Arp Comics

Review: I watched the Outsourced tv series – and loved it

November 22, 2022December 1, 2015

We got a trial of Hulu a month ago and while seeing what they offered, I noticed Outsourced. It rang a bell; I have a faint memory of seeing the 2006 movie that inspired it but had no idea there was a tv show (we haven’t had cable for at least 10 years). It was a pleasant surprise – an American tv show set in India, with a mostly Indian cast? Hot damn – that’s some progress right there. Or at least I hoped it was progress because there was an excellent chance that the show would suck. Except the show … Continue reading

I like Barbie Kali

November 22, 2022October 26, 2015

Naturally, there are plenty of Indians offended by this art but I’m not one of them. My only quibble is the blond hair, which just doesn’t work with the blue skin. I’m curious how many other Indian-Americans out there just thought that our gods & goddesses were Kooler Than Jesus (see what I did there – besides dating myself…). Walking on water is pretty cool; so is parting the Red Sea. Turning water into wine didn’t sound cool until I hit college. But our gods could disintegrate you with one glance from their third eye (Shiva). Or throw lightning bolts … Continue reading

6 Things All Immigrant Kids Experience by AJ+

November 22, 2022October 19, 2015

Yep – I related to most of these, particularly the name thing. My parents chose a name (“Arpan”) that wasn’t spelled anything like the pronunciation (Or-pone) – and it’s pronounced differently depending where in India you are. And while I didn’t have school lunch issues (my mom usually made bad Western sandwiches I didn’t eat), sleepovers and camping were things that Other People Did. I finally went camping for the first time at 24 with my future partner and loved it (now I refuse to camp without a trailer or something to simplify things with 4 kids involved). Dating thankfully … Continue reading

Amitabh Bachchan – the comic book superhero?!

November 22, 2022October 13, 2015

Apparently, my childhood is incomplete because I completely missed a comic book starring Amitabh Bachchan. This man was my idol back when I watched Indian movies – and I only watched his movies, for the most part. I figure that I missed it because it sold out and TV was very limited there in the 80s and it was likely not considered news-worthy. Here’s how the idea was hatched: Adventures of Amitabh Bachchan was the result of an incident that IBH publisher Pammi Bakshi witnessed while she was standing in the balcony of her flat (or so the story goes). Bakshi … Continue reading

Berke Breathed on his return to cartooning after 25 years in carbonite

November 22, 2022October 13, 2015

It’s fascinating to hear Berke Breathed talk about his return. I’m thankful that he’s not as private as Bill Watterson, who I’m sure would have some great opinions and advice to share. Berke just did an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air (check it out here) and two things he said jumped out at me: It’s why does it come so easy rather than why did it come so hard before, which is what it did. I never met any of my deadlines for 5,000 comic strips in the 10 years that I did “Bloom County,” not a single one, and it was … Continue reading

Fried Cheese Balls featured in the racial & cultural diversity in comics blog!

November 22, 2022October 5, 2015

Much thanks to Super Heroes in Full Color for featuring my comic on their blog devoted to racial and cultural diversity in comic books (and derivative works). The world is way, way, way more diverse than the mass media would have you believe – it’s good to see people trying to make a difference. Check out Superheroes in Full Color on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

FCB featured in the Superheroes in Full Color blog!

November 22, 2022September 29, 2015

Predicting the future

November 22, 2022September 28, 2015

I’m a member of the Webcomic Underdogs group on Facebook and the last Sunday of every month is Self Promo Sunday. We get to link to our webcomic and answer a few questions – this is my prediction for the near future 🙂 Read the rest of the response and find some cool webcomics at Making Comics!

Comic writing advice from Lilah Sturges

March 7, 2023September 21, 2015

In 2011, I went to my first comic-con- Wizard World in Austin. It was fun and something I took my older kids (then 9 & 6) for half a day too. I didn’t go to very many panels but one has stayed with me: Wizard Writing School with Lilah Sturges & Nathan Edmonson. I’ll admit that I had no clue who either was and I only went to the panel out of mild interest. But it sparked something in me. I don’t remember anything they said; what stayed with me is Hey – I can do that too. So recently I’ve been reading … Continue reading

Thoughts on the #iPadPro, #digitalart and #productivity

November 22, 2022September 13, 2015

Update: the iPad Pro has come a long way and the Pencil is way better than the Surface Pen. Multiple devices aside, now that Clip Studio Paint is on iOS, I own an iPad Pro for drawing, Apple revealed the iPad Pro last week and digital art creators everywhere are agog. The bigger screen and the (so tempted to pull a Jony Ive and thrown in revolutionary here) Pencil answer the needs of a lot of artists. We like larger areas to draw & paint and most styluses are mediocre at best. If you create most of your digital art on an … Continue reading

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Fried Cheese Balls

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