'Cyanide and Happiness' is universal: Creator Rob DenBleyker

Amidst creating comic strips out of the most sensitive of the issues, be it communalism, gender discrimination or racism, Canadian cartoonist Rob DenBleyker believes that his web comic "Cyanide and Happiness" is "universal."
A brainchild of DenBleyker and comic artistes Kris Wilson and Dave McElfatrick, the webcomic which began as a hobby, first came out in December 2004 and is now published regularly on their website explosm.Net.
"When we make our comics and animations, our goal is to be funny. We are not trying to rile anybody up or ruffle any feathers. Our comics do tend to be darker and more cynical but I think that they are comments on the general aspect of humanity- it is people being horrible to each other within that universe," says DenBleyker.

"We avoid targeting specific groups of people. It is just that we make what's funny to us and we try to keep the 'Cyanide and Happiness' universe kind of universal which means this story could be taking place anywhere in the world," he says.
DenBleyker is currently in the capital to interact with fans at the three day long Delhi Comic Con 2015 being held at NSIC grounds here and share with them the experience of running one of the most popular webcomic series.
The series which is primarily noted for its dark humour and sometimes surrealistic approach, seems to make us question ourselves as part of the society in introspect and takes upon the vices in the most hilarious possible manner.

Citing an example of how one of their comic strips

showcased a father perpetrating his son to kill a pony to get the XBox that was hidden inside it, he says, "If that were done in real life, people would take extreme offence. But because we have these cute little stick figures we can kind of use them as scapegoats to tell the story and get it out to the world. In a way that is very funny."
DenBleyker, who has been to the Bangalore edition of Indian Comic Con before feels that they are at par with their San Diego counterpart and that hosting such festivals at city levels across the world widens the popularity of comic culture.

"Apart from this one being outdoors, the cosplayers, the booths, the t-shirts, all the fans, it is a very similar experience. I think Comic Cons across the world are universal in the sense how fans come together and dress up as their favourite characters."
"I think Comic Cons are one of the best things that have happened in the last ten years. When we first started writing the comics there were only a handful. There was San Diego, New York Comic Con had just started. And now it seems like there is a Comic Con in almost every city. It is a chance for fans to come together and celebrate being fans and I think there's nothing like it," he says.

For DenBleyker, Comic Con is a platform where they can leave their computer desks behind and reach out to their audience in person.
"When we work behind computers most of the time, we don't meet our friends face to face. Comic Con, from our perspective, is a great reminder of who we're writing for, who is reading our comics and seeing their appreciation kind of keeps us going.