Today I’m releasing the first of five posters in a new monthly series called “Marvelous Adventures.” All characters for the series are pulled from Hindu mythology (Durga, Hanuman, Rama, Garuda, Kali) and feature some of the oldest superheroes on Earth.

When I was growing up, I drew a lot of comic book style art—a lot. At some point, I abandoned that style when I discovered the magic of German renaissance printmaking, which behaves similarly but is more ordered and technical.

This series is a return to comic book style drawing, particularly that of Marvel and DC comics from the 1960s and ‘70s. Drawing in this way was surprisingly comfortable and fun for me, like returning to the places in my childhood neighborhood where I used to play and explore.

Durga seems the most appropriate figure to kick off this series. The last several years have been marked by her persistent efforts and I imagine she will continue. To a large degree, she is the same archetype as Wonder Woman.

The series of five prints (each with five colors, 24” x 36”) will be released as limited editions of 40 each over the next five months.

Click here to add this print to your collection.

For my Tattoo Gratitude Project, I’m giving away a specially designed poster to anyone who wears or has made a tattoo of my work. I recently spoke with Things & Ink about this project + my inspiration for, and approach to, making art.

Things & Ink: How did you begin to teach yourself how to create art? Were there any artists that inspired or helped you along the way?
RZ: When I was growing up, creating art was like eating breakfast in my house. The most ordinary everyday activity. Both of my parents and all of my siblings did one form or another. My mother is by far the most inspiring and influential artist and thinker in my life.

Things & Ink: Lots of people have tattoos of your artwork, do you have any tattoos?
RZ: Yes. I have a Shrivasta on my arm with a dark animal type glyph that I drew and the word Ahimsa on my chest which is a form of combative non-violence. I got my first tattoos in 1999 at a San Fransisco shop called Black + Blue Tattoo. I had only lived there for a few months and had very little money so I went around to different shops and asked if they would trade art for a tattoo. Black + Blue was the only all woman owned and operated shop in the city at the time and they were the only shop that agreed to a trade. I got two tattoos from two different artists in exchange for drawings. The shop is now legendary in San Fransisco because of that remarkable history.

I don’t care much about my tattoos now. I don’t like or dislike them. They’re like moles to me.

This print depicts two very similar characters from very different cultures: Greece’s Medusa and Bali’s Rangda. It is available as a 1- or 2-color print.

The words for this print are from a chapter in the Kalevala that is rather harsh. In it, an old woman tells a young bride how her new life with her husband and his family will be painful, lonely and difficult. She gives detailed instructions on how to best perform all her arduous chores despite the thanklessness and cruelty she will receive in return. The old woman then goes on to tell how she did all of this good work and ended up hated, rejected and homeless after doing everything right. It’s a rough go.

The stories of Medusa and Rangda describe an archetype of young female power and intelligence that receives so much cruelty and abuse that it becomes hardened and angry. These characters then direct that anger outward, arbitrarily and with great destructive force. It’s the same archetype that we find in characters like Japan’s lantern ghost, England’s Morgan Le Fay, Mexico’s La Llorona, Stephen King’s Carrie and to some degree India’s Kali. Tupac was referring to something similar when he said, “The Hate U Give Little Infants, Fucks Everyone!”