1

The Pencil Holders

The Dawn of Graphic Non-Fiction: An Alternative Literature for
World Affairs

by
Vikram Grewal
IFS OT- 2019

Contents:
Concept Note
Antecedents: the Mighty Sword, the Mightier Pen and the Nimble Pencil
Globe Trotters: Drawing the Cold War and After
Conflict, Collaboration, Comics (and the Consumer)
Voice of the Voiceless, Vision of the Weak
‘Chitra-plomacy’: Sketching and Soft Power
Bibliography

Concept Note

International Relations, since its baptism as a legitimate field of study, has arguably been a
domain of academic expertise that is usually identified with a narrow clique of esoteric jargon.
However, the media through which matters of international importance reach the common
populace- sequestering the complex vocabulary from their manifestations on ground- have
been variegated across space and time. This paper intends to explore one such medium:
‘Graphic Non-Ficton.’ Since the advent of the 21 st Century this genre of literature has gained
a considerable foothold in not only informing and provoking its readers but also steering the
course of certain issues of foreign policies of nations.
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The author of this paper aims to enlighten the reader about the rising significance of graphic
novels, comic journalism, art memoirists and political cartoonists; and emphasize on the fact
that these present an alternative literature for understanding as well as dealing with world
affairs, and hence cannot and should not be ignored by the academia, diplomats, politicians and
civil servants at large. It is a discussion on the relationship between the international ‘state’ and
the ‘non-state’ actors with the ‘non-fiction’ actors i.e. the Pencil Holders.

Antecedents: the Mighty Sword, the Mightier Pen and the Nimble Pencil

Power has been described as a foremost factor in world affairs since time immemorial. The
shifting of poles of power in history have been noted down avidly by historians, theorists,
philosophers and scholars aplenty. The ability to influence other actors in the game of
international relations was initially solely dependent on the ‘law of the jungle’ or the ‘Sword
logic.’ It continues to manifest itself in the so-called ‘anarchical’ state of affairs in several
different ways, one being through the Pen. The functioning of international organizations and
forums of regional cooperation is dependent on the ‘Pen holders’ 1 on a daily basis. Thus, the
space between the ‘rule-makers’ and the ‘rule-takers’ is occupied by the ‘rule-drafters.’
The might of the sword and the pen may come across as overwhelming for the slim pencil. But
it is humbling to be reminded that the temporary and accommodative nimbleness of the pencil
have a better track record than the insular permanence of the pen of history. 2 Moreover, artists,
cartoonists, memoirists, satirists and designers with their pencils have played a huge part in
shaping the conscience of the citizens with respect to world politics. Be it the caricatures of the
Bourbon Monarchy before the French Revolution that reached as far as the American colonies
to inspire anti-imperial sentiments or the depictions of Maoist writings in the form of pamphlets
that fuelled the Naxalite Movement in India, Graphic Non-fiction has had a seemingly
clandestine yet rich role in moulding relations between nations.
The 20th Century was an age of innocence for this genre. The Adventures of Tintin by Herge
was a Eurocentric fictional comic series in a non-fictional setting that captured the imagination
of a colonial youth. It was a mild commentary on the goings on of the world with embedded

1
A classic example to highlight the invisible power of the Pen holders is that of the United Kingdom’s position
on several issues (Kashmir, Somalia, Yemen etc.) in the UN Security Council. It has been exerting influence even
after losing its stature as a global power in the post-colonial times- all by the means of being the pen-holding
drafter of resolutions.
2
The famous pencil sketch of the UN by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943 materialized in more consolidated terms
than the pen boundaries struck by Cyril Radcliffe and Henry McMahon across the Indian Subcontinent.
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references to communism, fascism, racism and authoritarianism 3- as opposed to downright

state-sponsored propaganda.
Posters of propaganda became ubiquitous during the War. Figure 1 illustrates the role of
motivational posters that targeted the women to contribute in the war effort by working more
in industries. One is Nina Vatolina’s Fascism, the Most Evil Enemy of Women 4 circulated in
the entire USSR in 1941 after the Nazi invasion; and the other is a famous advertisement by
the British Ministry of Labour in 1939.

