Meet the 'Spider-Man' of Arunachal Pradesh who is going global with his 'marvel'lous artistry

Graphic artist Tadam Gyadu from Arunachal Pradesh's Changlang district has made a mark for himself in the international arena with his comic characters. The 27-year-old has sketched some of the most iconic characters for Marvel Comics for almost two years including his favourite superhero, Spider-Man.

"I am a big fan of Spider-Man and Wolverine comes a close second. Among the Indian characters, I like Super Commando Dhruva the most," he told The Federal.

The artist feels grateful that comic connoisseurs around the globe are enjoying his work. As a child, he always loved to draw. But he never knew that he could make it a career. "I had zero idea that one day my work would be featured in Marvel Comics and I would be known for that. A lot of people helped me to reach where I am today. I share a symbiotic relationship with my readers. Without them my work holds no meaning," added Gyadu.

As a child, Gyadu scribbled images with a stick on the courtyard of his house in Arunachal Pradesh. The mud surface was his canvas and he filled every inch of it with his imagination. Over the years, a lot has changed, the New Delhi-based young artist has overcome several hurdles, but one thing remained the same —his childlike innocence and curiosity for art.

To draw for the New York City-based comic book publisher is a dream for any graphic artist, and Gyadu achieved the feat at the beginning of his professional life. Moreover, he did so despite coming from a remote township, Diyun, in the northeastern state's Changlang district, where children don't have access to libraries or book shops till today.

Comics were a luxury, and Gyadu took great comfort in whatever illustrated book or image he could get hold of as a school-going kid. He studied every line and every stroke carefully and took inspiration from them to hone his skills. "At home, we had 'Life on Buddha' books. They had beautiful illustrations. I would stare at them for long to copy those images."

Diyun has a sizeable population of Chakma people and they practice Buddhism. There are several Buddhist monasteries in and around Diyun and thus the serene Buddha figurine in his meditative state became Gyadu's inspiration. His mother belongs to the Chakma community and his father, who died a few years back, belonged to the Tagin tribe of Arunachal Pradesh.

“I had a pretty normal childhood like any other Arunachali boy. My parents wanted me to study well and become a doctor or an engineer. But as a child, I was always drawn to illustrations and art pieces,” he smiled.

When his friends were playing, catching fish, hunting birds or roaming around the hillside close to Diyun, Gyadu spent his time with his head down on a piece of paper trying to give life to fictional characters, human figures and animals. “It was not that I was not physically active as a child. I was.”

Art came naturally to him without ever being taught like a god-given talent. "I don't know that, but I have an uncanny attachment towards drawing," he said.

The artist's talent is backed by immense hard work and steadfast devotion to his art. He spends at least 10 hours a day on his desk creating characters of all sorts that comic books are known for. “My typical day starts around 8 am when I wake up. I start working from 9.30 am till 6 pm. In between I take lunch break. In the evening, I go for a walk or do some exercises and again I go back to my desk to draw. Yes, it is a pretty lonely job. Many of my friends find it boring but my work demands a lot of hard work.”

After finishing high school, Gyadu enrolled in an art school to be formally taught by experts. In 2016, he got a scholarship to pursue his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, he started doing a paid gig for the Indian publisher, Raj Comics. Some of the characters he drew for Raj Comics as a teenager were Nagraj, Super Commando Dhruva and Doga. He also worked for several independent and small publishers like Yali Dream Creations, Chariot Comics and Bullseye Press.

After college, he joined a gaming company for six months. He decided to leave his job and concentrate fully on illustrating comic books. "Comic books give me more space as a creative person. I am a freelancer. I work on a project-to-project basis," he said.

Detailing what entails the work of a comic book artist, Gyadu said, "Firstly, to be a part of the comic book industry, an artist has to submit art samples to publishers. Once his/her work is accepted, the publishers send a script with as many pages as it has. These pages are broken down into panels. A typical script has a story, description and dialogue. Based on my reading and imagination, I have to draw. A single comic book page takes between 12 and 15 hours to finish."

Most of his works are inspired by Western comics like DC or Marvel. But they have Indian elements brilliantly thrown in between them. "Whenever I get a chance, or the script has some scope to introduce an Indian character in the background, I do so. I also put some lines or words in Hindi or incorporate something unique to India or Arunachal Pradesh. That is my way of leaving a mark on the page and telling the world this is my heritage, I am from India. It is like a personal little souvenir," he said.

Talking about his plans, the 27-year-old artist said, "My friend Bijoy Ravindran, a comic book writer, and I are planning to come up with our comic book. The best thing is that it is rooted in Arunachal Pradesh. It is not going to be a typical superhero comic story. It is a coming-of-age story."

Gyadu and Ravindran plan to spend a year on the book before unveiling it. "That is when I can talk more about our comic book."

Gyadu's favourite superhero is Spider-Man but the graphic artist himself is no less than a superhero and an inspiration for budding artists of Arunachal Pradesh. Many talented artists from the state either live in oblivion or have stopped pursuing their art as there is no one to back or nurture their creativity.