Comix Influx Blog: Lebanese Comics at Laydeez Do Comics!
An excellent night at Laydeez Do Comics last night, with Andrew Godfrey (whom I missed through my lateness, sadly), Katie Green, Charles Hatfield and Joumana Medlej.
Joumana Medlej talked about her Lebanese female superhero, Malaak. While clearly influenced by American superhero comics, Malaak is clearly steeped in the tradition of Lebanaon – Malaak herself sprung from one of the cedars for which Lebanon is so well known.
Medlej self-publishes her comics, as there isn’t a strong comics industry in Lebanon. Malaak is in English, but include Arabic words that are explained in a glossary at the back. Unusually, she also includes a cast list at the front – showing which of her characters are based on her friends! The Malaak comic book is not easy to find outside of Lebanon (as far as I know), but you can still enjoy the comic if you have an iPad, using the Malaak app.
Charles Hatfield is a professor in the Department of English at California State Universty, Northridge. Charles went through his work at CSUN, and how it is changed over the years. He was both witty and wise in his talk, and clearly captivated his audience. Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature!, Charles’ book – based on his PhD thesis – came out a few years ago, and his new book, on Jack Kirby, will be coming out in the 2012.
Lighter Than My Shadow is a graphic novel in progress by Katie Green. It is about Katie’s awful with anorexia and sexual abuse – happily, firmly behind her now. Katie was articulate and open about the very difficult things that she has battled – I can’t imagine being so honest and forthcoming in front of a room of people, let alone in the pages of a book. It was an affecting but also humorous talk. Her art is meticulous and delicate and complements the dark and difficult subject matter beautifully. ?Lighter Than My Shadow is due out in 2013.
