Jordan.
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Jordan
1984
قصص مصورة
Jordanian comics grew mainly out of newspaper caricature.
The pioneers Rabah Al-Saghir and Jalal Al-Rifai drew for Al-Rai and Ad-Dustour from the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1993 Emad Hajjaj created Abu Mahjoob, a cartoon everyman who has stayed popular with Jordanian readers ever since. From 2006 Suleiman Bakhit's Aranim Media Factory in Amman produced Arabic superhero comics, and in 2016 Nasser Al-Jaafari launched Tomato Cartoon, a monthly magazine devoted to caricature.
13
7
1984
2010s
Artists from Jordan in the archive.
Comics from Jordan in the archive.
Arwa, the earliest comic from Jordan in the archive.
The decade when the most new comics from Jordan began.
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Jordan in 3 chapters
A short history you can leaf through. Click a page, use the arrow keys, or press Turn the page to read on.
Jordan.
قصص مصورة
3 chapters
Chapter 1
1960
to 1989
Caricature pioneers
1960
to 1989
Chapter 01
Caricature pioneers
Rabah Al-Saghir, regarded as the pioneer of Jordanian caricature, began drawing in the 1960s and later settled in Amman, where he worked for Al-Rai; he died in 1989. Jalal Al-Rifai began cartooning in 1971 and is counted among the first cartoonists in Jordan. The children's magazine Arwa (1984 to 1986) gave more than half of its pages to comics.
1990
to 2005
Chapter 02
Abu Mahjoob and the daily cartoon
Emad Hajjaj first drew Abu Mahjoob in 1993 as a man hanging candidate posters during that year's parliamentary election, and the character later appeared as animation on Jordan Television during Ramadan. Cartoonists such as Osama Hajjaj, Nasser Al-Jaafari and Amjad Rasmi, a co-founder of the Jordanian cartoonists' association, built careers in the daily press.
2006
to today
Chapter 03
Superheroes, web cartoons and a caricature magazine
Suleiman Bakhit registered Aranim in 2006 and published superhero comics such as Section 9 and Element Zero, which had sold 1.2 million print copies by July 2011. Omar Abdallat ran Rusoom.com, a platform for Arab political cartoons, and Tomato Cartoon, distributed with the daily Al-Ghad, began in December 2016.
The comics to know
- Abu Mahjoobأبو محجوب1993 · comic stripEmad Hajjaj. Cartoon character who stands for the ordinary Jordanian; also animated for Jordan Television.
- Arwaأروى1984 · comics magazineAli Ismail Rumman, Mohammad Jamal Amr and Mohammad Bassam Mulas (editorial team). Children's monthly published until 1986, with comics filling more than half of each issue.
- Section 9comic book seriesSuleiman Bakhit (Aranim Media Factory). Superhero comic based on Jordan's all-female counterterrorism team.
- Tomato Cartoonتوميتو كرتون2016 · comics magazineNasser Al-Jaafari (editor). Monthly satirical caricature magazine distributed with Al-Ghad.
The people to know
- Rabah Al-Saghirرباح الصغير1937 to 1989Regarded as the pioneer of Jordanian caricature; drew for Al-Rai until 1989.
- Jalal Al-Rifaiجلال الرفاعي1946 to 2012One of the first cartoonists in Jordan; drew for Ad-Dustour.
- Emad Hajjajعماد حجاجBorn 1967Creator of Abu Mahjoob (1993); cartoonist for Al-Rai and the Jordan Times.
- Osama Hajjajأسامة حجاجBorn 1973Political cartoonist for Jordanian dailies; brother of Emad Hajjaj.
- Suleiman Bakhitسليمان بخيت1978 to 2019Founder of Aranim, maker of Arabic superhero comics.
- Nasser Al-Jaafariناصر الجعفريBorn 1970Cartoonist for Al-Ghad and editor of Tomato Cartoon.
- Omar Abdallatعمر العبداللاتBorn 1978Cartoonist behind Rusoom.com and the character Awad Abu Shaffa.