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Cyclopedia Exotica
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
12 posts | 8 read | 3 to read
The characters in Dhaliwals stories sparkle. Theyre tenderly rendered and their problems are real... The struggle of the cyclops unfolds in metaphors for race, sexuality, gender, and disability, tangling with ideas about fetishization, interracial relationships, passing, and representation.Carmen Maria Machado, author of In The Dream House Following the critical and popular success of Woman Worldthe hit Instagram comic which appeared on 25 best of listsAminder Dhaliwal returns with Cyclopedia Exotica. Also serialized on instagram to her 250,000 followers, this graphic novel showcases Dhaliwals quick wit and astute socio-cultural criticism. In Cyclopedia Exotica, doctors office waiting rooms, commercials, dog parks, and dating app screenshots capture the experiences and interior lives of the cyclops community; a largely immigrant population displaying physical differences from the majority. Whether theyre artists, parents, or yoga students, the cyclops have it tough: they face microaggressions and overt xenophobia on a daily basis. However, they are bent on finding love, cultivating community, and navigating life alongside the two-eyed majority with patience and the occasional bout of rage. Through this parallel universe, Dhaliwal comments on race, difference, beauty, and belonging, touching on all of these issues with her distinctive deadpan humour steeped in millennial references. Cyclopedia Exotica is a triumph of hilarious candor.
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Robotswithpersonality
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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Pickpick

Sharp and silly and sweet and wholesome and funny.
As with Woman World, author/illustrator seems to enjoy straddling that line between pointing out how harmful generalizations are when discussing minorities as a monolith, and then turning around and playing into stereotypes for the joke. Pointing out how ridiculous prejudice is? Does also show clear, direct examples of racism experienced.
Love bonus insight into characters' development.

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Robotswithpersonality
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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I see what you did there. 👆🏻

5 likes1 stack add
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BookBr
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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Pickpick

A complicated, earnest, lovely, touching, and sometimes funny, exploration of difference in society. Touching on issues like media representation, sexualization, dating, art, employment, parenting, and more, this book feels incredibly important as our world becomes more and more divisive. I thoroughly appreciated this book and will be thinking about it for a while…

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BookBr
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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A new read for a gloomy Sunday morning…

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vivastory
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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Pickpick

Cyclops have been assimilated into society but still face frequent discrimination & microaggressions in this graphic work featuring a handful of reoccurring characters in short scenarios (or in Carmen Maria Machado's term: stories). Offbeat & humorous, Cyclops is an imaginative treatment of an important issue,

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Lindy
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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Pickpick

Cyclops have assimilated into Two-Eyes society, but their daily lives are a series of microaggressions & other challenges, in addition to quotidian joys. Representation versus exploitation in consumer marketing, is one example. Using a group of characters with differing situations, this uplifting graphic novel presents a witty satire of external and internal prejudices faced by anyone who is different from the mainstream. #LGBTQ #comics

35 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Lindy
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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Sometimes there‘s a story we tell ourselves and sometimes a story is told about us. Some parts of our story define us. But nuance and humanity is lost in the encyclopedias.

Cathythoughts 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 3y
31 likes1 comment
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Lindy
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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It‘s not a good photo, but I am attempting to show the way the image of half an eye on the front and back cover wraps across the edges of the pages to form a whole. Cool design.

DivineDiana A very cool design! 3y
31 likes2 comments
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Lindy
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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This book opens with entries as if it‘s an encyclopedia reference, as sly as the satirical humour that follows in the comics panels that form the main part. Example: “There were few job opportunities for Cyclopes beyond herding. Publishers turned away Cyclopean authors, while many popular Two-Eyed authors wrote stories featuring Cyclopean leads.”

33 likes1 stack add
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Ellen_C
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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Brilliant graphic novel/comic about the various aggressions, pressures and damage to minority communities in a xenophobic world. The minority here is the Cyclopes community, and Dhaliwal looks at bullying, mixed marriage, arts, self-loathing & surgery, and more. Provocative read and excellent illustrations. https://cannonballread.com/2021/05/cyclopedia-exotica-elcicco/

5 likes1 stack add
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Twocougs
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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What a fantastic read!

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
Cyclopedia Exotica | Aminder Dhaliwal
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This collection of graphic short stories was compulsively readable and very interesting. Dhaliwal uses the concept of Cyclops--people with one eye, as well as other physical differences--to investigate difference and marginalization. Assimilation, internalized hate, community/belonging, support from a privileged partner, exoticization, and more! As a bi woman, I cringed in recognition many times, as I think other marginalized folks would too.

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