The Indian Superheroine costume: Analysing Indian comics’ first superheroine

Abstract

Comics are an important form of Indian popular culture. Like other forms of popular culture which have engaged with superheroes, male superheroes have dominated the comic book industry in India. Costumes enable the social construction of these characters in comics, determine their characteristic traits and emphasize their gendered roles. Female characters have had to struggle against multiple patriarchal social processes which are integral to the global comics’ culture. Costumes play a critical role in how these characters engage with the overall narrative of the comics. The article analyses the costume of Shakti – Indian comics’ first superheroine. It locates her costume within the broader literature available on graphic novels, comics and costumes. The article attempts to analyse the processes by which Shakti’s costume restricts her to a normative femininity where the power and authority of women become socially acceptable only when they are expressed or asserted without challenging patriarchal social norms.