Freelance illustrator, cartoonist, and writer Nidhi Chanani is a force. She is the creator of several graphic novels, including the groundbreaking Pashmina (First Second, 2017); the illustrator of Strong (Little, Brown, 2022) by Rob Kearney and Eric Rosswood, a Stonewall Honor book, among other picture books; and author/illustrator of What Will My Story Be? (Viking, 2021).
Her most recent release, Super Boba Café (Harry N. Abrams, Oct.), the first in a series, is a sweet and magical graphic novel about a secret boba shop, an earthquake-causing monster, and an unforgettable summer. “The story explores family, friendships, and moving on from past hurt with a light touch,” writes Kirkus in its review. “The attractively colored panels and expressive characters are visually engaging, ramping up both the suspense and the cuteness factor.”
I spoke with Nidhi about her artistic process, South Asian families, and her favorite boba order. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Super Boba Café stars Aria, a mixed-race, Indian American teen, and Nainai, her Taiwanese grandmother. What were the inspirations for the family dynamic you depict?
I was close to my dadi [paternal grandmother]. She was illiterate. We connected by watching Bollywood and playing cards. I had a great relationship with her, but it was different than common understandings of what a grandparent is and does in the American context. In my home now, I see how active my husband’s mother is in my daughter’s life. The grandparent-grandchild relationship is so precious, and I wanted to depict that. As someone who’s raising a mixed-race kid, I also wanted that representation. And I wanted to firmly root boba in its origin.
Super Boba Café is full of San Francisco-inspired Easter eggs. (One of my favorite chefs, Preeti Mistry, makes a cameo!) How does the Bay Area inform the story?
I love San Francisco. Super Boba Café is a love letter to its landmarks and its secret and not-so-secret spots. The Bay Area is such a foodie place: excellent Asian food, amazing bakeries. And there are so many fusions and cross-cultural things here — just like Aria. I feel inspired when I’m in the city. It’s a place that imbues beauty and art and magic and lovely, interesting, strange people. It’s like a lot of other cities, but also unique in its own way.
Aria has to negotiate with a literal monster who lives under the café, as well as her relationship with social media — which can often be monstrous. What made this feel urgent to write about?
Social media can be an access point [to community], but also can be a way to be targeted. There’s a lot of abuse that happens that is embarrassing or isolating. Unfortunately, it will happen to a lot of children, whether directly or indirectly. I was careful to make sure that nothing was triggering. I would never want to put something in a book that would upset somebody. I hope the book opens a conversation [about the topic], whether it’s something that has happened to a friend or themselves.
What’s your artistic process as a comics creator?
Publishing is slow, and creating graphic novels is a beast. I work off a two-page outline. I don’t get into the weeds. Writers talk about plotting and pantsing, and I’m a plantser. I write the beginning, middle, and end — that's my outline, my plotting. When I thumbnail, I’m totally pantsing. I need to live in the story and I need to see it married with the visuals. For me, it would be a waste of my time to script the whole thing. I did that for Pashmina and I learned a valuable lesson: you can script a whole book and it will dramatically change once you put the visuals in. The thumbnail manuscript then gets shared with my editor. We might make some changes. I skip the pencils; I go from thumbnail manuscript straight to inks. Since Jukebox, I’ve also used a colorist. For Jukebox, it was Elizabeth Kramer and for Super Boba Cafe, Sarah Davidson. We all march forward in tandem; it saves time. Super Boba Café has been out for two weeks and people are asking for the next book. It’s amazing, but I can only make books as fast as I can make books, which is slow.
Your debut, Pashmina, was the first graphic novel wholly created (written and illustrated) by an Indian American. Do you consider yourself a pioneer? Do you feel a sense of responsibility to newer/younger graphic novelists of color and/or South Asian descent?
Pashmina released five years ago. That’s a long time, and I thought things would look a little different. They do, but it’s a lot less than I expected. Our community has a long way to go in terms of supporting the arts. It’s still focused on stereotypical ideas of success. The kids want to do it, but the parents don’t want to support it. It’s not an easy life, but does that mean that it's not worthy of being supported and pursued? Absolutely not. I do feel a responsibility, and do what I can. Unfortunately, it’s easy for me to miss stuff; I’m booked out for years. There’s things I don’t see until I’m in the bookstore. But if people reach out, I am there and happy to support them. I don’t consider myself a pioneer. Pashmina has had a large footprint. People are still reading it and now writing academic papers on it. It’s wild and I feel honored, but I want there to be more.
What can readers expect in the next chapter of the Super Boba Café story?
They can expect more action and comedy, some hijinks, and…
…More cats?
No, the same amount of cats, but more time with a specific cat. And some surprising things about San Francisco that they might not know.
And, finally, I can’t not ask: What’s your boba order?
Strawberry matcha, but if that’s not available — classic. I’m a boba snob, and I want to see how a spot handles straight-up milk and tea. I judge, and then explore from there. People have suggested a variety of flavors to try while I’ve been on tour; I now have a long list.
If you have the means, buy Super Boba Café via the usual online channels or from your local independent bookstore. You can also ask your public library to purchase a copy.
this and that
✏️ I previewed a zillion forthcoming romance novels, and wrote about some of them for Publishers Weekly. The BookTok effect on an individual author’s career is well-documented — Colleen Hoover, Ana Huang, Rebecca Yarros, the list goes on. The community not only champions individual authors, but entire publishing subgenres, especially those that get readers’ pulses racing. I spoke with publishing execs about three algorithm-driven trends: the resurgence of new adult books, the romantasy boom, and the wide embrace of erotic romance.
📚 “Children’s books, which present subtle truths in simple terms, offer a valuable tool in retaining our moral bearings, especially amid a maelstrom of grief and rage,” writes Miriam Udel in The New York Times. “These books, in their simplicity and brevity, can grant polarized communities access to each other’s stories, reminding us of our shared humanity and common interest in finding a way toward peaceful coexistence.”
📚 The Two-Parent Privilege gets caught in the trap of convention, writes Becca Rothfeld in The Washington Post. Economist Melissa S. Kearney looks hard at the data but doesn’t dare to imagine new possibilities for societal structure:
If marriage benefits children because it affords them more emotional support, why should we “work to restore and foster” the nuclear family, which privatizes affection and attention, instead of working to foster a new norm of communal child-rearing? Is there any reason to conclude that marriage is the best solution, except that it is the solution that already (although perhaps not for much longer, if current trends continue apace) exists?
📚 It’s gift giving season, so here’s my guide to the best books of 2023. (What more could you want/give than books, right?) My list is reflective of my reading interests; buy from your favorite independent bookseller or ask your librarian to order.