Malaak: Angel of Peace

RecentlyI interviewed a woman who just launched her first comic book in Lebanon, and I submitted it to a popular Middle Eastern women's/fashion magazine. Then I realized that my American audience is missing out on all the fun! Just a fun little interview with a talented young writer/artist (And you are getting the better, more fun version!).

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Cool cover, eh? ------------>>>

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Joumana Medlej just released her new comic, Malaak: Angel of Peace. The main character is a young woman, living in Lebanon, whose mission is to find out who she is and her purpose in life. "Basically it's a young girl that is found and no one knows where she comes from and she doesn't know until she comes of age," Joumana said of her young character, Malaak.
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Malaak comes to live in a war-torn Lebanon, and soon realizes her powers are to be used to end the bloody conflict. Although Lebanon was entrenched in a civil war only two decades ago, Medlej says her comic expresses no political opinions or statements on the war that still looms in the minds of older generations. "Coincidentally, or maybe not...the idea came to me after I came back from Germany where I was exiled during the war. I was so sick of war, its so senseless and I think we all realize at one point there was one superhero who could end it. But I don't deal with politics, I deal with bigger things."

One of those things is exporting Lebanese culture. Medlej hoped the comic would capture audiences around the world because "there are not a lot of cultural exports from Lebanon in this field and I really would love for comic lovers worldwide to like a comic from Lebanon." Throughout the comic you will find drawings of building which actually exist in the country, historical references littered throughout the text, and a bit of the tri-language dialogue the Lebanese are famous for - that is, their affinity to speak Arabic, French and English all in the same sentence. In fact Medlej took the liberty to include a dictionary of terms at the end of each issue, to accommodate those who don't speak all three languages and aren't familar with Lebanese-speak.

Although religion doesn't play an integral role in her comic, there is a discreet acknowlegment of it. She explained, "I'm not really going to bring religion into it except small touches. There is a hajibe character. There are mosques and churches in the background." Hijabe refers to the Muslim tradition for women to wear a scarf over their head. And of course she does not fail to highlight Lebanon's love for fashion and beauty. "The main character has to be a woman...It's because Lebanon is so famous for their beautiful women, and any superhero woman in Lebanon would have to be a super babe." She added, "The female characters in the comic have their own fashions. There is, of course, the very well dressed and then the conservative.

We all know Superman, Batman, and Spiderman, and to the average comic book reader men dominate the heroic scene. The only woman superhero that comes to my mind is Wonderwoman. Portraying a young, independent woman as the main character in her new comic, Medlej may find her comic being educational as well as entertaining, especially for Western readers.

"[My Character] is definitely an independent woman." And the author may be even more of a statement than her character. "I think my existence makes a statement...I set an example as a liberated and active woman. I don't set an example, I just do it", she said. And apparantly the ladies are taking a liking to her liberated character. "Women are loving the powerful woman, because she is not just liberated but taking things in hand. She is not a super confident woman - she's growing, she's nice, she's cute. I think the women are really reacting well to her", she explained.

Medlej became interested in comic books when she was 12, saying it was what started her drawing. But it was her imagination that spurred her first attempts at comic book illustrations. "I'm very much a storyteller at heart. I love to tell stories, but not just in writing. I like to show them," she said. Like so many others, her dreams to publish a comic were put on hold due to life's plans. "It took so much time and I had to work and study and so I left it aside for ten years. In the meantime I worked on illustrations and drawings. So by the time the idea came for [Malaak] I was ripe conceptually and technically."

The idea of Malaak came to her during her exile to Germany, where she stayed during the civil war in Lebanon. "In 2000 I had the idea for something that came from Lebanon," she said, explaining her choice of location. She added, "I don't know exactly where the idea came from, it was just sudden inspiration bit it takes on so much influence from my life. My expose to things caused a sort of alchemy that ends up influencing the comic...certain world views." However, she stressed that the war portrayed in her comic was not supposed to represent Lebanon's infamous civil war, although she did "[grow] up ten years in war and this was daily life during those days."

Her passion for illustrating and narrating were not the only things that got her to the publishing stage. She gives credit to the support of her friends, family and her audience. "I ended up publishing because the response for the first few pages was really great, from everyone." Surprisingly she added, "I actually didn't tell my family [that I was publishing] until I was ready to print because the theme was so personal, and we all went through the [civil] war together."

Medlej, however, doesn't intend to cater to just a Lebanese audience. Currently she publishes her comic in English, to accomodate a large international audience. She plans to possibly translate her comic into Arabic and French, to cater to a wider Lebanese and Middle Eastern audience as well as a broader international audience. Also Medlej promises entertainment for all ages. "I have fans who are 12 and 50. I know Lebanese who like it because it's Lebanese. It's fresh, it's new and it has a root in reality", she said.

The first issue of Malaak, in print, is out and circulating. I personally bought and read it, but I promised not to reveal any of the juicy details. I asked Medlej if she had the whole plot thought out, she surprisingly answered that the ending is what is keeping her going. "I want to know how it ends. I'm serious. I have to continue because I only see the story as I go, so I want to see how it develops."

As her comic develops, Medlej is looking forward to her Malaak taking off and becoming an international icon. She expressed one last ambition as an author, and for Malaak - and that is to one day see her character worn by adoring fans. That is, she says, "The day I see someone at Halloween dressed like her, then I will be happy!"

To read an online version of Malaak visit Medlej's webpage: http://www.malaakonline.com/