To hope or to weep? Slow hope in Rohan Chakravarty's green humour series

Rohan Chakravarty’s green humour comic series provides hopeful narratives of environmental conservation and justice by focusing on the tenets of decoloniality and subaltern environmental activism catalysed through the use of humour. This article argues that “green humour” ridicules colonial and neo-liberal capitalist interventions in the environment and functions as a counter-hegemonic force by challenging environmental injustices and extractive practices, while presenting Indigenous environmental activism as an alternative. Drawing on Christof Mauch’s concept of “slow hope”, which focuses on community-based conservation stories and modes of resistance with gradual, often invisible impacts, the article argues that through the use of green humour and vulnerable narrators, Chakravarty reimagines hope beyond western, hierarchical frameworks. By focusing on Indigenous conservation stories and activism, his green humour series espouses a sustainable and decolonial planetary vision that inspires decolonial hope. The article also explores green humour’s political potential in confronting ecological crises and consolidating marginalized voices.