Ram Devineni

The artwork is excellent -- it combines photo (or photorealistic) backgrounds/settings with illustrated characters, to a wonderful effect. The illustrations themselves are beautiful (and appropriately scary at times). I particularly liked that the panels were not traditional rectangular or sharp-edged panels, but instead had curved edges and more of a smooth flow to them.

The subject may be a bit triggering, or at least upsetting, for some people, but it's an important topic that I'm glad to see addressed. I appreciated the incorporation of traditional Indian deities -- who needs made up superheroes when you can draw on such a rich history of colorful, powerful, and interesting beings?

I haven't yet explored any of the interactive elements (you can download an app and then scan pages to access extra content), but I think it's an interesting idea and, especially for a subject like this, a valuable addition.… (mere)

Ram was in India when the 23 year old girl known as Nirbhaya was gang raped by 4 men and killed. Priya’s Shakti is a reaction to what he saw in the aftermath of this terrible rape. Many men blamed women for being raped because of how they dressed and acted. This led to a deeper problem with how women are seen and treated in India.

The comic focuses on Priya, she is told she can’t go to school to become a teacher and her responsibility is to care for the house. She is harassed and raped by men, when she tells her family they lay the blame on her. The gods, Parvati wants to help and while doing so the god Shiva awakes and punishes the world for how they are behaving by not allowing anymore babies to be born. In order to get him to change his mind Parvati has Priya show Shiva that most people are good and that they can change for the better.

It is a short story on a very deep and heavy topic. It’s not perfect, but it’s good and addresses something that needs to be. I’m not too familiar with Hindu, but that didn’t hinder my understanding of the story. It’s beautifully drawn and decently written, but what really gets you in is the ideas behind the story because it is based on sad truths that need to change. You can read it for free on the website posted above. #standwithpriya… (mere)