 Welcome to this international exchange alumni web chat. I'm Evan Ryan, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. I'm joined here in our Washington studio by David Glanzer, the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Comic-Con, an educational nonprofit that hosts America's largest comic convention each year in San Diego. We also have joining us via Skype Dr. Nayef Almatawa, the creator of The 99, the first group of comic superheroes born of an Islamic archetype. I would like to extend a special welcome to the alumni of international exchange programs, including those gathered as groups in Gaza, Ramallah, and St. Petersburg, Russia. We will be turning to you shortly. For those who contributed drawings to the Superheroes at State Drawing Contest on Tumblr, thank you for your artwork. The winner will be announced during this chat. Renowned illustrator Dan Pinozian chose the winner and will be listening to our conversation to create a brand new superhero based on our chat today. First, let me briefly introduce our guests. Mr. Glanzer has been with Comic-Con since 1984 and oversees all of its communications. He has served as a communications director for a California State Assembly campaign and later as a press secretary for the assembly member. And in his free time, he's a casting director for independent film and television. Thank you for joining us, David. Thank you for having me. Our second guest is Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, founder and CEO of Teshkil Media Group and a member of our international exchange alumni website. He was recognized by President Obama at the 2010 Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship for Creating the 99, which Forbes magazine has called one of the top 20 trends sweeping the globe. Dr. Al-Mutawa has an undergraduate degree from Tufts University and graduate degrees from Long Island University and Columbia University. We are very pleased to have him join us from Kuwait by video. Dr. Al-Mutawa, the first edition of the 99 was printed eight years ago in 2006. Since then, it's had a meteoric rise with the animated series now enjoying viewership in 70 countries and on Netflix in the United States. In your blog, A Letter to My Sons, you talk about your motivation for creating the 99. Could you tell us a bit about that and for viewers who might not be as familiar with the 99, tell us also about the six-part miniseries with the Justice League of America. First of all, thank you very much for inviting me to speak to you today. I'm very honored to talk about the 99. The 99 started as a labor of love for my own children. I'm the father of five young sons and post 9-11, I was one of those people that always complained about how my culture and religion were represented. When 9-11 happened, it was a turning point. I just found that complaining wasn't enough and I wanted to take a step towards correctness. I didn't know what that step would be. For accuracy in a cab ride in London, some ideas came together and the 99 was born. The idea was to go back to the same place that violent messages had been placed and linked to our religion and in their place put positive, tolerant messages using animation and comic books and fun stuff because my thinking was if both the positive and the violent can be linked to the same source, then the problem is not the source, the problem is the interpretation and none of people have stepped up to actually take a stand against the interpretation. The 99 was born and the 99 is a comic book series. Ironically, even though we get accused of religious messaging, we don't talk about religion whatsoever in the comic book series. The characters are from 99 different countries from the US and from Iran and from Saudi and from China and from all over. They work in teams of three and it never matters what country you're from or what religion you have or if you're a boy or girl, all that matters is the power you have and can it help society solve the problem they have today? So it's very much an investment in the future potential of these youngsters and not on their past and their history. And one of the fun things we got to do, now the 99 is on TV, as you mentioned in 70 countries, we're out in Mandarin in China on Cartoon Network in the US and Spanish and South America throughout our region here on NBC3 and MacTube.com and season two is actually near completion, which I'm very excited about coming out soon. The Justice League of America was a fun thing. Basically, when President Obama was inaugurated, Marvel pulled a fast one on DC Comics. They put out a cover of Spider-Man with President Obama along with Spider-Man and that was a signal to the whole world that President Obama liked comic books. Now, I got to know Paul Levitz who was then head of DC Comics. We were friends. We used to meet over coffee and lunch and dinner and so I went to him right after that happened and I said, you know, Paul, Marvel beat you. But I can help you execute the president's message in the fictional room. He said, how? I said, well, back then there was a rumor that there was a speech coming out of one of the Muslim countries no one knew where it was going to be. Was it going to be Turkey or Egypt or it eventually became the speech from Cairo. And so I said, how about when the president reaches out to the Muslim world, we have the 99 reached right back out to the Justice League, to Batman and Superman and Paul loved it. I wasn't expecting it to happen so quickly. I mean, you think about it, the last time Marvel had done a crossover, DC had done a crossover, it was with Marvel. Who were we? We were just around for four years at that point. So it was a big, big deal for us and they're out online now. You can, you know, get them online, but some of the issues have actually sold out in the United States. Well, that sounds like it was a brilliant idea, Dr. Amitawa, and a great way to coordinate. Thank you so much. I'd now like to turn to David Glanzer who's here with us in the studio. As I said, Comic Con is a non-profit educational corporation dedicated to creating awareness of comics that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture, not to mention education. Can you speak to us a bit about comics as a part of American culture and its popularity in America, David? Absolutely. I think one of the things that a lot of people don't realize is that comics really are an American art form. We see comic art in a variety of different formats and different genres, whether it be advertising or whatnot, but the comic book is really an American art form. One of the great things we've seen lately is that that comic book format and that art form has really extended beyond the boundaries of the United States. It's more widely read in Europe and in Asia and other parts of the world than even in the United States. In the United States, a lot of people still consider comic art as being something basically geared toward children. When the reality is there are as many comics as there are interests, and when Comic Con started 44 years ago, our focus really was to bring attention to a form of art that we thought was just as valuable as any other form of art and form of expression, and we're excited now to see so many years later that comics have really taken a foothold and are now being made into motion pictures and are all over the world. Exactly, exactly. You're right. They are. They are. They're everywhere you turn, which is great. Thank you, David. As a longtime fan of comics, I can relate to all of that. Now let's address some of the questions coming in through the chat space and social media. First, one viewer asks, there are so many male superheroes. Is that changing now? What would you say, Dave? You know, I think that we're seeing... One of the things for sure is we're starting to see a lot more female creators and female readers of comics. One of the really fascinating things that occurred in the last few years is the advent of popularity in Japanese anime and manga. So it's interesting that, you