‘Longform 2022’: The anthology of graphic narratives is back with new stories, writers, and artists

From the Editorial

We are all trying to make sense of the world we are living in. Ravaged by a virus that continues to mutate and harass and kill the unsuspecting by the hundreds. Under the mask of personal hygiene and Covid-appropriate protocol, hunger, poverty, discrimination, domestic violence, and inequality continue to thrive.

The last two years were extremely traumatic for all of us as the world grappled with the Covid-19 pandemic. As the entire country went into a lockdown, people tried to adjust to the new normal. Trapped at home, mental health became an issue to reckon with.

Outside, the exodus of migrant workers from cities to their native places laid bare another India – an “invisible” India that we love to hide away from under our guilt-ridden conscience. In the absence of any mode of transportation, these migrant labourers embarked on long and perilous journeys on foot, walking thousands of kilometres, often without food.

These are the times when artists bring out their best.

‘Fledged’

Excerpted with permission from the story ‘Fledged’, by Jerry Anthony, from Longform 2022: An Anthology of Graphic Narratives, edited by Sarbajit Sen, Debkumar Mitra, Sekhar Mukherjee, and Pinaki De, Penguin Books.