Thursday, Oct 15, 2026

Connecting through comics

Meet Kartheek Komerapudi, a bronze medal karate champion and comic artist who won at the ComicSense.Xyz competition

By Priyanka Pasupuleti

Published Date - 7 November 2020, 07:03 PM

Kartheek Komerapudi is a young champ who is proving himself in the art scene. However, art was not his first choice. He started off his career by practising karate and even won a bronze medal. “A few years later, I felt there was no proper coaching available and I quit karate. I later started pursuing art, and would practice day and night,” shares Kartheek, who completed his intermediate.

Social media played an important role in Kartheek’s life. Initially, he would show his comics only to his friends. Impressed, they adviced him to share his work on Instagram. It helped him create his own identity and he was even approached by many for his work.Recently, he took part in ComicSense.Xyz, a competition which witnessed people from all over India. Among 3,000 people, he stood second. “I have done lots of research. It is difficult to learn about art because it has various streams. Thanks to social media, I could connect to people from different parts of the globe and learn a lot of things from each one of them,” says this artist who is a pro in Manga art.

Kartheek started working for Kross Komics where he showcases his art. “This is a website where we try to explain stories through art. Comics should get more recognition in India — it’s very difficult to find institutions for Manga art which originates from Japan,” shares the artist. He gives all the credit to his success to his mother who supported and encouraged him no matter what he decided to do in his life.