know, this comics art, words and pictures medium has really taken hold in other countries, and we're starting to see in the United States a lot more women and young girls, in fact, maybe being introduced to the art form through that, and we're starting to see more characters, more creators, and I think it's great, and especially at our convention, of the guests that we invite, we have a good representation of females who come, and I hope that, and I'm sure that they do, inspire even more young women to get involved in the industry. Oh, good. That's great to hear. For all of us who are Wonder Woman fans, it's great to hear. Another viewer wants to know what are the characteristics of superheroes? Can you find superheroes anywhere in the world? You know, I think you can. One of the true things, I think that, and it's obviously open for debate, but one of the true things about superheroes is those who find this strength in adversity. You know, we talk about, I guess, an example would be Superman, Truth, Justice in the American Way. There are certain things that are intrinsic in, I think, a superhero. We're seeing very different kinds of superheroes now, but yes, I think there are, dare say, there are probably a little bit of a superhero in all of us if we allow that to come out, but yes, I think superheroes are as diverse as the landscape of any population. That's great. Now, before we turn to our colleagues and alumni in Ramallah, I have the pleasure of announcing the winner of the Superheroes at State Drawing Contest. The winner is Mama Carmen's Children's Home in Guatemala. This drawing was submitted by the orphans there as a product of their ideas and designs. Illustrator Dan Pinozian, who chose this drawing as the winner, was particularly impressed by the origin of the story. The Vulcan was an orphan who aspired to become a geologist. While visiting a volcano one day, a meteor hit the top of the volcano and covered him in lava dust, giving him superpowers. He decided to use his powers to protect the world. Congratulations to Mama Carmen's Children's Home. It's a really creative superhero, wouldn't you say, David? Absolutely, absolutely. Let me remind the audience that Dan Pinozian is using all the drawings, as well as ideas discussed by you in this chat to create a brand new superhero that will be revealed at the end of this chat. So the ideas that you share right now will help create a new hero, so send them in. Now let's move on to our friends and alumni in Ramallah. Hello, Ramallah. Do we have Ramallah? We're here. Can you hear us? We can hear you. Very nice to meet you all. We're glad you're here with us, and I'm glad you had the chance to participate in a U.S. government exchange program. Most of all, thank you for joining us right now in this web chat. Before you ask your questions of David Glanzer and Dr. Al Matawa, I am eager to ask you some questions. Which superheroes are most popular among youth in your culture? Superman. Spider-man. Batman. Flash. Four. SpongeBob. Ah! Is that a new one for you, David? It is, but I love SpongeBob as well. He's a superhero in my book. That's great. And what powers do they have that draw you to them? Why do you like them? Superman. Power. Being able to fly. They can fly? Yes. They can see climbing. They can hold heavy stuff. Really strong? They can hold heavy stuff? Always important, right? It is. Yes. They can make things better, and change things for being more better and for the benefit of the community that they live in. That's really a good point. I think one of the things that we see is the ability to change adverse situations and make them more positive. And it's the diversity in those superheroes. And I think, like we said earlier, anybody can be a superhero. We're all diverse. We all may bring different talents to that superhero. That's an excellent point. That's what makes us all unique and what makes the world go round in a positive way. That's an excellent point. Can I ask you, Ramallah, do the superheroes that you look to the most, do they act alone or in a team? Do you hear that sometimes in a team, sometimes alone? I guess, and that's probably the same for us. It's true. Absolutely. We can accomplish sometimes a lot more when we work together. Sometimes we have to work alone, but I think it always helps to have your friends by yourself. It's very interesting to see the reflection of humanity in that. Are there any unique characteristics, Ramallah, that you really are, find very special? For example, I know that there's a superhero named Daredevil who is blind, and another named Dr. Xavier of X-Men who is in a wheelchair. And I think those are really interesting characteristics for superheroes. And, Ramallah, can you tell us, is there any characteristics that you've seen in superheroes that has really drawn you to them? What do you like about Wolverine? His claws. That's true. We like Wolverine's claws. And I think you bring up a great... I'm sorry. He's flawed also, right? I mean, he doesn't like the fact that he has this monster side of him. You know, and I think that's another fascinating aspect about superheroes and, again, that diversity. You know, what may be viewed as a weakness to some is actually a strength to others. You know, Ramallah mentions a Wolverine who may not be happy with what he has, but he's able to use that, you know, hopefully for the betterment. Right. So sometimes we may look at things as a negative, but they can actually be a positive and it's great if a superhero can manifest itself in that way. It's a really excellent point. That's true. And thank you, Ramallah, for your thoughts. Now we would just like to ask, what questions do you have for our very special guests today? All right. This is Ramallah, and I'm going to introduce alumna Reem, who traveled on the Yes! program with the first question. What other Muslim superheroes are out there? That's my question. Thank you. Dr. Almatawa, do you have an answer for that question? I can answer. So when we started, there was a member of X-Men called Dust, who I believe was introduced in 1992. Since we launched, both Marvel and V.C. have come up with their own Muslim superheroes. So there was one that V.C. Comics launched, I believe Nightcrawler, which is an alternative universe where Bruce Wayne is dead and there's a new Batman and he's French about Algerian descent. So that was one. And then there's a new one. Now Marvel has reimagined Ms. Marvel as a Pakistani-American Muslim superhero from New Jersey, which I think is a first. I know they're there. Any superheroes, maybe people know more than I do, but that's, so I definitely see a trend. I think the world has become safer for positive portrayals and I'm really glad about that because for a long time we were always the bad guys in various films and comic books. It's a really good point and very important. Thank you for that answer. But also Ramallah, thank you for the great question. Do we have another question from Ramallah? We sure do. Our next question is from Yasmin. You traveled on the women to women program. Hi. So my question is, what has the response been to the 99 and what is the demographic breakdown of the readership? It's a great question. So the response has been interesting, both in the U.S. and in the Muslim world. So predominantly very, very positive. We've been covered in thousands of articles and newspapers throughout the world, thousands of interviews, made the cover of Forbes and of Newsweek. And usually when things relating to Islam are on the cover of Newsweek people aren't usually smiling. There's usually a lot of blood and explosions involved. So my whole thing was about competing with that, not by saying that's not Islam, but by giving an alternative. So on that end it's been very, kids love the show. Our ratings in Australia, for example, on TV show, are 40% above the average expected. And Australia is not even a Muslim country. So on that end it's been predominantly very, very positive. Now there are people, I teach at the medical school here in Kuwait and the metaphor