Noman: Oishik Jawad and Antik Mahmud’s humorous superhero story

Antik Mahmud and Oishik Jawad's superhero comic book, Noman, about a boy who dreams of becoming famous in Bangladesh, is out now at the Ekushey Boi Mela. Throughout the story, Noman, the titular character, fights small-time criminals and then uploads the videos of his fights on YouTube. However, he does not come across serious crimes in the country and wishes to fight a big villain someday. On the other hand, Noman narrates the story of a female criminal, who is determined to destroy a charity organisation. Published by Adarsha and priced at BDT 240, the book is available at stalls 421 to 424. Antik and Oishik plan to turn Noman into an entire series, moving forward.

Tracing back his journey as an artist Oishik shared that his interest in drawing grew from a fascination towards anime and cartoons. "After my SSC examinations, I attended a workshop conducted by prominent cartoonists Ahsan Habib and Mehedi Haque," he says. It made me realise that cartoonists and comic artists have proper career choices in Bangladesh and we do not have to be formal art students to develop a career in this field."

The story behind Noman was initially conceived by Antik, who currently runs an animation studio and a YouTube channel that focus on positive content. "The main aim of my work is to highlight the good aspects of our society in our monotonous life," he says. Antik has also released his thriller novel, Chol, at the Ekushey Boi Mela.  He looks forward to the readers' feedback on his books.