Mapping Urban Alienation and Modernity: Narrative Representations in Indian Graphic Novels

Abstract

Contemporary Indian graphic narratives have transitioned beyond traditional comic conventions into a distinctive literary-visual mode, encompassing historical elements, political frameworks, gender dynamics, caste structures, ecological life, and urban landscapes. Numerous critics have noted that post-twentieth-century Indian graphic novels diverge significantly from earlier market-oriented comics, as they pose complex socio-political questions and are frequently situated within the fragmented spaces of urban India. The urban transition in contemporary India has been dramatic, cities are projected to absorb a vital share of new job opportunities and population growth, even as the necessary urban infrastructure for the future remains incomplete. Within this evolving context, both modernity and urbanisation are represented through complex visual and narrative forms. While the majority of scholarship on Indian graphic novels has examined queer representation, isolation, intertextuality, and historical-political issues, a distinct research gap persists regarding comparative analyses of how urban alienation and modernity are depicted across key graphic narratives. This article specifically addresses this gap by analyzing how selected graphic novels represent urban lifestyles and the experience of modernity. Employing a qualitative and visual analytical approach, this study bridges thematic concerns with comparative interpretation. The theoretical framework integrates Karl Marx’s concept of alienation, spatial theory, theories of modernity, Georg Simmel’s sociology of metropolitan life, and graphic narrative theory. The central argument posits that the urban spaces depicted in these narratives function simultaneously as loci of isolation and ambition. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates that Indian graphic narratives intensify experiences of fragmentation, separation, loneliness, and identity crisis through their strategic deployment of disrupted chronology, visual collage, negative space, closure, and unstable page layouts. Ultimately, Indian graphic narratives offer nuanced interpretations of contemporary urban realities, exposing the political concerns, sensitive modes of narration, and spatial dilemmas intrinsic to modernity.