I like to use is that of the white blood cells. So the white blood cells in your body try to attack anything that's new. It doesn't matter if it's good for you or bad for you. They just try to attack. And so there are people in all societies who like to elect themselves as the white blood cells. So anything new they try to destroy. And so I had a bunch of resistance in the US for people who continue to want to define Islam in a negative way. And I had resistance in the Muslim world for people who feel that they own the definition of what Islam represents. Both these groups hate each other but they decided to try to do one thing which is to stop the 99 which has been very interesting. We've been like a litmus test for people who are basically bigots. In terms of the response the demographics it's you know we we're on TV now in millions of households we only have numbers from the from the public TV channel so in Australia in South Africa in Malaysia in Ireland we're on public TV and there our viewership is between average to above average for the time slot so it's been pretty good. The private TV stations don't disclose information like for example in the US we're on Netflix we're in 25 million homes but I have no idea I know there are loads of comments and the ratings are nice but I don't know how many people actually watch the show. In terms of the comic books that never really was a very high penetration for us the crossover did very well in the US but the regular comic books you know they're online we stopped publishing paper comics a couple of years ago they did okay but nothing that I can't tell you they were best sellers but they were a way for us to test the characters test the storylines get response from the audience and the show we would be able to hit it out of the park. Thank you can I actually ask Dr. Omotawa about Burka Avenger have you come across Burka Avenger at all? I have I haven't watched it but I know of it I know it's coming out of Pakistan but I don't really know much about it I understand she's another female superhero so that's something that drew my attention Yes she is and you know the 99 has roughly half of them are females and it's an odd number and my wife convinces me there's going to be one more female than male in the series so we'll see We'll stay tuned and Ramallah can I ask you do you have any more questions? We'd love to get in one more question Thank you This is Shata Hi I want to ask why is it important to have a Muslim superhero? That's a great question I think you know all societies irrespective of religion or a country need icons to represent them and there are historical icons which are important in every culture but then there's stuff that people try to aspire to and a lot of times historical icons get co-opted by politics religious politics sometimes and sometimes just regular politics and so I think it's important to have things for kids to aspire towards for change so for example you know the US is a great even in China you have examples of you know something called the Shang Yu which is basically women who don't get married by the time they're in their 30s they're called leftover women and what China has done through the use of media and creating heroes is to change the picture of that because media doesn't just reflect reality media can actually change reality by giving you an alternative another example like if you've watched the show 24 24 had two bad white presidents two amazing black presidents and the next year America elected its first ever African-American president so media can influence a lot so I think it's very important to have positive portrayals to compete with those that insist on being violent and negative that's an excellent point I'd say especially in today's world where media is so pervasive to have these positive heroes for people to turn to and I think comic books are a great way to introduce values and things of that nature to a younger audience if you will exactly and we're excited that a lot of libraries now are utilizing comics and comic books oh that's good news too well thank you and thank you Dr. Almetawa thank you very much and thank you to Ramallah before we turn to our alumni in Gaza I want to pause for just a second to give a shout out to the viewing party at the American Corner in Kuwait thank you for joining us Kuwait next we'll go to Gaza Gaza are you with us? yes yes we can great who do you have with us today? we have a group of around eight alumni from different programs well thank you so much for joining us can you tell us a little bit about how comics are viewed in your communities there in Gaza actually they are aware here we can't we don't have access to them but we try to to find them online and look for them and actually some of us really have some big interest about them but not all kinds maybe mostly about Dragon Ball Z and the old comic books and the comic cons okay that's an interesting point it's harder maybe to find comic books current comic books in some areas of the world yeah and I don't know what the translation rate is either for comics so obviously American comics are published in English I traveled around the world and have seen comic shops in different countries that have American comics but that's actually a really good point it would be interesting to see how and if those are translated a lot into different languages yeah that's a really interesting point Gaza can I ask you do you think that the comics that you have been drawn to in any way reflect your culture your community your hopes your aspirations I think I'm inspired by Superman I think he's the man who bring the justice for weak people and sometimes the law didn't give him the chance to do that but by his power can do that and bring justice to the weak people that's why Superman I think he represents the Palestinians in some ways that's a really good point and is that a draw for a lot of people it is I think especially if you are a person who has to face diversity or if you're a minority if you're somebody who doesn't feel they're getting justice these superheroes like that fight for those who are weaker than themselves it's a great draw and I think that transcends borders right I think so too now we'd love to get to your questions for our studio guests directly what would you like to ask David Glanzer or Dr. Al Motawa well I have a question for Dr. Al Motawa my name is Mohammed Handan the question is like it's beyond the questions which we have I want to know I want to know the impact what impact what would the 99 film have on the east the western societies because I have been patient so if we can't hear I don't know if we can hear Dr. Al Motawa my fault my fault so basically what are the comments I hear the most I pull it in a house in a more Islam aside from like the back store and I say that's the whole point because the 99 is based on values that Muslims share with the rest of the world so much focus is on what makes us different and not enough emphasis is made on what makes us the same and so the impact has been like I didn't realize that Muslims share global values like the rest of us and so that's been kind of one the major impacts I've had aside from driving conversation I mean no matter I can tell you that once in a while there'll be a campaign attacking me there'll be tensions and there are always people that step up to have the debate I stay out of it but it's interesting because you know without having a conversation you can't change a culture and so the 99 have been a litmus test for a lot of conversations sometimes uncomfortable ones that I watch from the sidelines but in the end I think it's for the benefit of our culture Thank you Dr. Al Motawa do we have another question from Gaza Yes we have Iman here she has a question Yes it belongs to Yes I'm still waiting Hello Dr. Iman Roddy it was created basically for children an Islamic word right but do you think it will be useful for children and Western word or adults and the Western word to watch they want to watch it So the 99 from it's in