Apr 02
Rostam Comics
7 comments posted by legofish at 02:04 PM
I've breifly mentioned Rostam Comics in the past, but it definitely deserves its own post. Utilizing the comic-friendly stories of the Shah Nameh (see previous post), a team of LA entrepreneurs (Bruce Bahmani, Jamie Douraghy, and Cameron Douraghy) started a few years ago what is the first (and still, the only) action-hero comic book with Persian heros.
I am extremely picky when it comes to comics and there are only about a handful of comic artists in the wolrd whose work I fancy. I admit when I first saw images from the first Rostam comic a few years ago, I was a bit underwhelmed by the quality of the art. I was also disappointed that none of the artists working on the project came from a Persian background.
But it was only after I talked with Cameron last month that I truly realized the great value of these comics. It is easy to sit and pass judgement on some comic screenshots, but when you consider the huge financial burden of producing a comic book, the immense difficulty of finding Persian comic artists who would be willing to take on a huge project such as this, and the generally indifferent attitude of the Persian community towards comics, you realize that this project is to be supported and commended.
Besides that, having bought both comics (there are currently two issues available) and having seen them up close, I was delighted to see the major improvement in all aspects of the second comic compared to the first one (most notably in the area of coloring). I have no doubt that the third issue, which is to be released very soon, will be even better than the second and I can't wait to buy it when it comes out.
Hi Pendar,
Thanks for the "heads up" on the Comic Book. They look great and I will definitelly buy a couple of copies. I also noiced that they are featured on amazon.com and the comments there are very positive.
Pendar,
Thank you for the kind review. It is very satisfying to have a forum where we can freely express what we are trying to accomplish.
The Rostam project is an ongoing effort which attempts to introduce the amazing works of Ferdowsi to new audiences (who in all likelyhood would never be exposed). Currently the Shahnameh (and its' great stories) are inaccessable to the vast majority Iranians who are growing up in diaspora, and for the most part, there is a generation of Iranian youth who are completely unfamiliar with it. We aim to reach them with an appealing version which is easy to read and features modern images that they can relate to.
In addition, we have the added benefit of introducing a great Persian hero to the wider English reading audience, and by doing so, create yet another barrier to the relentless anti Iranian propaganda that the western media so redily spews against us. We all need to band together and break the false stereotypes that are being created to make Persians/Iranians as "bad guys". The good news is that we are gaining wider acceptence in mainstream English publications and by creating good work which gains an audience, people will think of it as being ordinary to have Persian "good guys" in a storyline.
Once again Thank you.
Good thoughts, Good words, Good deeds
(http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/03/11/200203.php)
Great Work, All your works are the best. i proud you to be iranian.
thanx...you're the best.
there is many comics about shahnameh in iran ,like the pictures in this URL: http://rostam-iran.blogspot.com/
its in English
visit it and send your
we glory in our past
long live iran
Dear Pendar
Happy New Year, happy spring and happy Nowruz
I've recently found a project of similar function to your "300 the movie project", it is called Hello Yahoo Mail and it has been aired to protest the Yahoo removal of Iran's name from its country lists.
The blog is dedicated to Persian culture, literature, arts and traditional lifestyle. It also publishes several photos of Iranian people, the tourist attractions of Iran cities etc. I invite you to take a visit of it and let your visitors know more about that: http://helloyahoomail.net/en