Victoria Goldberg | Editor-in-Chief
Featured image: John Babu’s comics connect to the everyday experiences of York students with their stripped down design. | John Babu
If you’ve ever picked up a copy of Excalibur, you’ve likely stumbled across his name. Heck, you might have even picked up a copy just to see his newest contribution. His work for Excalibur stands longer than all current editors. His name?
Babu.
John Babu.
A master’s candidate in biology, Babu is no stranger to York’s microcosm or anecdotal experiences. In his spare time, Babu delves into the creative arts from filmmaking to writing and, of course, comics.
His most famed work with Excalibur is the comics contribution, “.regnartS oN.” The titular character, No Stranger, is the main protagonist that embodies many York students: the character is mute and always seen sporting headphones.
“It symbolically represents the pervasive apathy of many who are immersed in their own world, oblivious to things around them,” says Babu.
A social commentary, “.regnartS oN,” which is No Stranger backwards, addresses what many students may think and talk about, experience or observe, but don’t necessarily express to a larger audience.
In 2013, Babu was reportedly mugged, leaving him distraught for several weeks. Around the same time, he published a comic about security at York.
“During those days of feeling helpless and hurt, the knowledge that I had contributed something on the issue of security, albeit very small, was surprisingly comforting and partially helped me recover,” he adds.
Despite his science background, Babu is no stranger to comics, citing RK Laxman’s The Common Man character as inspiration of the nameless protagonist; much like his own comics, Jorge Cham’s “PhD Comics” are an inspiration that hit close to home; and even the iconic Mort Walker’s “Beetle Bailey” and Jerry Scott’s “Zits” are some of his favourites.
Through the use of puns, irony and juxtaposition, Babu brings about ideas and incidents that occur to him in a comic form. His illustrations may attract some critique in the art world, perhaps being regarded as rough around the edges. It is clear that his usage of stock photos and Microsoft Paint is not conventional among artists.
Perhaps this apparent lack of artistic skill—whether purposeful or not—is the result of his crossover from biology to the visual arts.
“[Science is] how we try to understand complex phenomena around us and explain it in simple language. We usually try to be as succinct as possible. Comics, for me at least, is all about looking around, seeing something interesting, making observations, understanding it and then presenting it in a concise strip,” explains Babu.
“Science is humble and Itry to make my comics nonjudgmental as well.”
It is this evident lack of artistry that makes “.regnartS oN” so relatable. Often taking place on York’s campus through stock images, “.regnartS oN” is a literal interpretation of things happening around us. Sure, the usage of Times New Roman is outdated, and the cropping skills are limited to the pixel range in Paint, but it feels real, gritty and hits close to home.
It’s no huffy puffy hipster, sitting at Starbucks, drawing on their tablet using a MacBook.
It’s simply a man, taking a break from his dissertation, unleashing his experiences, observations and creativity in whatever form he can.