Hollywood by the writers behind Ben 10 and Star Wars and Batman beyond the pre and post production are in the UK the production by Technicolor which did the last Pixar movie and is doing the next Pixar movie so it's actually written for the world you know it's not for me as a psychologist which is what my training is in a lot of my work has to do with how people see themselves how they think they're seen by others and somewhere in the middle I do my work and so I wasn't happy with how Islam saw the West saw Islam but more importantly for my children I wasn't happy with how Islam saw itself and that's where I wanted to make the change and so what I did was you know use values put it in this form but make it for the world I mean the rating on the TV show is 7 plus but wherever it's scheduled to play it's actually scheduled at 4 or 5 p.m. or 9 p.m. in some places not in the morning which is for kids it's actually a family show so we've had people who have watched it there's actually a 99 film which introduces the series that came out at the New York Film Festival and then went out all over the world at film festivals adults and you know three year old kids sat there still watching for 80 minutes and laughed when they were supposed to and we were able to connect cross-culturally using our values Let's take another question thank you Dr. Almatawa let's take another question coming in live from social media and the chat space this question is for Dr. Almatawa what are the similarities between American superheroes and superheroes in the Middle East? so I can speak with the superheroes I created in the Middle East I can tell you that the way that they were conceived I believe is similar so the American superheroes are based on biblical archetypes so for example like the prophets all the superheroes end up missing their parents like the prophets all of them get a miracle from above through a messenger the prophets get it from God comes in from above and delivers his message through a byte it's like a metaphor for Gabriel Batman gets it when a bat flies over his head he sees it as an omen to become Batman Superman is not only sent from another planet to Earth by his parents to new parents in a small ship which is the story of Moses in the Bible but then his father says to Earth I have sent to you my only son which is the story of Jesus in the Bible and so biblical archetypes are used in storytelling which is amazing because a billion people at least share that culture and so new stories are introduced built on an older architecture so what I did for the 99 is I used that same way of thinking built my superheroes on chronic archetypes but their phenotype or the way they're expressed is secular there's no religion in them just like Batman and Superman are not there being evangelical they're not out there promoting any religion the 99 aren't either but they're based on chronic archetypes so the way in which they're conceived is not about I mean I learned there it's not by here that's a great answer thank you now we have with us from St. Petersburg, Russia an alumnus of the international visitor leadership program joining us Dmitry Yakovlev is an organizer of a comic festival called BoomFest he spent time last year in New York Philadelphia Portland and Seattle writing American comic professionals Dmitry thank you for joining us thank you thank you I know BoomFest was created seven years ago and you are helping bridge cultural divides through the graphic novel and comics tell us a little bit about the role of comic books in Russian culture but actually you know a long time the comics it wasn't the part of Russian culture it's Soviet culture I think it's better to say like this because in the Soviet period comic it was the culture of of USA you know and it wasn't it wasn't the it wasn't good culture for communists but for the last 20 25 years the situation changed a lot and for example for the last year in Russia we have was open around 20 comic bookstore which sell comics in English and comics in Russian language thank you can I ask you another question I'm also curious to know who are some of the big superheroes among Russian youth today but actually we don't have a lot of really Russian superheroes but one year ago the new publishing house it's a part of the big media group and they start to publish several series and one of the series with the name I think it's the most popular for this moment and it's the name literally means demon demon boys or evil boy yeah so and it's a story about the real Russian guy about the Russian guy Russian man who was the soldier and one day there was an evil force who killed his family and he and he and at that time he started to have some superpower and he started to fight with the evil force I mean evil force it's drug dealer rapist rapist and bad guys over bad guys so it sounds like he's definitely one of the good guys and that he's out to fight for justice there is one really important thing he if he want to be if he want to be alive he has to kill all sort of evil force ah so so by helping to eradicate evil forces it keeps him alive yes interesting that's an interesting concept and but you were saying there are not many other superheroes right now that are specifically Russian this is a new industry maybe for Russia yeah it's really new industry but I think the most popular in Russia it's the superhero American superhero typical classical like Spiderman for example that do you hear that often David yeah and again I think a lot of the a lot of the traits and the American superheroes while they're American are really universal they can you know again they reach beyond the boundaries of the United States that can be a positive influence in other countries and I think also in other countries look at superheroes and the qualities that make a superhero and if they can make them more they're infused with their own cultural uniqueness I think it can make for great geographical superheroes that again can transcend their borders as well right and everybody can relate to absolutely yes that's great any others Dmitry Russian current popular comics superhero right now yeah I just want to tell that the the popular of superhero it's start to be the film industry I think for Russia okay I think it's not only for Russia I think for a lot of for a lot of country countries yes right right that else yeah important part of the superhero culture it's an important part of our film culture it really is one of the things when Comic Con started 44 years ago was we wanted to highlight comics art fantasy literature and even movies you know congress established a film registry in 1989 so these forms of art didn't get a lot of attention back in the day but they do now and I think you know movies being made from comic book properties are fantastic because again those go beyond our borders exactly exactly because films are quite universal in the country we hear that Calvin and Hobbes is a popular comic book in Russia Calvin and Hobbes is a comic that I read while I was growing up it's a very popular comic here the comic about a boy and his tiger so I have a question when Russians see Calvin do they see an American boy no I think that they see just a boy it's not really an American boy right so that's again speaks to this universal universality of comics and the appeal there really is and again I think those things that make us individuals or things that also make us a community and we may not live in the same country but those values can be shared in other nations because internally we all have these same feelings right well Dmitry thank you so much we want to give a quick shout out now to the viewing party at America House Jerusalem thank you for joining us today Jerusalem we're happy to have you and now we have another question that just came in from Hyderabad apart from having superheroes being used to show good over evil can we also have superheroes to address social causes like child abuse gender based violence and so on I think you can I think any social issue that is of