, where one is free to tell the story they want to. The fest functions on a few simple rules: no merchandise sales are permitted and participation is limited to independent creators, collectives, and small indie publishers. The only criterion for participation is that “it has to be a comic,” welcoming a wide variety of comic enthusiasts, ranging from comics veterans to amateur artists and writers looking to showcase their work and collaborate on new projects.Writer-artist duo Abiral Kumar and Mainak Mitra have a quirky take on this:“The comicscape, shall we say, of the Indie Comic Fest resembles a tilism — an enchanted space that comes into being from time to time through the efforts of dedicated creators of all things comics, and is inhabited by lovers of the medium. The magic of the Indie Comic Fest lies in its variety and openness to new expressions and discoveries, where each stall becomes a smaller tilism (or a tilism-within-a-tilism), offering a unique glimpse into someone else’s mindscape through their creative work. And much like a tilism, the fest winds down at the end of the day leaving participants with a lingering sense of wonder — was it all for real?”The two form Tilismigram, a comics collective which will be presenting their work at Delhi’s fest. In their newest series, ‘Travelling Through Tilisms’, the two protagonists, Abiel and Momuk, are visiting various places in East and North India, searching for the enchanted “Lauh-e-tilism-e-jahan” through funny and often soulful adventures.Snippets from the newest comics by Tilismigram, Photo: Tilismigram with Boyofmittirz.Another creator is Shikhant Sablania, an illustrator, designer, and comics maker, creating vibrant and playful comics, books, and animations at his design studio, Choorma. His recent travelogue-documentary series, African Caravan, chronicles 12 artists’ 9-month-long journey across 10 African countries, collaborating and making art on various ground issues. He will be exhibiting earlier and new instalments of his independent comics anthology, Inklab Zine, featuring unique and underground stories from across India. A peek into the first three instalments of Inklab Zine, Photo: Shikhant Sablania. A snapshot of Inklab Zine Issue #4, Photo: Shikhant Sablania.Also participating this year, the Indian Summer Press, an independent publisher of comics and graphic novels, will be bringing out the latest chapter in their serialised debut publication The Sun is Made of Silver, a six-part historical adventure-drama about a village girl and a wounded soldier, by Nikhil Gulati and Angshuman Chakraborty. A glimpse into The Sun is Made of Silver by Nikhil Gulati and Angshuman Chakraborty. “We wanted to tell a historical tale that felt urgent and contemporary. A tale about violence and damage and healing and friendship. So, in some ways, a serious comic. But we also wanted it to be a yarn, full of adventure, memorable characters, and humour. Most of all, we wanted to tell a good story, one that people would re-read many times over, and love so much that they would gift copies to their friends and loved ones,” the authors shared. The first three chapter covers for The Sun is Made of Silver, Photo: Indian Summer Press.The festival aims to be one of the few places where readers can interact directly with creators, bypassing the bureaucracy of traditional distribution channels. “The commercial aspects of comics publishing and distribution in India can often be murky and tough to navigate for independent creators, which is why ICF’s expansion and growth will continue to serve as a singular, spectacular exception,” reflect Ashwitha and Angshuman, co-founders of the Indian Summer Press. They add, “What has set ICF apart has been its embrace of work and creators without pigeonholing or stereotyping. The sheer range of themes and genres of the stories the creators bring to ICF help to expand common misconceptions about comics being ‘lightweight’ or only for kids, or that the only kind of stories they can be used to tell are superhero or mythological ones.” Artist-led spaces are crucial as they enable artists who are just venturing out to experiment with new forms of expression and creation find spaces to showcase their work and interact with fellow artists. They nurture passions and spontaneity, rewarding creativity where institutional and commercial setups fall short. “Indie Comix Fest also actively builds a culture and a strong ethos of readership around comics. It strengthens the relationship between making and viewing, ensuring that comics are not just produced but meaningfully engaged with,” says Shivangi Singh, artist and co-organiser of ICF Delhi. When asked about the significance of spaces like ICF in allowing for art and creativity to flourish within today’s sociopolitical landscape, Shivangi notes, “When cultural spaces are increasingly shaped by market pressures, censorship, and ideological polarisation, independent festivals become even more vital. They offer spaces for dissent, experimentation, marginal voices, and alternative narratives. They allow artists to speak in their own visual languages without dilution, and create platforms where diverse identities and lived experiences can coexist. Such festivals function not just as marketplaces or exhibition spaces but as sites of dialogue, critical reflection, and collective imagination.”Indie comics are a goldmine of representation and authentic narratives, enduring against the rapid commodification of publication giants and valiantly resisting subversive tendencies aimed at hiding anything too “provocative” or “corruptive”. They defy the puritanical approach, often adopted by major publishers, of obsessing over what sells while trying to force resplendent stories into narrow creative visions and editorial guidelines, paving the way for story-telling that is unfettered by conventions. The fest is free to attend for all visitors, and will be held from 11 am to 8 pm.Ritvi Jain is an editorial intern at The Wire.