desymbol: Thai Illustrator Makes Colorful Comics That Take Unexpected Turns And Here Are 14 Of The Best Ones

The holidays are coming to a close, and some believe that there‘s no time more bluesy than the one after the festive season. Hence it’s the perfect time to take a look at these heart-wrenching comics from 27-year-old Tum Natakorn Ulit, an artist from Bangkok, Thailand, whose unique style and stories are almost guaranteed to squeeze a tear out of you. Though they‘re thematically different, these comics always convey a bittersweet sense of tragedy.

Ulit told Bored Panda that he gets inspiration for his comics “Mostly from pain and my own experience that I interpreted into comics so that I can express those feelings.”

A sense of tragedy is ambiguous. In some sense it‘s heart-wrenching, even painful, to see someone in a tragic circumstance. On the other hand, seeing a tragedy is sort of mesmerizing, it catches you in a mysterious way, it connects to you. Catharsis is a feeling of elation and exaltation that comes at the culmination of observing a tragic experience from afar. A great greek philosopher Aristotle has said that catharsis has the power to cleanse a person‘s soul and to reinvigorate one‘s life, making one appreciate it even more. These comics are, in some sense, a highly concentrated form of tragedy. It breaks one‘s heart to seem them unravel the way they do, but at the end of it, you can see a small ray of hope peering through.

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Pick colors for your nature

Image credits: Tum Ulit

Only God(zilla) knows

Image credits: Tum Ulit

Insert coin here

Image credits: Tum Ulit

Ulit says that he realized the good he could do for others when a friend called him after seeing one comic, tearfully telling the artist that he had thought he was the only one. His words pulled Ulit out of a dark time in his life. “I want to turn my situation into something else, something that people can appreciate or might even help them in any way,” he says. “Helping others might just be my own excuse, this might just be my own therapy…”

I choose you, you eat me

Image credits: Tum Ulit

No matter how high it is

Image credits: Tum Ulit

Happiness Begins

Image credits: www.instagram.com

His bio on Facebook reads “Only tears can clear your eyes,” and his stories, all rendered in cartoonish colors and charmingly soft textures, usually have bittersweet endings that show that forgiveness and hope are possible.

In his comics, people who realize their errors can reconcile with their loved ones, and lost love means that if one person turned out not to be the one, better opportunities are yet to come. He sometimes ventures into social commentary that has no silver lining by nature, such as noting the senselessness of war or the destruction of our natural resources for the benefit of the upper 1%. But in general, the prevailing theme of his work is valuing what we have in front of us, rather than working for unattainable wealth or dwelling on missed opportunities.

Soldier boy

Image credits: www.instagram.com

Same hand that hold you

Image credits: Tum Ulit

Flying unicorn

Image credits: Tum Ulit

“I’m an observant [type] who focuses on the actual world and things happening around them. I enjoy seeing, touching, feeling and experiencing. I want to keep my feet on the ground and focus on the present, instead of wondering why or when something might happen,” Ulit says. Scroll down for more of his comics, and have tissues ready.