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].
audio Egyptian Streets Podcast
GRAPHIC NOVELIST DEENA MOHAMED OF SHUBEIK LUBEIK
This week’s episode of the Egyptian Streets Podcast features Deena Mohamed, one of Egypt’s few published graphic novelists.
Her book trilogy Shubeik Lubeik tackles Egyptian society in a magical way, to say the least. Deena joins host Noran Morsi in talking about her inspiration for her books, the Qahira webcomic that launched her comics career, and advice for aspiring graphic novelists. [listen]
interview The Lily
MEET QAHERA, THE MUSLIM SUPERHEROINE FIGHTING BIGOTS INSTEAD OF COMIC BOOK VILLAINS
Her “super hearing” helps her detect misogynists, but also racists and Islamophobes. In some comic strips she defends women from harassers, in others she goes after groups that denigrate and try to silence Muslim women. Qahera can be translated as vanquisher or conqueror — and if you add “al” before Qahera, it’s the Arabic name of Egypt’s capital, Cairo. The character was created by Egyptian illustrator and designer Deena Mohamed. [continue reading]
interview Egyptian Streets
COMIC ARTIST DEENA MOHAMED ON REPRESENTATION, AUTHENTICITY, AND EGYPTIAN ART
Imagine a Cairo where wishes are for sale in cans and bottles at the koshk on your street corner. Deena Mohamed did, and it won her Best Graphic Novel and the Grand Prize at Cairo Comix Festival in 2017. Mohamed, 25, is a comic artist, illustrator, and designer. With a uniquely Egyptian setting and authentically Cairene themes, her urban fantasy graphic novel trilogy Shubeik Lubeik is a fresh, humorous, magical, and emotive handling of the crisscrossing stories and identities that call Egypt home. [continue reading]
article Google
MUFIDAH ABDUL RAHMAN'S 106TH BIRTHDAY
Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Cairo-based guest artist Deena Mohamed, celebrates Egyptian lawyer Mufidah Abdul Rahman on her 106th birthday. Born in Cairo on this day in 1914, she was among the first women to graduate from Cairo University’s Faculty of Law and became the premier female attorney in Egypt. Her determined efforts in and out of the courtroom helped forge the path to political equality for Egyptian women. [read the article]
article Middle East Eye
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE AN ARAB FEMINIST IN 2019?
At the Shubbak Literary Festival in London, two generations of writers discussed the meaning of feminism in the Arab world. [read the article]
audio BBC Radio 3
FREE THINKING: LANGUAGE AND BELONGING
Preti Taneja talks to the winner of the 2019 Dylan Thomas Prize, Guy Gunaratne, Egyptian graphic novelist Deena Mohamed, poet and broadcaster, Michael Rosen, Iranian-American author Dina Nayeri and Somali-British poet Momtaza Mehri. [listen]
interview Madamasr
SHUBEIK LUBEIK: AN URBAN FANTASY ABOUT WISHES
In her debut graphic novel Shubeik Lubeik (2018), young graphic novelist Deena Mohamed Yehia (1994) draws a parable that evokes a fantastical present-day Cairo where the dreams and wishes of the populace are commodified, sold in bottles at supermarkets and local convenience stores. [continue reading]
interview Disorient.de
Qahera is an Egyptian hijabi comic hero who uses her super powers to address pressing societal issues online. Her creator Deena Mohamed, a 24-year old artist and graphic designer, talks to Alsharq about the character of Qahera, her Muslim feminist message and the experience of creating her web comic. Lissy Kleer and Clara Taxis interviewed her for Alsharq. [continue reading]
BBC RADIO 4: BEYOND BELIEF - SUPERHEROES
On this New Year’s eve edition of Beyond Belief, Ernie Rea discusses how the idea of heroes has developed, why those characters often have supernatural as well as superhuman dimensions and what religious and cultural meaning underlines their enduring appeal. [listen]
interview Cairoscene
WISHFUL THINKING IN DEENA MOHAMED’S SHUBEIK LUBEIK
Drawing inspiration in the diverse and heavily saturated field of comics art sounds like an easy task, but developing a visual and narrative identity that is accessible and enjoyable to a local audience is what Deena Mohamed set out to do. Deena is 24 year old trying to keep her balance “on the edge between overwhelmed-with-work and unemployed. I am an artist. Most of the time I am a comic artist,” she told me.
Deena has already published the first graphic novel in a trilogy she named Shubeik Lubeik and is currently juggling between marketing that, writing the two sequels to it, and freelancing. She may already be known to you for Qahera, a Superhero comic-strip she started in 2013, or her #Inktober blowout this year. [continue reading]
Archived Press
ARTICLES FROM BEFORE 2019
OTHER LANGUAGES
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Laha Magazine (Arabic)
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actualidad.rt (Spanish)
youm7.com (Arabic)
nisfeldonia.ahram.org (Arabic)
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tijdschriftlover.nl (Dutch)
7lameslamer.net (French)
virusplanetario.net (Portugese)
lepersoneeladignita.corriere.it (Italian)
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