of concern I think can be addressed one of the great things about the comic book medium too is it can reach a variety of different audiences I think again a lot of people think of comics in the United States as being just for children but comic books are just like movies there are movies for children there are movies for adults there are comic books and there's no reason why they can't tackle important social issues and again those issues that may occur in the United States could also be mirrored in other countries around the world that's a good point I have another question now from a viewer in Qatar who asks how can the culture of comics and cartoons be spread as an adult thing since they are often not really appreciated as a mature medium well it's interesting in a lot of Asian countries manga is read by adults in Mexico I have relatives in Mexico they used to read these novellas which are basically words and pictures so there are comics and graphic novels that are geared towards adults they don't necessarily have to have adult situations but they may be more appealing to adults so that exists I think we're starting to see clarity in that and some movies are being made from those graphic novels and the audience may not even realize what the origin of those bookies are what's an example can you say I think the road to perdition was one it is so that exists out there and I think the more people learn that maybe they'll go to the source material and discover comics and be interested in learning that's a great point the American corner in Hyderabad has another question do you think superhero affect serious social issues in different cultures I would go to either Dr. Almatawa or David either of you I can take a stab at that so I think I think the solution there is to have a character that people identify with so for example you know Spider-Man has been used for combating drug use in the United States it wasn't I don't know who was behind but Marvel allowed their characters to be used and once the character reaches a status that people will kind of associate and listen to the message of then you can use them for that purpose but I think creating a character just for that purpose wouldn't necessarily work so we have another question from our online viewers for Dr. Almatawa do the western roots of the writers and artists have any impact whether positive or negative in gaining popularity that's a great question so you know and I also get asked questions like why don't you have any Muslim artists or Muslim writers involved and I say what I was looking for was the best and I wouldn't let anybody interfere with my messaging even I wouldn't let my mother's interpretation of religion get involved in how I created the 99 so in the end the whole is more than Jewish and Christian and Hindu and I don't ask their names but I mean I'm pretty sure Stan Berkowitz isn't Italian you know so for us for me was about using the best talent available and there's no religious content it was more can you speak you know universal ease not can you speak Islam or Christianity or Judaism can you speak universal ease and these guys are just incredibly good and they were able to translate you know me up here to the child who's six they were able to be the translator between me and my children which I think is just a phenomenal talent and I'm sure there are people all over the world that have that talent but for me I didn't have the luxury of trying to figure it out I just was able and fortunate to be able to work with some of the best creators in the world including Dan that's great thank you Dr. Almatawa we have another question from Haiderabad which is in Pakistan what are some of the educational implications of comics for young people you know it's a great question and earlier I mentioned libraries stocking comic books we're starting to see a lot of teachers utilize comic books also as an educational tool whether that be to introduce people to reading those people who have difficulty reading at Comic Con we have panels and workshops on writing for comics breaking into different kinds of popular art but comics are a great ability with words and pictures to have a story progress in a way that if some people have difficulty in comprehension or reading allows them to better follow and it can create better readers it's a really good point yes exactly now let's rejoin our friends Ramallah do you have our question for our studio guests thank you yes we're going to have another question from Iman she's going to ask a question here one second please yeah hi I'm Iman Sam my question is this what advice do you have for long-term artists and cartoonists I missed the last part of that can you repeat the question what advice do you have for young Palestinian artists and cartoonists Iman is in the Access English Language Program oh that's great we love to hear about people being in our English Language Program thank you yes we have too many we have so many out here they're eager to ask questions too oh good can you hear the question yes yes so David I would say you know don't give up one of the great things at Comic Con we have is what's called portfolio reviews and we get a lot of young people who come in and show their works of art to editors and creators and they'll get tips so and one of the things I always hear is you know don't give up if you really have a dream in this continue it work hard learn education is a great thing and the more I think that you study the craft the more that you learn about the better you'll be I agree I think that's excellent advice Dr. Almatawa Iman when I took my children with me to India to watch the first ever episode of the 99 when it was created what I told them is what I'll tell you is that basically as I said Baba this is proof that anything is possible you know I had no experience in creating a company or doing comic books or doing animation but I really had to get done so I mean don't give up on your dream it's something that you feel is important then you do it and right now the world is different than it was 20, 30, 50 years ago the world is your market and people Marvel and DC and all the big companies outsource their work so if your work is good they'll buy it from you rather than buy it from the American or the Korean artists and they do it at the same prices they don't have like different prices for different places of the world they have different prices for different talent so keep working at it so people see your work well that's the best possible message anything is possible it really is and you know just like a superhero you know if you have a dream stick with it and make it a reality yes absolutely Ramallah do we have any more questions yes we do thank you hello my name is Rahmad I want to ask what were your favorite comics from growing up you know I liked a lot of different comics growing up one of the things that I've discovered as an adult is especially since working for Comic Con is how many different comic books there are I mean there are comic books for lawyers there are comic books for kids for adults if you have a specific interest there's probably a comic book out there and one of the things that we've seen in the last few years with computer technology people being creating their own comic books independent creators so as with the previous question you know maybe you can create your own comic book maybe you can partner with friends and colleagues because you may find again if your story is universal enough it'll have appeal you know in your community outside your community as well exactly and I can speak for me I'm fortunate enough I think this is from David to have a Wonder Woman Cup and today I'm a big fan of Captain America I have my t-shirt on because my nephew is a big fan of Captain America That's awesome Dr. Almatawa do you have favorite superheroes from growing up? I still remember the smell of the pages of the Batman and Superman that I had published by a company in Lebanon in Arabic I still remember I used to go to the camp growing up in New