Figure 1

Globe Trotters: Drawing the Cold War and After

The Graphic Novel took its contemporary shape during the later phase of the Cold War. The
bipolar nature of the international system led to competition in a plethora of fields from nuclear
arms race to Olympic sports. The display of muscle by both the blocs was covered in the
popularity of their comics. Marvel Comics built its fandom on a solid foundation of anti-Fascist
anti-Communist nationalism (Figure 2). Marvel’s Captain America issue #1 (March, 1941)
featured the protagonist punching Hitler; a scene from Green Lantern comics shows the
intention of the character to begin a ‘Space Force’ (decades before President Donald Trump

3
From the oppressive regime of the USSR in Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, to the scramble for Africa in Tintin
in the Congo, to Chinese divisiveness in Tintin in Tibet and even exposing a South American dictatorship in Tintin
and the Picaros, Herge’s fictional reporter threw light on International Affairs through a European perspective.
4
Photograph: David King Collection. Hollis, Richard. David King Obituary, The Guardian, 25 May 2016.
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would announce its creation in 2019)5. Alan Moore’s Watchmen featured ‘Doctor Manhattan’
deriving his name and history from Project Manhattan- the American project under
Oppenheimer that created the first nuclear bomb.

Figure 2

All these instances compel journalist Tegan O’Neil to remark:

“Comic book superheroes are inherently political creatures. The genre is devoted to the
adventures of powerful individuals compelled by circumstances and inclination to use their
abilities to impose personal morality on the world through violence. The political possibilities
are hard to miss.”6

The naivety of comics gave way to their maturation as Graphic Novels by the late 1980s and
opened an exciting arena of serious graphic journalism. Art Spiegelman is considered to be a
pioneer in this newly found space of expression. His serialized work Maus announced the
arrival of the genre of ‘Graphic Non-Fiction’ to the world by becoming the first graphic novel
to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. It is a work that made its readers visualize the ordeals faced
by the Jews during the Holocaust much before people had access to the films like Schindler’s
List or had been too hesitant to read the survivors’ memoirs from the Second World War. Its

5
York, Chris. Comic Books and the Cold War, 1946-1962: Essays on Graphic Treatment of Communism, the Code
and Social Concerns. McFarland & Company, 2012.
6
O’Neil, Tegan. How the Cold War saved Marvel and birthed a generation of superheroes. AV Club, 31st March,
2016.
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unique portrayal of groups of humans as animals 7 shocked the high table of international
politics, thus drawing excessive debate, criticism and consequently praise.
The falling of the Berlin Wall and breaking of barriers in a post-Cold War era led to the outpour
of numerous stories and accounts from the people who had experienced the ground results of
decisions made by their leaders. Moreover, the information, communication and technology
revolution spawned a coming together of civilizations in an unprecedented manner and
rendered boundaries less relevant than before. This was the conducive environment of
globalization that nurtured Graphic Non-Fiction. Travelling and reporting for dailies and
magazines became a crucial part of the media industry as journalism got more competitive.

Conflict, Collaboration, Comics (and the Consumer)

What Samuel P. Huntington describes as the ‘clash of civilizations’ was mirrored in the
Graphic Novels of the 1990s. The conflicts that rocked Yugoslavia, Middle East and Eastern
Africa witnessed an unprecedented scale of inter-ethnic civil war. In these complex
circumstances, Comic Journalism was given a dazzlingly accurate avatar of conflict reportage
by Joe Sacco. His book Palestine, which later went on to be published with a foreword by the
renowned scholar of Orientalism Edward Said, presents the reader with jaw dropping sketches
and testimonies of the locals.

Figure 3 is an example of the on-ground confused and divided opinion of local Palestinians
regarding visits by outsiders. Though Sacco keeps it raw and in monochrome palette, his
attention to detail transforms the work into a multi-dimensional ‘documentary on paper.’
Several Universities have included his graphic novels in their courses for Political Science and
International Relations. “One of the chief contributions of this new generation of graphic
novels to the political science classroom is their brutal and down-to-earth accounts of complex
issues, including a strong tone of social critique.” 8

7
Jews were depicted as mice, Nazis as cats, Americans as dogs and so on- in Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s
Tale.
8
Course on Conflits et processus de paix au Moyen-Orient by Thomas Jeneau, Asst. Professor, Graduate School
of Public and International Affairs, Ottawa, Canada. David Weatherall
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Figure 3

Edward Said while re-introducing Graphic Non-Fiction to us in the aforementioned foreword

argues that this genre has led to a democratization of the media. At a time when big news
barons have a virtual monopoly over truth and underlying pacts with the political power centres
globally, comic journalism provides a different ‘frame of reference.’ Sacco himself points out
in his Preface to Journalism that comics being such an ‘inherently interpretive medium’ have
been able to free the reporter from the shackles of traditional political writing. Two virtues of
effective reportage on international conflicts are ‘objectivity’ and ‘balance’ which tend to get
eroded when tomes are written on them.

