Comic featuring wheelchair-bound Muslim superhero comic to hit shelves

[afroloq]

Spoiler:

Comic book fans will soon be getting their first glimpse at an unlikely new superhero - a Muslim boy in a wheelchair with superpowers.

The new superhero is the brainchild of a group of disabled young Americans and Syrians who were brought together last month in Damascus by the Open Hands Intiative, a non-profit organization founded by U.S. philanthropist and businessman Jay T. Snyder.

The superhero's appearance hasn't been finalized, but an early sketch shows a Muslim boy who lost his legs in a landmine accident and later becomes the Silver Scorpion after discovering he has the power to control metal with his mind.

Sharad Devarajan, co-founder and CEO of Liquid Comics whose company is now turning the young people's ideas into pictures and a story line, said the goal is to release the first comic book - launching the disabled Muslim superhero - in early November in both Arabic and English.

Snyder says he was inspired by President Barack Obama's effort to reach out to the Muslim world in his January 2009 inaugural address. Last month, Snyder flew 12 disabled Americans to Damascus to meet their Syrian peers, and one of their main goals was to come up with ideas and story lines for the new superhero.

"The only limit was the imagination these kids had - the opportunity for a great story," said Snyder, a comic book collector who heads HBJ Investments LLC. "They helped create something by their combined talents, and that becomes a gift to the world."

Devarajan found the young people's imagination to be quite amazing.

"The opening question we asked the kids was if you could have any superpower what would it be? I've asked that question in many different groups before and the typical answers are always the ones you'd expect - flying, reading minds, or being super strong," Devarajan said.

"The fascinating thing about this group was that I don't think I heard any one of those three," he said.

"Each of their ideas was so originally distinct, whether the Syrian kids or the U.S. kids," he said, adding that perhaps because of their disabilities, the young people think as individuals without being influenced by outsiders. One girl, for example, wanted to have the power to combine the energy of the moon and the sun.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle...#ixzz10kFzyy92

[Gregory]

Give the small industry that formed after Flight 93, do not let him say "let's roll."

[SteveFlack]

Hopefully, they only sell this book at least 6 blocks away from Ground Zero. Anything closer would be bad taste.

[Cth]

No one's asked if Millar's penning it?

[Buk Was Right]

No one's asked if Millar's penning it?

Too subtle and nuanced for Millar.

[ThisSpaceForRent]

JMS is working on a teamup where he wheels across the country with Oracle trying to catch up to Superman.

[Greygor]

How long before the villains plan all jobs at locations without wheelchair access or escape routes with steps.

[Hoggie]

He's a total rip off of Magneto + Xaiver Original my ass.

[Marcdachamp]

Snyder says he was inspired by President Barack Obama's effort to reach out to the Muslim world in his January 2009 inaugural address. Last month, Snyder flew 12 disabled Americans to Damascus to meet their Syrian peers, and one of their main goals was to come up with ideas and story lines for the new superhero.

I knew it! Obama is a paraplegic!