Hampshire in the U.S. so I used to like reading Richie Rich who is not a superhero but yes exactly Casper and Archie and stuff like that but I guess in what it came superheroes for me was Batman is that generally the most generally is a Batman or Superman? I think especially Superman I think that's something that is so universal it's amazing because it's an American movie from Krypton but you know the American values and all that but it really has universal appeal and we've seen reboots of a lot of these whether it be Superman or Batman and they may take a different turn and all that but I think at the core there really is that superhero vein if you will of bringing justice to those who don't have it and what's amazing I think about that for children around the world for all of us for anyone it's aspirational then too how can you then do good in the world do you find that I really do and I think those are things that teach youngsters that injustice that may exist but it doesn't mean that you have to live with it no one's expecting you to go out and do the things that a superhero can but if you can do small things when yourself to your own self be true if you will I think that it's an ability to let people know that there are challenges to adversity right exactly do we have any last questions from Ramallah yes we do we have a one access student who would like to ask a question please hi my name is Abdulrahman I want to ask will you make other interviews about super villains oh a good question that's a great question that's a great question do you have is there a lot of interest for villains there is and I think again you know the aspect of comics the fantasy aspect of comics it's great to be able to do to see both sides of a coin if you will the good side and the bad side I think people like to read about heroes and villains and there are a lot of heroes that are anti-heroes if you will so not necessarily villains but you know aren't the standard but that's a great question so can I turn to Gaza and see if our friends in Gaza have any questions yes we have Susan you meet the alumna here she wants to ask hi I'm my question is how can you redefine a whole just understood culture by cartoon and comics can you repeat that question just a touch by comics and cartoon yeah I think that might be for Dr. Almataoum perhaps so comics and cartoon are a language they're a language that many people speak because of the success of Spiderman and Superman and Batman and the Hollywood industry so it's kind of like you know how can you reach out to somebody if you don't speak the same language well the answer is the comics and the animation as a language then you think about what the message you're trying to deliver is and you deliver it in that way and you're able to use people's want and respect for that language and understanding for that language to be able to identify with the message you're sending and what you do is you make it neutral you make it non-threatening even though a lot of people will literally judge a book by its cover I think that's how you can change a culture through through through in the end media and if you think about it if you think about you know it's always been media that changed culture it's always been either a manifesto or a holy book from some from a prophet or you know a constitution that has changed culture so the use of media and changing culture is not new it's just a matter of the language that you use sounds right sounds good sounds good right exactly Agaza do we have more questions? yes we have one last question okay I'm Ahmad hallez my question is what do you think or what values do you think that are the most important to reach or to transfer for a fresh minded children do you use the NLP which is a Neural Language Programming and designing as our heroes So do I use NLP in creating superheroes? No, but the thing is that a lot of times when I watch or read something afterwards after the fact, I will see, for example, theories of leadership in there, in terms of transactional versus transformational, our good leader versus the bad guy leader, I'll see the theories that have to do with group formation every time one of the 99 gets introduced to the group, there's always conflict, but eventually, there's the resolution. So all the stuff that I studied is there, but I can't tell you, I sat there with a pen thinking, hmm, which theory am I going to put in the next episode? That never happened. But it's all there. So in the end, what goes in is what comes out. And so not NLP because I never studied NLP, but certainly a lot of psychology theory. Thank you. Thank you for those questions, Gaza. Now we'd like to check in with Dmitri. Dmitri, any more questions from St. Petersburg? Yes, I have a two question. The first question to Mr. Mutawa. Who is the audience of audience, the service of 99? I mean the age or national nationality? So the audience is a general audience is the same audience that watches Batman or Superman. You know, it's the same. It's the series is written at that level. It's written by the same writers. The animation is pretty amazing. It's a 3d CGI. So the audience is global. In terms of age, it's an all family show. The rating is seven plus, but it's intended for the entire family. Okay. And the second question for David. So how does the development of digital comics influence of comics industry and print, comics print industry in the US? I'm sorry. How does the development of comics? Is that what you said, Dmitri? How does the development of digital comics influence to print comics? That's a great, great question. You know, one of the new things that's happening that was downloadable comics. One of the things that we found is the comic book industry is ever changing and evolving. And as I mentioned earlier, the advent of computers and what not allows people to self publish. One of the things that a lot of people are looking forward to now is digital download. I think it's growing in popularity. I don't know that it will ever actually replace the printed matter because to be honest with you, I think a lot of us have a little bit of a collector mentality and we love to read the comic books, but we also like to have them. I think the printed matter will always remain, but it is showing itself to be a lot more of a popular method to be able to read that online without having to damage your artwork. That's a good approach. Yes. And I have one more question for David. As you know, there are a lot of people who read less and less. I mean, read literature and overthink. What do you think with comics is the same situation? Well, I think, you know, we are wondering now if the comics being made into movies will actually help the comic book industry. The comic book industry now is a very, very popular in part because now it's also branched out into toys, into movies, video games, things of that nature. I think our hope certainly in promoting the comic art is that more people will read it. We love the fact that they are in libraries. We love the fact that these comics have a universal outreach. One of the reasons for us being here today and we're so grateful for the invitation was that we can talk about comics to a global audience in a way that we probably couldn't otherwise. Right. So I think that we hope that people will continue to read comics and it's great source material for movies. But you know what? It's also the brass ring. A finished comic is its own great reward. That's true. And can I ask one more question? David, what do you think for the last, I don't know, 20 years? Maybe there are more and more comics for adults. I mean graphic novel for adults. And it's a really different topic in the comics for children and comics for adults. What do you think about it? Well, I'm very excited about it. I think that it's in the United States, we have a little bit of a perception that comic books are just for little children. And you know, and I know and the doctor knows that they can span any age group, just like movies or any form of literature. So I'm