Aditya Bidikar on IN YOUR SKIN

Aditya Bidikar, back on the show after 4 years, is a man of letters in the most literal sense.  In the more than a decade he has been plying the lettering trade, he has worked with every major North American comics publisher and formed strong collaborations with several groups of creators, none more so than with writer Ram V and artist Anand K.  In the words of Multiversity Comics alum and SKTCHD guru David Harper, it is a career consisting of "all bangers".  But he is on the show today to talk about IN YOUR SKIN, his first major work as a comics writer.  IN YOUR SKIN, with artist SOM and colorist Francesco Segala for Image Comics and Tiny Onion and released on April 22nd, combines Bollywood culture with body horror and erotic fiction. The solicitation also name-checks David Cronenberg and THE SUBSTANCE. We  would throw in some Scorsese and Satoshi Kon as well, but… we will get into that. Aditya is at a fairly unique point in comics: a first-time comics writer with years of experience making comics, a letterer making his own words fit onto the page of his own story, a perennial collaborator stepping into a lead role…however you want to look at it, this is a fascinating time to be Aditya Bidikar, and today's chat dives into just why that is the case. [This episode is number 833 in a series.]  CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 05:42 – Bollywood & Dance 17:19 – Influences and PERFECT BLUE  18:12 – Male Gaze and Patriarchy 24:19 – Wanting to Be vs Be With 29:13 – Parasocial Horror and Identity 38:07 – Writing Sympathy for Priyanka 42:13 – Drama First Genre Second 45:11 – Priyanka Redefined 47:10 – Script as Blueprint 51:02 – Rewriting to the Finale 53:04 – Ownership and Fingerprints 54:29– The Showrunner Mindset 01:04:28 – Personal Stakes and Finishing 01:10:11 – Lettering and Burnout 01:12:55 – Finding Theme While Writing 01:18:06 – Stories Not Essays 01:21:18 – Outro