For some scholars, Graphic Non-Fiction has become a perfect supplement for rigorous research
on world politics. While reviewing Sacco’s Safe Area Gorazde for her research paper on the
Bosnian War, Lene Hansen, professor of Security Studies at the University of Copenhagen,
looks forward to a collaboration between the literary analysis of the academia and the visual
analysis of the comic book. The latter has a versatility of content (“as newspaper strips, as
stories printed in magazines and as long narratives presented in free-standing books”) as well
as readership (they “have been central to how generations of children have encountered foreign
places and comics artists have successfully captured public attention, with comics offering
explicit engagements with foreign policy events.”) 9

9
Hansen, Lene. Reading comics for the field of International Relations: Theory, method and the Bosnian War.
SAGE journals, 2016.
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The increasing consumerism that feeds on the pop culture fuelled by neo-imperialism has
rendered the publishing market highly competitive. Graphic Novels are being seen by a
massive untapped youth as crucial sources of infotainment- at par with cinema, art and music.
This realization of ‘genre-consciousness’ begins with the work of Guy Delisle- his work
involves his own travelogues as an animator living in relatively non-accessible and enigmatic
places of the world. Chronicles like Shenzhen, Pyongyang, Burma and Jerusalem (Figure 4)
provide us with Delisle’s seemingly neutral observation accompanied by subtle local political
tonalities. He also emphasizes ‘inter-graphic collaboration’ by including references to Herge,
Alan Moore, Will Eisner, Joe Sacco and others.

Figure 4

Voice of the Voiceless, Vision of the Weak

Power thrives on narrative. Narratives are built both ways: top-down and bottom-up. In the
present times, while the traditional means of communication are heavily leaning on the former,
Graphic Non-fiction provides a bulwark for the latter. It has become an orifice for voices that
are rarely heard in the mainstream. The stories of the oppressed form a vital part of international
community’s perception. Therefore, it gets even more important for the citizens to be able to
listen to the perspectives of the vulnerable sections of the society. The groups of people
marginalized and persecuted on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity and nationality have been given
a global platform in the shape of graphic narratives.
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Marjane Satrapi was a revelation to the world. Born in Iran in the reign of the Shah and brought
up during the turbulent times that culminated in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Satrapi pens
down her adolescent struggles between the ‘orthodox’ hijab and the ‘modern’ punk rock music.
Her memoir Persepolis (Figure 5) is a scathing, passionate and one-of-a-kind critique of myriad
concepts: politics, religion, personality, sexuality, filial ties and much more. Her journey
oscillates between a fundamentalist Iran and a secular France where she migrates. This work
was adapted into an animated eponymous film which premiered at the Cannes International
Film Festival in 2007 and won the Jury Prize. 10 This elicited the following response from the
Government of Iran:

“This year the Cannes Film Festival, in an unconventional and unsuitable act, has chosen a movie
about Iran that has presented an unrealistic face of the achievements and results of the glorious
Islamic Revolution in some of its parts.”11

Figure 5

Another succinct example which is also particularly indigenous and recent is Malik Sajad’s
Munnu: A Boy from Kashmir. Sajad’s deeply personal portrayal of his homeland lets the reader
visualize the aspirations, struggles and worldview of the Kashmiri youth. Despite its inherently

10
It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Film which enhanced its global reach.
11
"Iran protests screening of movie at Cannes Film Festival". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 20th
May 2007.
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controversial subject, the book manages to showcase multiple perspectives. It derives heavily
on Art Spiegelman’s animalistic depiction of humans 12 and repeatedly refers to the
protagonist’s desire to be the ‘next Joe Sacco’. This clearly illustrates the level of universality
that the genre of Graphic Non-Fiction has achieved when a young boy in a remote region of
India is inspired by the work of an American-Maltese Comic Journalist.