excited that more adults are reading comics. And again, a comic book can have an adult theme that doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be something that is controversial. It just may be something that is more accessible to an adult, much in the same way you may see a romantic comedy movie that really isn't geared toward children. It's just geared towards adults. And I think the same is true of comic books. But there's still great kids comic books out there, too. Yes, indeed. Very much. Thank you, Dmitri. Thank you. Next, let me remind our chat participants that illustrator Dan Pnosian is listening to this chat from California, very early in California, and that he is drawing a brand new superhero based on your ideas and the questions and answers coming out of this chat. So please keep your ideas coming through the chat space. Dan is listening and he's chatting online with you. And I want to give a shout out to another viewing party, this one at the Algiers Information Resource Center. Hello Algiers. Thank you for joining this chat. We also have a viewing party joining from India. Thank you all for watching and participating today. We have one comment from our online viewers, and it looks like there is time for a few more online questions as well. First, I'll go to the comment, which comes from Al Amrokini on Twitter. They write, the media doesn't just reflect reality. The media is able to change reality. It is important that comic art be positive. David, what do you think about that? Dr. Alma Tawa, what do you think about that? I think it's it can be used for for good. And I would I would agree with that. And again, I think we see that a lot with American comics, again, that universality of justice, you know, in the face of adversity and what not. When people embrace that, I think they they understand that while they may be subject to adversity, that there there's hope out there. And it has a positive influence. I think when you can instill that in children or young adults, I think that really helps them to know that they don't necessarily have to live with with bad situations. Right. You know, so I think that's very, very true. Dr. Alma Tawa, do you agree? I think I think he may be on mute. Sorry. Okay. I saw he was actually quoting what I said earlier. And just to give you another example of that same phenomena, the Cosby show is still the third most successful TV show in history. And what the Cosby show did is it not only changed how white America saw black America changed how black America saw itself. Because for the first time, you know, dad who was African American, wasn't a janitor or driver or you know, he was a doctor and mom wasn't a stay at home mom or a mate. She was a lawyer and they had a kid in college and they never discussed race. And so it was a family that just happened to be black and race was not discussed. And that went a long way towards changing because it was very neutral race. And that's what was very, very important. So positive portrayals that are neutral can go a long way towards shifting culture and cultural attitudes. Great. Now, our next online question is from Uruguay. What is the philosophy behind superheroes? Is it all about a fight between good and evil? I think that's a great question. And it's the answer is probably different depending upon the superhero. But I think it's it's easiest when you do have a conflict between between good and evil justice versus injustice, you know, persecution versus liberation, whatever it happens to be. I think those are things that are easily accessible within you know, 28 or 32 pages or or a series of a book however long that happens to be. So I think those are things that a lot of people go to. I think they're universal. We see that in literature, certainly we see that in movies. So but it doesn't have to be a superhero can manifest itself in any number of ways. And I think with the doctor's book, there are 99 different ways at least, right? Exactly. And I mean, what I what I've captured in the 99 is the message I'm sending out is knowledge is power. And the more updated it is, the more powerful it is. And the way I chose to do that is there's a story that we talk about in the Muslim world about the fall of Baghdad in 1258 at the hands of the Mongols and all the books from a very famous library called that had more dumped in the Tigris River and the Tigris changed color because of all the ink from the books. And so I rewrote history and in my version, all that ink was saved onto 99 stones that were then spread all over the world. And this is what activates the power in the 99. And so the very central message to that is knowledge is power. Now, the main bad guy in the 99 doesn't want the stones to update. The stones have a self updating mechanism. He doesn't want them to update. He wants to be able to control them. By limiting their ability to have the powers, he can then control them. Whereas the main good guy couldn't care less. He wants them to be the best they can be. He wants the stones to update because he's interested in being a leader, not a ruler. And those are very distinct and that's some of the philosophy that drives the 99. But implicit in that, you know, they're from 99 countries and it's all about teamwork and collaboration. And you know, very a la Cosby, we don't talk about their different religions or we don't discuss religion at all or the different countries or whether they're a boy or girl. What we do is they have to work in teams of three. And this is where they sometimes get upset. So issue 10 of the comic book series, Jabbar, who's the Saudi character gets upset at the Filipina character because she uses love to solve the problem, which is her power, when he wanted to use his force, not because he's Saudi and she's Filipino, not because he's a boy and she's a girl, not because presumably he's Muslim and presumably she's Christian, but because she got to use her power and he didn't get to use his. And that's how they navigate their differences. It's a really interesting point. So it's more about talents and different talents than any other characteristic. We have another question. What can make a comic an international hit? Can local comics be international and attractive for people from other countries? I'm sure that they can. I think, again, we talked about that universality that we all experience, whether we're men or women, whether we live in the United States or in another country. But I think there's something great also about bringing that unique local perspective to a superhero as well. I think whether that be the American superhero as a Superman and Batman or whatever, or comics that are created outside the borders. Again, the universality can make it universal, the things that we all experience. But I think there's also something great to be taught about a culture by infusing that superhero with that culture. Right. So there really are multiple ways to communicate to people. It can be the differences in cultures, but also everybody shares a human experience. Exactly. Yes. We have another question from our alumni in India. How do comics encourage imaginative thinking? I have to tell you one of the great things about a form of art, whether it be comic books or literature, is there are no limits. There is no limitation to what you can do. You had mentioned in your opening about superheroes in wheelchairs or superheroes that are blind. We see that in everyday society. At our conventions, we have a lot of people who are disabled, but they're not slowed down at all. Right. And I think one of the great things about comic books is if you're dealing with another planet or an alien that has three hands, being in a wheelchair or being blind is nothing. Right. So I think it allows for imaginative thinking that there are no boundaries. You can make the universe that you want to make. Right. That's a great thing about comic books. Dr. Amitawa, we have a question for you. What advice would you give to young writers? When I was nine years old, I told my parents that