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There's a new Prince of Persia comic book out from Disney Comics. They're no doubt releasing this in advance of the big movie release this summer. It's called Prince of Persia: Before the Sand Storm. It is a collection of short stories, illustrated by various talented artists (such as Todd McFarlane, Niko Henrichon, Cameron Stewart, Tommy Lee Edwards, Bernard Chang), all written by the creator of Prince of Persia. I can't wait to read it.

Recently, cgart.ir held a competition with the theme of "Heroes and Villains". It was a chance for Iranian CG artists to showcase their work. There's a lot of really good submissions. I was surprised to find all this new talent. I've selected only a few of them to show here, to see more head over to cgart.ir.

Zahra's Paradise is a new web-comic chronicling the turmoil after the disputed 2009 Iranian elections. It is written by Amir, an Iranian, and illustrated by Khalil, an Arab. The drawing style is very similar to the "Prince of Persia" graphic novel.

Zahra's Paradise is translated in English, Farsi, Arabic, French, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch.

I have been a little slow in posting this. The new Rostam comic, "Battle with the Deevs" has been available for a few weeks now over at the Shahnameh. As with the previous comics, you can clearly see the overall improvements in the series, and there are some very attractive illustrated panels in the latest release. The Deev is the quintessential badass villain in Persian mythology, and its appearance in any story immediately increases the cool factor by a couple of notches.I got my copy the first week it came out, but haven't still had a chance to read the story. But anyone who is a fan of comics, Persian mythology, or just wants to support the hard work of the good folks behind this project should definitely get their copy.

The website of the Shahnameh animated project has recently been updated with new concept art. There is not much other indication about which stage they are at or when the project would be released, but the two new big illustrations are absolutely stunning, and the fact that they are updating the site gives some indication that the project is alive.

Aside: I have tried to contact people at Cyrus production in the past to interview them about the project, but I've had no response from them.

Please find below the announcement for the new round of UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists Programme for 2009. The programme consists of a global network of bursaries for international residencies. This year it is focusing on visual arts, creative writing and music, so please pass the information to anybody who may be interested.

Among the UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists Programme, the 18th Street Art Center (Santa Monica, CA, USA) is offering a fully funded artist residency in visual arts to an Iranian artist for 2009.
For information on application procedure and requirements please visit their site.

This is a great opportunity for Iranian artists, especially those inside Iran, to showcase their art outside of the country and we strongly urge all artists to apply for this.

I saw Persepolis over the weekend. While I have mixed feelings about how it works as a movie, from an artistic point of view it was beautiful. Shabnam Rezaei of Persian Mirror has recently sat down with Marjan Satrapi (creator and co-director of Persepolis) for an interview which is definitely worth a read.

This is a bit late, but Persepolis, the animated feature based on the popular graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi won the jury prize at Cannes last week. The novels tell the story of Marjane's childhood growing up in Iran and have won her critical praise worldwide. Also check out Persepolis's myspace page.