13 Reasons Why (I Love Sharks)

I probably cannot tell you how many times I've been asked the question "Why Sharks?". I usually tell them it's because they ask such a question.
And then I thought about it and decided that I should give them a bunch of real reasons why I love sharks. So I came up with these. Don't worry, I do have a few sarcastic replies as well which will hopefully be another comic strip at some point.

For those of you who don't know, Port Jackson sharks are a type of Bullhead shark species (Heterodontiformes).

If you have a particular reason why you love sharks, do let me know and hopefully I can turn it into a cartoon for the next set of reasons.


I'll get a poster done at some point and it'll probably look like this. So let me know if you'd like one.

ps - I have not watched "13 Reasons Why" nor am I a fan of "Game of Thrones" so my apologies to those shows.

The Shark's Poem (Now in technicolor)

A slightly modified version of my Shark poem. It somewhat captures what a shark is and what we have done to the species. We need our oceans, our oceans need sharks, ergo we need sharks. We don't need shark fin soup as much as we need oceans. Hopefully we will see an increase in intelligence in this matter in this generation.
Sharks are usually the main attraction in aquariums. Watching them makes life better even if just for the moment. They're on almost all kids' apparel brands these days (mostly on boys' but girls love sharks as much if not more). Don't let sharks die out.

Shark Week 2017

Last year I attempted to draw a bunch of cartoons inspired by the episode titles and that was kind of fun. Even though they don't air here at the same time nor do I have a bunch of shark freaks to shark it out, I thought I'd do another series of episode themed cartoons. Even though the Michael Phelps one is probably the most talked about, I thought I'd start with Great White Shark Serial Killer lives.

#1
It seems as if they continue to believe/hope that such titles captivate more people than one simply capturing the beauty and splendour of the Great White. It's stuff like this that creates headlines describing the basking shark as "terrifying". So here's my cartoon. Don't miss the eye roll.

#2 - Shark-Croc showdown
My favourite part of this is the "leather cleaner". It's those little things that make a difference.

#3 - Alien Sharks
Like how I made the space ships look like skates and rays? It's things like this that make me such an awesome cartoonist.

#4 - Sharks in the city
The episodes focus on NYC and LA but the title obviously is meant to remind you of "Sex and the city" right? So, voila! This was probably my favourite one to draw and I loved how it turned out.

#5 - The Lost Cage
They did make it sound like mysterious lost treasure, after all.

#6 - African Shark Safari
See how I "subtly" do a Madagascar reference?
(This is actually meant to be #7 but there's a slight glitch with the original #6. I'll explain later, perhaps.)

Some kind of something: Earth Day 2017

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - which is why I have reused/recycled an old strip and made it a reduced version of what a good Earth Day cartoon should be.
In all seriousness, I do believe that one of Man's primary purposes was to care for this world. It is a good world. It's a beloved world. And we were entrusted with it. We had one job.
I went to an Earth day event today called the Reciprocity Fest - it was a bit enlightening. I'm not as green as I could be. My convenience comes first. That's not a good example for the next generation. I think every beverage joint in the world should offer discounts to anyone who takes in their own reusable mug/cup. Or at least not refuse them service.

Vote for Sharks & Rays at CITES CoP17

Threshers are so cute. How could they kill that face?

There's about a month to go for CITES CoP17 at Johannesburg.  This year there are proposals to include the Silky Shark, Thresher Sharks, Mobula Rays and Ocellate River Stingrays in Appendix II. Silky Sharks were once abundant but their numbers have drastically reduced due to finning and overfishing. The Threshers have also rapidly decreased due to finning. These are beautiful sharks. I hope they get the protection status they need.

Why Sharks?

This is probably the question I get asked the most at any exhibit or event. I should probably stick to events like Shark-Con or Shark Fest but then who would I be able to convince that sharks are awesome?
It's the fact that they don't get it that makes me want them to know.

Bigger fish? For how long?

"There's always a bigger fish." - Qui Gon Jinn, The Phantom Menace

Well, not if you kill off the biggest fish there is, right? 

The Whale Shark has just gone from "Vulnerable" to "Endangered" in IUCN's list.  How could we let this happen - and to the gentlest of giants?

World Oceans Day 2016

Yes, Sharks are that important. There are many ways in which Sharks keep the ecosystem in a balance. Being top predator of the oceans, they keep prey in check which in turn keeps reefs etc healthy and therefore the oceans stay healthy. Overfishing of sharks will affect everything. If the sharks go, the oceans will get affected and so will the Earth.
We have been put on this planet to take care of it. All of creation was given to us to protect and nurture and use as we needed. We have abused that privilege and our future generations will have to reap the consequences unless we change things today.

World Oceans Day

No strings attached.

It's best if our oceans are line-free. Even if you're "flying a kite".

Look Deeper #2: Hotdogfish?

I don't think they put dogfish in hotdogs but they certainly are consumed in other forms. These sweet sharks (especially the spiny dogfish) are in extreme danger of extinction because people sell these as fish and chips, rock salmon and such. Please know what it is exactly that you are buying. Sharks are not even good for you. It's less good for the shark.

Look Deeper #1: Fin & Chips

This is something I worked on for another upcoming project from Fin Fighters UK about many businesses selling shark under other names. Many times, one may not know exactly what fish it is that they may be eating.
I recently heard that they sell dogfish under the name rock salmon. I'm looking forward to this campaign kicking off soon.

Shout out to "Sharktopia"!

I came across some amazing shark art the other day and sent an email to the artist saying how much I liked it. The website was "Sharktopia" with the tagline "Awareness through art" (which I love and agree with). Almost immediately I got the most enthusiastic and encouraging reply from the extremely talented Caitlin Cove saying that we shark artists need to unite and proposed we do a bit of a cross over awareness. This is me giving "Sharktopia" a shout out and here's to many more collaborations and hoping many more shark artists will join hands (pens/ pencils/ paintbrushes/ wacoms/ whatever) to create a greater awareness for sharks.  

You can also find Sharktopia on Facebook and Instagram.