Available in bookstores and online in English, Arabic, French and Italian
SHUBEIK LUBEIK
SHUBEIK LUBEIK
“[A] masterpiece . . . While Mohamed’s narratives are memorably entertaining and particularly insightful—exploring haves versus have-nots struggles, gender inequity, police brutality —even more astounding is her fluid, sweeping art. . . Mohamed’s stupendously dynamic visuals will prove addictive, moving all too swiftly toward a rewarding, resonating end.”
—Booklist ★
currently working on
welcome! here’s what’s going on.
A graphic novel set in a fantastical Cairo where wishes are literally for sale, and the more expensive they are the more powerful their ability to fulfill your dreams.
Winner of Best Graphic Novel and the Grand Prix of the Cairo Comix Festival, Shubeik Lubeik was originally published as an award-winning trilogy of graphic novels in Arabic by Dar el-Mahrousa. The English translation of the collected volume of all three parts is available for pre-order from Pantheon Books in the US and Granta in the UK (January 10 2023). Written, drawn and translated by Deena Mohamed (me).
SHUBEIK LUBEIK
i also do
comics
&
illustration
about me
Hi! You’ve reached the somewhat outdated website of Deena Mohamed. I am an Egyptian comics artist, writer and designer. I first started making comics at eighteen, with my semi-satirical semi-sincere webcomic Qahera about a visibly muslim Egyptian superhero that addresses social issues such as islamophobia and misogyny.
Since then, I have been working on my graphic novel trilogy, Shubeik Lubeik, an urban fantasy about wishes. It is published in Arabic in Egypt by Dar El Mahrousa and was awarded Best Graphic Novel and the Grand Prize of the Cairo Comix Festival (2017.) The entire trilogy is available in Arabic as of June 2021. The English translation for all three parts of Shubeik Lubeik has been acquired by Pantheon Books for North America and Granta for the UK, for publication in Jan 2023.
When I’m not working on my own comics, I also do freelance illustrations for local and international clients such as Viacom, Google, UN Women, Harrassmap and Mada Masr. I love working on projects that involve community development, awareness and outreach (particularly editorial illustrations) as well as childrens’ books.
Other than that, I am largely asleep. I work and reside in Cairo.
You can contact me at deenadraws@gmail.com, or for business inquiries you can contact my agent, anjali@anjalisinghagency.com
where i'm at
where i'm at
November 2022
Attending in the Arab American Museum Artists and Residents Convening in Dearborn, Michigan.
October 20th 2022
Speaking at Rutgers University ComiCon comics symposium hosted by the Department of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Languages and Literatures.
September 6th 2022
Talk + Book signing at Bibliothek Bookstore in 6th of October, Cairo.
August 18th 2022
Speaking at PenguinRandomHouse LibraryCon’s Real-Life stories panel.
July 20th 2022
Talk + Book signing at Diwan Bookstore in Heliopolis, Cairo.
July 2022
Speaking on Medialities panel for Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence Annual Conference at Universität Bayreuth in Beyreuth Germany.
latest press
latest press
article The New Yorker
WHAT IF WISHES COULD BE BOUGHT AND SOLD?
In “Shubeik Lubeik,” the Egyptian comic artist Deena Mohamed draws on the Arabic fairy-tale canon to create a satire of the global extraction economy.
