· to anime from a very young age; classics such as Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, Miyazaki’s...
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M y name is Asia Alfasi; a 25 year-old Muslim Libyan Arab British graphic novelist. I was born in 1984 in Libya, and at age 8, moved with my family to Glasgow, Scotland. 8 years on, we skipped to Birmingham, England, where I still am based! :> Growing up in Libya meant that I was, like many other arabs, exposed to anime from a very young age; classics such as Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, Miyazaki’s Future Boy Conan and Captain Tsubasa just to name a few; and so, the love for this artform was ingrained in me from a very young age. The move to Scotland proved to be very tough as my siblings and I found ourselves to be different in many aspects- which doesn’t really go down well in school-culture :) Coupled with, at the time, an inability to express myself- the culture I hail from and the faith I follow- it was a struggle. However, the turning point, for me, came when, during a camping-session in the local library (here’s looking at you, Dennistoun Library! :D!) I found that they’d stocked a manga series I recognised from my Libyan childhood: Ironfist Chinmi! I hadn’t realised that Anime came in manga- book format, so that was a pleasant surprise; and I hadn;t realised that it WASN’t Arab - that came as a not- so-pleasant surprise :< *laughs* It was so significant to me because that was the first thing I could actually sHOW my peers and say “look! THIS is from Libya! That’s what I grew up with :D!” and know they’d be impressed. I began learning how to draw manga and, curiously and inspiringly enough, the rest of my classmates and school pupils in general began to regard me with respect. I vowed to learn and create manga that will do just that for others who, because of differences and young- ness, perhaps, cannot express themselves like myself many years ago; and to use the manga medium as a language that I can use to inspire dialogue between different cultures and people of all creeds. My goal is create OrIGInal quality manga with real heart with aims to motivate children to read as well as educating, entertaining and encouraging thought all at the same time :> That is my mission statement, and that is what I will hope to achieve, insha’Allah. Peace, Asia www.asiaalfasi.com
Transcript of · to anime from a very young age; classics such as Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, Miyazaki’s...
M y name is Asia Alfasi; a 25 year-old Muslim Libyan Arab British graphic novelist. I
was born in 1984 in Libya, and at age 8, moved with my family to Glasgow, Scotland. 8 years on, we skipped to Birmingham, England, where I still am based! :>
Growing up in Libya meant that I was, like many other arabs, exposed to anime from a very young age; classics such as Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, Miyazaki’s Future Boy Conan and Captain Tsubasa just to name a few; and so, the love for this artform was ingrained in me from a very young age.
The move to Scotland proved to be very tough as my siblings and I found ourselves to be different in many aspects- which doesn’t really go down well in school-culture :) Coupled with, at the time, an inability to express myself- the culture I hail from and the faith I follow- it was a struggle. However, the turning point, for me, came when, during a camping-session in the local library (here’s looking at you, Dennistoun Library! :D!) I found that they’d stocked a manga series I recognised from my Libyan childhood: Ironfist Chinmi! I hadn’t realised that Anime came in manga-book format, so that was a pleasant surprise; and I hadn;t realised that it WASN’t Arab - that came as a not-so-pleasant surprise :< *laughs*
It was so significant to me because that was the first thing I could actually sHOW my peers and say “look! THIS is from Libya! That’s what I grew up with :D!” and know they’d be impressed. I began learning how to draw manga and, curiously and inspiringly enough, the rest of my classmates and school pupils in general began to regard me with respect.
I vowed to learn and create manga that will do just that for others who, because of differences and young-ness, perhaps, cannot express themselves like myself many years ago; and to use the manga medium as a language that I can use to inspire dialogue between different cultures and people of all creeds. My goal is create OrIGInal quality manga with real heart with aims to motivate children to read as well as educating, entertaining and encouraging thought all at the same time :>
That is my mission statement, and that is what I will hope to achieve, insha’Allah.
Peace, Asia
www. a s i aa l f a s i . c om