Figure 6

‘Chitra-plomacy’: Sketching and Soft Power

The above work is just the tip of the iceberg. The humungous unmapped potential of India in
the case of graphic novels will soon be a force to reckon with- provided it is given adequate

12
Kashmiris are represented as ‘Hanguls’- the critically endangered species of Kashmiri Stag.
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attention by the concerned authorities. Like Japan marketed its manga 13, gekiga and anime
commodities in the liberalization phase and United States pushed its Marvel and DC Comics’
superheroes in the face of the children and young adults of the world, India could have done
something similar with say Amar Chitra Katha or perhaps R. K. Laxman’s Common Man. The
variety of local art like Madhubani, Pattachitra and Gond Art can be gauged in mind-boggling
ways to promote Indian cultural prowess abroad. And these when accompanied with an
understanding of ‘franchise creation’ and ‘merchandise production’, the exports sector will also
gain hugely. The popularity of the Bahubali franchise (it was adapted from the comic book of
a mythological tale and now it has an animated series being produced in addition to the two
films that achieved unprecedented praise worldwide) seems to be a good start for the country.

India must also explore multinational collaboration on common themes. The eight volume
magnum opus Buddha by Japanese manga artist Osamu Tezuka managed to garner some soft
power capital for India merely on the basis of its historical contribution. The Canadian and
French Ministries of Culture support Guy Delisle in his works of travel. This can be followed
by India in supporting promising artists by the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Tourism.
Considering the Graphic Novel as a legitimate category of literature is another important step
that needs to be considered by bodies like the Sahitya Akademi and Indian Council for Cultural
Relations. Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina became the first book from this genre to be long-listed for
the Booker Prize in 2018.

India’s ‘unique selling point’ is its diversity and that can be leveraged in this upcoming genre
to channelize its soft power. And to maintain that, sensitization about race, sex, caste, religion
etc. becomes all the more critical. The Charlie Hebdo killings in 2015 are a reminder of how
even a satirical comic can cause harm to the social fabric of a nation and its relations with other
countries. France, despite being the victim in the particular instance, faced testing times trying
to counter its ‘Islamophobic’ tag for months after the attack.

The Covid-19 outbreak of 2020 is another flashpoint in the operation of perception

management: the more people are staying home the more e-books, comics, animations, movie
streaming they have access to; and that makes the Graphic genre a front runner in capturing the
imagination of a population that is hungry for news and information in a palatable manner.
Reruns of old television series like B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharata and Ramanand Sagar’s

13
The Manga is the collective name given to Japanese graphic novels. It is an industry worth 2 billion dollars
per annum.
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Ramayana are good sources of nostalgia for an elderly audience, but it is high time we start
refurbishing and reinventing our modes of attracting global attention of a young audience: to
give to the globe our ‘Chitra-plomacy.’

The canvas of world affairs has been conventionally painted by thinkers, academics, policy
makers and diplomats. However, the underlying streams of contemporary art, culture and
infotainment breeds the minds of tomorrow. It is popularly said that if Hitler had been accepted
in the Art School at Vienna, the world would have been a much different place. At the end of
the day, global narratives are well-woven stories that help the denizens make sense of its
incomprehensible processes. Graphic Non-Fiction does that with great acumen- as we saw
through this paper. It is an alternative means to comprehend international relations- not through
mere facts, figures and jargon- but through ‘empathy’- a decisive ingredient in the recipe of
good diplomacy.

-Vikram Grewal
25th April 2020
***
Bibliography

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Drawn & Quarterly, 2000.

Delisle, Guy. Translated by Helge Dashcer. Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea. Quebec:
Drawn & Quarterly, 2007.

Delisle, Guy. Ed. 2011. Translated by Helge Dashcer. Burma Chronicles. London: Jonathan
Cape, 2009.

Delisle, Guy. Translated by Helge Dascher. Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City. Quebec:
Drawn & Quarterly, 2012.

Doxiadis, Apostolos; Papadimitriou, Christos H. Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth.

London: Bloomsbury, 2009.
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Drnaso, Nick. Sabrina. London: Granta Publications, 2018.

Herge. The Adventures of Tintin. (Complete Series) Paris: Casterman. London: Egmont, 2007.

Sacco, Joe. Palestine. Ed. 2003. London: Random House United Kingdom, 2001. Seattle:
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Sacco, Joe. Journalism. London: Random House United Kingdom, 2012.

Sacco, Joe. Footnotes in Gaza. New York: Jonathan Cape, 2009.

Sacco, Joe. Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia. Ed. 2011. Seattle: Fantagraphics,
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Spiegelman, Art. The Complete ‘Maus’. London: Penguin United Kingdom, 2003.

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Woodfin, Rupert; Zarate Oscar. Marxism: A Graphic Guide. London: Icon Books, 2018.