when I grew up, I was going to be a writer. And they said, that's a great hobby now. Don't ever think about doing that for work. And so I, you know, I was the elder son, I listened and I did all my degrees. And then, you know, in my early thirties, it was the now or never moment for me. And that became the 99. Now I always wrote on the side. You know, I've done everything from poetry to the worst movie ever written. I say the worst movie because even I couldn't read it twice. And I experimented with various kinds of writing. And in the end, you know, I got lucky with coming up with the 99. So just, I mean, don't give up. Don't, you know, there's some great books I'd recommend you buy. One is called The Forest for the Trees. It's an excellent book. Another book is called On Writing, which is by Stephen King. It's about how he writes. So there's some great resources out there that can help. But just don't stop. And write for yourself. Don't just write first and let somebody else edit it. Don't sit there trying to come up with the perfect storylines. Fantastic advice. Really is. David, we have a question for you. The question is, how could I go about organizing my own comic book convention? That's a great question. It's a really great question. The answer can be difficult. Yes. It depends upon your community. I would always say if you really are interested in that, find a group of friends or better yet, find an organization that might be able to assist you. Whether that be a school, whether that be a library, a community center, and see what is of interest to with your friends or that school or that community center. There may be things that they would like to help promote as well. You might be able to partner with the school for some kind of a literacy program. You know, comics are again a great educational tool. So I think those ways are a good way to start. It's a great tool to help people with their curriculum of work. The rewards are fantastic. If it goes well, if it doesn't go well, it could be challenging. But as with any superhero, don't give up on the dream. The first step is actually trying to make it happen. That's a great response. Starting small sometimes can be the best way. Yes. Please don't. We often hear of people who try to make these huge events. Comic-Con last year we had 130,000 and in the very first event we had 300. And that was astronomical for us. Well, that's a that's a great example. So start small and let it grow. That sounds good. We have another question from our chat participants. Will the 99 be translated into multiple languages? Great question. As a comic book series, it's it's in Bahasa Indonesian. It came out in China on mobile phones for a while in Mandarin. We sold it's obviously in English and Arabic. In terms of the TV show, it's out in Urdu on Geo in Pakistan. It's in Mandarin in China. It's in Spanish in Mexico and Costa Rica for now and hopefully the rest of South America soon. So yes, the answer is yes. It's in a bunch of languages. It's out in Turkish. So, you know, the languages are growing by age today. It's a good answer for us. Thank you. Who do you think was the first superhero? When and where was the superhero born? I'll ask that to both of you. Doctor, I'll let you take this one. I really don't know who with the first superhero. I know the first one seemed to be recognized as would be Superman in terms of if we were defining it based on comic book superheroes, then there's some great writing by Joseph Campbell who talks about the hero with a thousand faces and he basically goes through history and the way that we tell stories, which he refers to as the hero's journey, typically involve 12 steps. They're the same 12 steps that we tell when we tell the stories of historical figures like the profits that we revere. As well the 12 steps that are used to create Spider-Man and Simba for those 12 steps. The way that we tell the story is what defines the hero. If you're interested in that, there's a great book called The Writer's Journey which takes Joseph Campbell's sometimes very esoteric thinking and puts it in a form for writers, but that would be my answer. Doctor makes a good point and that is there are superheroes in comic books. There are what's called superhero comic books that have no superheroes, but superheroes exist in other genres as well. The first, I don't know, but I would agree that Superman probably is recognized as being maybe the first comic book superhero. I will tell you right now, if that is not the case, I will hear about it when I get back to the office. I imagine you will. Before taking a few final comments from our guests, I want to be sure to mention the other viewing parties we have groups watching right now from the US embassies in Rome, Abu Dhabi, and Port of Spain. There are also groups in Chennai, Tel Aviv, and Slovenia. Thank you all so much for your participation today. Please be sure to watch for future web chats on exciting topics like this one. You can find information about these upcoming chats on the International Exchange Alumni Facebook page. Now, I would like to turn to our studio guests for their concluding remarks. David, we've heard from our alumni in Gaza, Ramallah, and Russia. Any parting thoughts? I'm incredibly happy to be here and to have interacted with people all over the world who not only ask great questions, but seem to be looking to if not creating their own comic books at least learning more about it. That's always exciting for us, and I think it is a great, great form of art. Again, an American form of art that has a universality about it, and this is fantastic. I wish everyone continued success, including the person who is thinking about starting their own convention. Great, thank you. Dr. Almatawa, would you like to share any last thoughts with us? Sure. First of all, thank you for inviting me to speak about the I&I, and it's something that I speak all over the world about just by sitting in my living room. I'm speaking to the whole world about it. But it's been an amazing journey. It's been 11 years of my life, and I'm very excited about Season 2 coming out. If people are interested in understanding more, it's The99kids.com has a couple of games and some free downloads in the global broadcast schedule where it's playing where. But in the end, I'm just the father of five boys who became very worried about what the models were going to be and wanted to make an impact. It's been an amazing journey, lots of ups and downs, but in the end, I feel very, very worthwhile. It gives my life purpose, and the one thing I recommend to anybody listening here is find something that gives your life purpose that will really help you get out of bed in the morning and want to change the world. Well, I think both of you have been fantastic guests for us here. I know we're nearing the end of our program. So, here is the moment we've all been waiting for. Throughout this chat, Dan Pinozian, an illustrator who has sketched the Hulk, Captain America, Batman, and The99 has been talking with you online throughout the chat space and listening to our conversation in the studio. Based on all of your ideas and contributions from your comments and our chat, he has created a brand new superhero, and here it is. Alumni viewing this chat, we welcome you to help us name this new superhero on our Facebook page after the chat is over. Dan, thank you so much for this new superhero. We understand you and your wife are expecting your first child in the coming months. Congratulations to both of you and thank you for your help today. That wraps up our alumni web chat. I'd like to thank David Glanzer, Dr. Al Matawa, and Dan Pinozian for joining us in this discussion. I'd also like to thank our alumni around the world for sharing their thoughts and joining this program from Gaza, Romala, and St. Petersburg, Russia. The recording will be made available through the International Exchange Alumni Facebook page and websites. Thank you all for joining us. Thank you very much. This program has been brought to you by Kinex.