Superheroes of this century!
Our Dev team creators are big fans of comics and evolution and we’re always excited to learn and enjoy the expansion of classic and mainstream comic universe characters just as any fan of the genre would. With the evolution of several decades-old characters that continue to be re-imagined by creators all around the world, we are pretty confident that comic book heroes will continue to delight the masses for generations to come.
The growth of the modern-day comic heroes from iconic DC and Marvel brands has been delighting us in every medium and in every way and they’ve been elevated into modern-day global pop culture. Do you know anyone who can not identify the Batman, Superman, or Spiderman Logo?
As new generations of creators are chosen to help with the evolution and narratives that are being selected to enhance, re-image, or re-imagine characters is limitless when we look at multi-verse implications. Integration is occurring at all levels and the scale of the brands and these iconic characters is phenomenal. We have had a wonderful time seeing some of our childhood favorites evolve with the times and we hope that you find a character from an era past or present that you love.
We caught up with Madani Chronicles creator Kelvin Ali over the summer and we asked him about his thoughts on these heroes and modern pop culture phenomenon.
“I was fortunate to have been a comic book reader and fan since early childhood which goes back to the early ’70s. When I sought out ‘classics’ as a child with my ‘allowance money’ they were from the ’50s and ’60s and typically in very poor shape, even back then.
The narratives and character evolution have definitely changed over 4 decades and I’ve been fortunate to have seen a lot of mainstream characters become grittier, more violent, darker, and in some ways to many fans ‘cooler’. The technology of art, animation, and CGI advances continue to create incredible experiences for us all to feast our eyes, ears, and emotions with as characters are pushed to new limits.
Visually, I couldn’t be happier. Who doesn’t love a blockbuster on the big screen?
I’ve seen Batman go from “Bam, Wham, and Pow” to murdering criminals in alternate multiverse timelines and it’s been great to witness as a fan as anything is possible.
I have always been a big Superman fan since childhood and I try to save my money as a kid to collect comics. The narrative of the death of Superman was a big deal in the early ’90s and it’s great to see the Doomsday character and narrative being used in animation and film in recent years. From a branding and marketing perspective, it was a fun ride and I would sometimes buy 2 versions/alternate cover versions and it was only until several years after the fact that I learned about the preservation and care of these delicate works.
I would buy quirky and non-mainstream characters like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman which is now a Netflix series that I have not had an opportunity to watch but most likely will at some point in days to come. I would really love the gritty artwork of Todd McFarlane’s Marvel and Image Comics characters as I watched Stan Lee’s characters become tortured souls.
In this modern era of comics, our societies are getting very desensitized to violence, nudity, and profanity. This is much different from the time I was reading and enjoying comics, so it is very interesting to see how some of the values and characters are being re-imagined and cast into mainstream television and film roles today.
Where characters are going and where they will go with massive technological leaps in years to come will be pretty cool and I am sure we will be able to virtually immerse ourselves into any character profile with the big-name IP’s in development and especially when we look at video game experiences. VR will become common for fans and there is no shortage of ‘awesomeness’ that will await the next generation of gamers to come.
When I think about the evolution of mainstream fictional characters, I took these future focused advancements into consideration when I began to create the Madani Chronicles. I really wanted to reflect on a ‘timeless’ experience based on an accurate historical narrative. As I never had an opportunity to learn about early Islamic history as it was not covered in Euro-Centric western curriculums that I was privy to, I really wanted anyone to be able to pick up any issue and find something that they could resonate with. We created each episode with painstaking research and we tried to pay attention to as much detail as we could in getting the story right. Characters and their appearances were often hard to conceptualize and our artists did their best with limited but very extensive reference material.
I sincerely hope that by getting a clear understanding of what Islam is and how it began, our readers and fans will know of real human heroes who walked and lived on this earth and really existed during very difficult times. They didn’t arrive on a spaceship with superpowers or become victims of a freak accident that changed their physiology which is great stories, but is Bruce Banner a role model to your kids and your youth? I’ve watched Lou Ferrigno to Mark Ruffalo become the ‘Smart Hulk’ and it’s been fun over the decades. But I wanted to create something for the world based on something we all relate to in our lives. The underdog story. Who doesn’t know what it’s like to struggle in this world, especially during these turbulent times we all live in?
We all have heroes. These can be anyone who is a role model and/or someone who makes sacrifices above and beyond like every mother, father, and many of our dear teachers who provide us with love and support in life. I truly believe that you can be a hero to another person if you believe that you can help them and when you support them in their efforts with even a smile which is a charity as per hadith.
It’s those little acts of goodness that you can do with your family, friends, and within your community that can make you into a real-life superhero and champion of good. I know my time is limited as I approach 50 and I hope that our efforts to bring these characters from history to mainstream audiences in a simple and easy to understand format will help foster character traits in many of our youth around the world.
I think that’s what the world needs a little more of right now. Real heroes who can solve the problems of their communities by having real examples of heroes and role models from our past. The CGI and big screen will entertain you always but if we look deep within our hearts, we can all be a hero to other human beings by having good intention, a positive attitude, and the courage to help someone else. Become a role model like your role models and the world will be a better place for you and those around you. That’s what evolution is. So many of us need our hearts, minds, and spirits to be lifted right now. The world is a tough place man and a lot of people are not role models in any way to anyone. This needs to change.
So many millions of heroes emerged during the Pandemic. Humans became closer knowing that death was a possibility for us all. Heroes will often go unappreciated, so if you can think of a hero in your life, why not send them a good word or a good thought or a kind gesture. There is no shame in expressing genuine and real emotion to the heroes in your life and trust me, everyone needs a little encouragement, a kind word, or a gesture, especially your parents if they are still alive.
Superheroes are appealing because they seem to always defy the odds, do the impossible, and ultimately win the day or battle over the evil intentions and actions of their enemies. You and I can always be a hero so put your cape on and become a decent human being. Search out and connect with your inner superhero and make that identity or alter ego that you can be proud of. Look into yourself and explore the parts of your identity that you wish you could be more of at times and we can all be more often and I assure you, one day you may just be a hero to millions of humans as well, maybe even 1 billion+ just as so many of our great Islamic Sahabah (RA) were.”
Do you have a favourite superhero or character you wish you could have the powers of?
Let us know in our community and share with us and the clan!
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