Crowdfunding Spotlight: Rusumat – New Stories from Rising Artists

By John Freeman on July 25, 2020

Rusumat Digital Comics, a unique digital distribution platform for comics and graphic novels from and for the Middle East and North Africa has just launched a Kickstarter aiming to provide opportunities for local independent artists to grow and develop, to tell their own stories, and showcase their talents.

The Rusumat Digital Comics app – available for both iPhone and Android devices – is opening the way for independent artists from across the Middle East and the world by providing a digital platform that works for them.

Now, Rusumat Digital Comics are taking our mission to support independent artists further with the launch of a Kickstarter campaign that will help commission rising new artists, provide opportunities for independent Arabic comic book artists to grow – and develop their creativity and one that gives them a global digital platform.

Rusumat - Selling Dreams and Where's My Son Promotion

Running until 25th August, with an ambitious target of £40,000, with 70 per cent of funds raised going to the creators, Mira Farhat, the company’s co-founder, told downthetubes the funds raised will allow Rusumat to commission the webcomics, Selling Dreams and Where’s my Son, by three comic book artists and writers from Libya, who will produce two comic books, encompassing six chapters, in a project that will span 12 months.

Both comics – which look superb – will be published in English.

Where's My Son by Abdullah Hadia - Cover

In Where’s My Son by Abdullah Hadia, our world is being attacked by ancient creatures from a time long ago, long before humans ever inhabited this world – and now they have returned to take back what was theirs and enslave mankind. But governments from across the world have prepared for this in secret, initiating project Super Human Heroes, SHH.

Every country from all across the four hemispheres launched their defensive SHH project in time for doomsday – but war does not care for who is left behind and even heroes of the SHH project cannot protect their loved ones…

When her son is lost in the devastations of the war one of those heroes has only one mission. A mother with no superpowers is unstoppable… so can you imagine what hell a mother with superpowers can unleash in search of her son?

Where’s My Son is the work of Libyan creator Abdullah Hadia, who graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering from Benghazi University. But he could not ignore his artistic passion and in 2015 established Habka Magazine, one of the first Arabic manga comics’ magazines.

While he may still be a civil engineer by day, Abdullah did not put his creative work on hold and went on to work as an animation director for the BBC in 2017 and has continued to work as a comic artist, animation director, and concept artist. He’s posted a number of his working process videos on YouTube.

Selling Dreams by writer Mohammed Al-Nass and artist Aymen Swissy is set in a popular neighbourhood in Tripoli, Libya, where a struggling author, crippled by writer’s block and looking for fame, encounters a man who claims to be a seller of dreams.

As he falls under the sway of this mysterious merchant’s incredible stories, he finds himself drawn into a mind-bending underworld of crime, psychosis, and murder.

But the merchant does not sell stories for money, but something precious to them. What does the merchant want from the writer? Who is he? And, more importantly, will the writer uncover the merchants’ tricks?

Mohammed Al-Nass is a novelist and writer of short stories, who co-wrote Sun over Closed Windows, a series of short stories and poems from 25 young Libyan writers. His interest in writing short comic stories began in 2018. The idea of the “Berry merchant in the strip is inspired by his novel, Berry Leaves.

Aymen Swissy is a Libyan artist who describes himself as a guy with the wrong haircut and a bad sense of fashion and humour. As a self-taught comic book artist, Aymen has already established an animated series on Libyan TV Hakatha Koona (“This is how we were”) and gained acclaim for his unique and diverse style.

• Check out the Rusumat – New Stories from Rising Artists Kickstarter here

• Rusumat Digital Comics is online at rusumat.co

• Follow Abdullah Hadia on Twitter | YouTube

• Find Mohammed Al-Nas on Facebook

• Aymen Swissy is online on Artstation

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.