ally accompanied by speech bubbles and narrative
text boxes. Comic books are expanded versions
of comic strips published as a magazine or book.
The publication of comic strips began in Germany
and the United states in the latter part of the 19th
century. Mass-market production of comic strips
and comic books first began to prosper in the
United States during the 1930s. Many countries
around the world also developed this form of
popular literature during the last century, includ-
ing Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. It has spread
widely because of the growth of print culture,
increased literacy rates, demand for popular forms
of entertainment, and development of a global
consumer economy. From the beginning, comics
have been created for both children and adults,
but the popularity of adult comics increased dur-
ing the closing decades of the 20th century.
Comics are popular in the Middle East and
elsewhere where there are large Muslim popula-
tions. Illustrated book manuscripts were produced
in Islamicate societies during the Middle Ages that
contained pictures of animals, heroic warriors,
holy figures, mythological creatures, angels, and
other extraordinary beings. These books were
created by professional calligraphers and paint-
ers who worked for a few powerful and wealthy
patrons and did not enjoy widespread circulation.
The introduction of comics in the modern sense
did not occur until the 20th century as a result
of European influence in Muslim lands. In the
Middle East, most early comics were in English
and French, but by the mid-1960s they began to
be rendered in local languages, such as Arabic.
Disney cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse
and Donald Duck became popular in the Arab
world with the publication of the weekly Egyptian
comic magazine Miki. It was not long before these
characters were adapted to native cultures and
shown wearing galabias (Egyptian-style robes),
carrying prayer beads, and celebrating ramadan.
Likewise, Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent, was
changed to Nabil Fawzi, while Batman and Robin
became Subhi and Zakkour.
Aside from the conversion of imported comic
book characters into local ones, rising national-
ist politics in newly independent countries led
to the search for culturally authentic subjects
and characters. Some comics featured folkloric
figures such as the wise Egyptian fool Juha,
known in other parts of the Middle East as Nasr
al-Din Khoja or Mullah Nasr al-Din, while others
retold arabian nights stories, such as “Sinbad
the Sailor.” Historic subjects portrayed in Arab
comics include the medieval traveler ibn bat tUta,
Salah al-Din (saladin), and the crusaders and
guerrillas who fought against the French and the
Israelis. Even Women, such as the Syrian queen
Zenobia of Palmyra (third century c.e.), have
found a place in the comics. Comics in tUrkey
have recounted the story of that nation’s found-
ing father, mUs taFa kemal atatUrk (d. 1938). In
Iraq, comics were used to lionize saddam hUsayn,
the country’s former president, and promote the
ideology of the baath party. Egypt’s charismatic
president, Jamal abd al-nasir (d. 1971), and
Hafiz al-Asad (d. 2000) of Syria have also been
comic book subjects. In india, which has one
of the largest Muslim populations in the world
(although they represent only about 12 percent of
the country’s population), the Mughal emperors
akbar (d. 1605) and Jahangir (d. 1627) have been
subjects of Amar Chitra Katha comics, a very
popular line of comic books celebrating favorite
topics in Indian history, religion, literature, and
folklore since 1967. Although this series often
favors Hindu subjects at the expense of Muslim
ones, it did publish an issue on Nur Jahan, the
gifted and influential wife of Jahangir and mother
of Shah Jahan (d. 1666), the builder of the Taj
Mahal.
There are also comics with mainly Islamic
religious content. This would seem to contradict
the Islamic prohibition against the portrayal of
human beings, especially of holy people. It should
be remembered, however, that this ruling has not
prevented the creation and reproduction of figural
images in premodern manuscript illuminations,comic strips and comic books 159 J