Imagine Rostam, the legendary hero of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh of more
than 1,000 years ago, almost forgotten and unknown, coming back to
life to fight enemies and pride Iran. When childhood friends Bruce
Bahmani, Jamie Douraghy, and Cameron Douraghy came up with the idea
of recreating Rostam’s tales into comic strips, that’s exactly what
they aimed to do: to reawaken Rostam’s legacy. Five years in the
making, the comics, vivaciously animated by Karl Altstaetter, have
become a milestone in the re-presentation of the Shahnameh. Aimed
at non-Iranians and Iranian youth who have not been exposed to the
literature, the comics introduce a part of the richness of the
Iranian culture that has been buried under negative
representations.
“One of the original goals when we launched this
project, was to reach a broader audience and show them that there
is so much more depth and richness to our culture, than what they
are bombarded with in the news,” the creators told Oziran. And
their attempt has been successful and a “real mind opener for
some.”
While the creators have introduced this great Iranian literature to
the West, they have done so by breaking many stereotypes that the
West associates with Iran. For instance, at first sight, the
characters do not appear ‘Iranian,’ in the traditional sense, in
their appearance or attire. This was a deliberate attempt on the
part of the creators to break traditional expected boundaries by
altering the characters’ appearance to a universal non-specific
locale. However, the dialogue makes up for that, as the characters
refer to Iran, and even use specific Persian words such as
Pahlavan, Daleer, and Sheytoon to express themselves. More
importantly, the comics re-introduce Iranians, considerably
different to the negative image associated with them over the last
several decades.
“In this era of negative stereotypes, it is
refreshing to have an Iranian hero that embodies characteristics
such as valour, honour, loyalty, strength, kindness, and
humility.”
The hard work in creating the comics, has not only taken the
Iranian and non-Iranian comic fans by storm, but has been deeply
supported by the Iranian community. In fact, as the creators told
Oziran, the springboard for the project was grants received from
two Iranian foundations.
In 2006, Bruce, one of the creative forces of the team, was
recognised and received the Persian Golden Lioness Award from the
World Academy of Arts Literature and Media for “Best Literary
Achievement in a Comic Book.” Ironically, these English comics
of a great Persian literature have had a great reception from
within Iran. After an interview on satellite television, which was
also broadcast in Iran, the creators were bombarded with emails
from Iran, some of the best coming from provincial cities like
Ardabil, demanding to know how they could get copies. Even though
the creators told Oziran that they would like to translate the
comics into Persian, “not only for the home market, but for
Persian speaking people all over the world,” they have no
definite plans of translation as of yet. There are two printed
editions in circulation: Tales from the Shahnameh and Return of the
King, with a third and a fourth in the making.
The creators also hope to bring to life other important
characters and stories from the Shahnameh, however, the development
of further issues depends on the support of the fans. “At the
end of the day, it will be our readers and fans who will ensure the
continuation of this project by actively supporting the books.”
Though, we should be expecting great things from this creative
group as they feel that they have only just scratched the surface.
ã Rostam: Tales From the Shahnameh can be purchased from www.TheShahnameh.com
