Dressed in a maroon sherwani, Mohammed Ali Vakil is a far cry from the image of a conventional cartoonist. (If there is one).
Three-years-ago, this soft-spoken chartered accountant began sketching short comic strips illustrating eternal spiritual truths, exemplified in Islamic teachings, as a hobby. With his brother Arif Vakil, providing some assistance with the written word, the pair uploaded their work on a blog.
So overwhelming was the response, fans translated the strips into French, German and Russian.
About a year ago, the brothers began to compile the strips as a book.
So came into existence 40 Sufi Comics, an elegantly designed comic, with content that explains, “serious stuff in an easy-to-understand manner.”
Each strip is not more than a page. With verses from the Quran and, “traditions from the Prophet and the Ahlul Bayt, pertinent to the respective comic’s title.”
Some titles run: Where does wisdom come from? A visit to God, Can I see God.
At the 2nd Comic Con, the Bangalore-based brothers explained, “We grew up in Dubai, where during evenings we went to a Madrassa. And we were taught moral stories from history and sacred text.
“We were also comics fans. This idea merges the two,” says Ali. The brothers began uploading one strip at a time. The response was so encouraging, a book was necessary.
Ali sketches. The text is a collaboration between siblings. Both chartered accountants by profession. “I first write a script, get its flow, convert it into a storyboard, then sketch on paper, then do it digitally,” Ali ends.
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