Arab Superheroes Leap Pyramids in a Single Bound

Arab Superheroes Leap Pyramids in a Single Bound (WaPo)

I think this is an interesting followup to the transcreation post I made a few weeks ago. Instead of repurposing (to use tired corpspeak) an American hero, AK Comics, of Cairo, is creating completely new, specifically Arab, superheroes, although Spider Man isn't completely absent from the thoughts of its managing director, Marwan Nashar:

"I grew up reading 'Spider-Man' and loved him," says Nashar. "But I couldn't get into Peter Parker. I mean, he lived in New York. I always wondered why there weren't any Arabs leaping off buildings."

I have to admit finding myself grinding my teeth at a few of the writer's "cute" comments about Islam and the Middle East, like,

Because Egypt has no homegrown tradition of comic strips (unless you count illustrated hieroglyphics), AK Comics decided to outsource the drawings to a studio in Brazil. English dialogue is honed by a writer in California. [emphasis mine]

How clever! How droll! How patronizing!

It is fascinating to see that this creation relies on globalization. It challenges provincialism.

Also, there are two male and two female heroes. One of each gender is tied as the most well received characters by readers. Unfortunately, the female characters were a little too well endowed for the censors on occasion. There have been problems even after the editors put the bosh on the Brazilian art team's original designs, which incorporated extreme bodaciousness coupled with the barest whisper of butt-floss.

And, of course, there are the obligatory nods toward current events. I found it significant that, the heroine Jalila protects,

the City of All Faiths (read: Jerusalem) from the warring Zios Army (the Zionists) and the United Liberation Force (the Palestine Liberation Organization). Both forces, according to a description of Jalila's activities, cling "to their extreme views, both wanting to solely control the City of All Faiths."

So the next time some winger tells you there are no Arab moderates, you can say, yes there are ... and they wear tights and have superpowers!