audio NPR
DEENA MOHAMED ON HER GRAPHIC NOVEL 'SHUBEIK LUBEIK'
When wishes are regulated as commodities, Egyptians wrestle with their morals and their deepest desires. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with Deena Mohamed about her graphic novel, "Shubeik Lubeik." [listen]
EGYPTIAN ARTIST DEENA MOHAMED BELIEVES IN THE POWER OF ARABIC COMICS
“I hope that the future of Arab comics is one where readers get to experience bold creative work and artists get to make a dignified living doing what they love — one that will push our region forward and open everyone’s minds to the power of comics for storytelling.” [continue reading]
excerpt Publisher’s Weekly
PANEL MANIA: SHUBEIK LUBEIK BY DEENA MOHAMED
In this eight-page excerpt, the reader is quickly introduced to the Egyptian wish economy, the kiosk merchant hoping to unload his wish inventory, and an old Christian woman who will surprise him much later in the story. Shubleik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed will be published by Pantheon in January. [view the excerpt]
article The Irish Times
THE IRISH TIMES BEST GRAPHIC NOVELS OF 2022
Funny, moving and brimming with enough showy cleverness to leave you slack-jawed in admiration, Your Wish Is My Command is a masterful modern fairy tale, and a staggeringly assured debut from an artist still some years from turning 30. [read the article]
audio Bulaq Podcast
article Bookpage
STARRED REVIEW - SHUBEIK LUBEIK
These characters’ struggles and successes are equally heartbreaking and uplifting, creating a wholly satisfying reading experience. Our wish is Mohamed’s command. [read the article]
interview Arab Lit & Arablit Quarterly
EXTENDED CONVERSATION: ON WISHES, TRANSLATION, & BEING ‘DEENA SHUBEIK LUBEIK’
After an hour conversation about the development of this boundary-breaking graphic novel in Arabic and the process of publishing in English, we still had more questions about the translation process, the role of research in the creation of this urban fantasy, & more. Fortunately, Deena also had more to say. [continue reading]
STARRED REVIEW - SHUBEIK LUBEIK
Egyptian artist and writer Mohamed deservedly won the Best Graphic Novel and the Grand Prize at the 2017 Cairo Comix Festival for Shubeik Lubeik, the title explained as “a fairy tale rhyme that means ‘your wish is my command’ in Arabic.” Mohamed herself translates this version, ensuring that lucky English-speaking audiences discover her masterpiece exactly as she intended. [read the article]
interview Publishers Weekly
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR IN 'SHUBEIK LUBEIK'
In 2013, when she was 18 years old, Deena Mohamed, an Egyptian illustrator and writer, created a webcomic that went viral. Qahera features a Muslim superhero who can detect misogyny, racism, and Islamophobia with her super-hearing powers. In January, Pantheon will publish Mohamed’s debut graphic novel, Shubeik Lubeik (Arabic for “your wish is my command”), the first title in a gorgeously drawn fantasy trilogy set in a Cairo, where wishes are for sale at the corner kiosk. [continue reading]
article Kirkus Reviews
STARRED REVIEW - SHUBEIK LUBEIK
The book is exceptionally imaginative while also being wonderfully grounded in touching human relationships, existential quandaries, and familiar geopolitical and socio-economic dynamics. Mohamed’s art balances perfectly between cartoon and realism, powerfully conveying emotions, and her strong, clean lines gorgeously depict everything from an anguished face to an ornate bottle [...] Mohamed has a great sense of humor, which comes out in footnotes and casual asides throughout. Immensely enjoyable. [read the article]
interview Screen Speck
TECHNICOLORED KIOSKS AND WISHES IN A BOTTLE: THE MAGICAL REALISM OF DEENA MOHAMED
Our lives pivot around our dreams, which often tantalize just out of reach. What would you do if you knew your deepest desires hung in the dregs of a vial sold at your local kiosk? The author of the Shubeik Lubeik trilogy spun this premise into a fantastical, highly nuanced tale. [continue reading]
article Ganzeer Reviews
GANZEER REVIEWS - SHUBEIK LUBEIK
At over 500 pages it is a beast of a thing, the sight of which would strike fear and envy into the heart of even the most accomplished cartoonist. The only lightweight aspect of this impressive tome is that of Deena's touch, daft and never heavy-handed. [read the article]
article Brittle Paper
ARABIC GRAPHIC NOVEL SHUBEIK LUBEIK BY DEENA MOHAMED OUT IN ENGLISH NEXT YEAR
Award-winning Arabic graphic novel trilogy, Shubeik Lubeik, by Egyptian author and illustrator Deena Mohamed will soon be available in English. The three-part work tells the story of three Cairo residents who must grapple with the challenges of living in a world where wishes are bought and sold. [read the article]
article Middle East Eye
FIVE OF THE BEST ARAB COMIC AND GRAPHIC NOVEL RELEASES OF 2021
Over at Middle East Eye, Bahira Amin has put together an excellent list of five of the best Arab comics and graphic-novel releases of 2021. [read the article]
video Arte
FOUR ARAB WOMEN COMIC ARTISTS “CRAYON AU POING”
Four women comic book artists from the Arab World, Tunisian Nadia Khiari, Lebanese Lena Merhej, Moroccan Zainab Fasiki and Egyptian Deena Mohamed open the doors of their studios and tell us about their experiences and their struggles. Ten years after the beginning of the Arab Spring how can they express themselves in the medium as Arab women?
Directed by: Lizzie Treu & Eloïse Fagard [watch with English subtitles].
