Graphic novels and comics on the Middle EastUsing Film and Literature to Further a Global Studies Agenda in the Humanities Classroom

A. David Lewis

Super Hero Sholat, Anonymous (Indonesia)

OverviewOverview

1. Entry points2. Muslim

Superhero Collection

3. Next Stages

Entry PointsEntry PointsSandman #50 (1993)9-11 charity

anthologies (2001-2002)

Persepolis (2002)Palestine (2003, US)The 9-11 Report: A

Graphic Adaptation (2006)

Arab in America (2008)

Cairo (2008), Air (2009-2011)

Aaron and Ahmed (2011)

Muslim Superheroes Muslim Superheroes CollectionCollection1st in the countryShared moral

codesFor researchers

to have a centralized resource

For readers to gain appreciation of characters

Thirty-year spanMarvel Comics,

DC Comics, Teshkeel

Over seventy-five individual issues

Online AccessOnline Access

Muslim Superheroes Muslim Superheroes CollectionCollection1. To affirm the congruency between

superhero morality and Islamic ethics,

2. To confront misleading or unflattering popular depictions of Muslim "heroes,“

3. To provide a research repository of printed works for further analysis of Islam in popular culture, and

4. To encourage reader and creative communities to engage further with such characters.

CharactersCharacters“Fodder”

◦ Sinbad◦ Damascus◦ The Veil◦ Batal◦ Arabian Knight II

BU Today: “BU Today: “Holy Burkas, Batman!”

LocationsLocationsQuracTrans-SabalKahndaq (from

khandaq, “that which had been dug”)◦ “on the northern

part of the Sinai Peninsula”

ImpressionsImpressionsOften unseen practiceHeroes’ sanction

◦JLA/The 99Magic

◦Swords, stones, metalsEducated, “Westernized,”

“Costume”◦Medical training, English speaking

Fictional atlas◦Tokenism◦Reticence

Next StagesNext Stages“Once the Collection is underway

and has been evaluated, this could be more widely expanded in a second wave to include European and non-English instances. Moreover, webcomic examples could be explored as could a virtual showcase…”

My call…

Next StagesNext StagesHabibi by

Craig Thompson

“Sprawling across an epic landscape of deserts, harems, and modern industrial clutter, Habibi tells the tale of Dodola and Zam, refugee child slaves bound to each other by chance, by circumstance, and by the love that grows between them.”

Next StagesNext StagesHoly Terror by Frank MillerThe graphic novel “is a reminder that we’re in the midst of a long war” and “the enemy that we’re up against is pernicious, deceptive and merciless and wants nothing less than total destruction.” – Miller, quoted by Wired Magazine

Some Data & Images Provided ByAssociated Press, Prof. Bart Beaty, DC Comics, Legendary Pictures, Marvel Comics, The Marvel Comics Database, Neal Underleider, Pantheon Books, themockingnerd.blogspot.com, The Wikipedia Foundation

Priere du fahjr & Priere du duhr, Adhraf Doulous (Paris, 2008)