"I came Like thunder, and
now perish like the wind ... Perhaps it is meant for us to meet again ... above" -Sohrab's
last words before dying at the hands of his father, Rostam.
"Now, we have the Pahlevan,
within our grasp, Rostam's spirit is broken; his will to fight is gone. We must
crush him. NOW!" -White Deev to Afrasiab
"We will wait patiently,
years if we must, but in time, the King will destroy not only his heir ... but
himself" -White Deev to Afrasiab
The Persian Epic the
Shahnameh is filled with many great adventures, memorable colorful
characters, imaginary landscapes and remote kingdoms all of which are
encompassed in a rich and poetic verse that seems to remind every Iranian of
their country's Glorious Past, and of a Persian Identity forged by an eternal
quest to overcome obstacles in the most virtuous way. An Identity that has been
threatened throughout its history and not just by foreign forces ... Probably one
of the greatest lessons in the Shahnameh is when it warns us of the
"enemy within". One that resides in our own persona and nurtures a self
destructive impulse when we lose self confidence, start lying to ourselves and
thus break the old Zoroastrian Oath of "Pendar Neek, Goftareh Neek, va Kerdareh
Neek" aka "Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds". It is then when our soul
becomes corrupt, our virtues dissolve into a potion of ignorance and True Pride
is replaced by Arrogance. That is when even a Noble Knight of the virtuous
kingdom can become the instrument of an evil empire in the hands of no
other than the Devil Himself. The hero must react to vanquish his inner
torment and fear or perish to oblivion ... Thus seems to be the dilemma facing
Iran's greatest hero Rostam in Hyperwerks and its creative team's adaptation of
the third book: Rostam: Battle with the Deevs.
Filled with larger than life
characters and creatures, to our delight this third adventure seems to have
favored action to dialogue, while subtly, blending the hero's inner turmoil with
a fantasy world where dreams and nightmares coexist. After reading this third
adventure, you won't be surprised that Ferdowsi's immortal story was to partly
inspire both C.S. Lewis (Narnia Chronicles) and J.R.R Tolkien (Lord of
the Rings) both of whom as members of The
Inklings, an Oxford literary group,
united by a love of literature and traditional values,
greatly admired the Persian Poet's Book of Kings and were inspired by
Persian Pre-Islamic Mythology. A confirmation of this assessment was given
recently by a publication of Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis Cambridge 1950- 1963in whichwe learn abouthis endorsement of Zoroastrianism as "one of the
finest of the Pagan religions," and his eagerness to see more recognition for
the Persian epic The Shahnameh. Ferdowsi's Book of Kings
told them important things about life-about who they were, what the world was
like, and about the realm of the divine, rejoicing in their triumphant moments,
weeping at tragic turns of events. Thus proving the universality of literature
and its quest for immortal legends in the Empire of Dreams and Nightmares ...
I had the pleasure of
interviewing the team behind, (Bruce Bahmani, Cameron and Jamie Douraghy) the
Rostam series for the release of this latest adventure.
Darius KADIVAR (DK): This new Adventure seems
to deal with a much more darker theme than the two former ones and that is
guilt. Rostam the hero is after all not so invincible, is he?
Team: This is
exactly why we admire Ferdowsi's work so much. He makes Rostam more human to his
readers by revealing flaws and vulnerabilities. In this story, Rostam is only
able to overcome his weakness once he hits rock bottom. After all, he is a hero
and not a god.
DK: Your cover suggests a duality between Good and
Evil, which is a recurrent and central theme in the Shahnameh. One also often
sees this amongst costumed superheroes in the American comic book. We also get a
MacGuffin explanation (which I will leave the readers to discover) to the Horns
that will ornate Rostam's helmet. Tell us why Rostam's look and behavior changed
in this story?
Team: The duality between good
and evil is an important part of ancient Persian culture and is rooted in
Zoroastrianism. So it's only natural for this idea to be central in Ferdowsi's
Shahnameh. With regards to why we gave Rostam an evolved look, we wanted to
bring him closer to what would usher in a clear break from his past. The same
can be said for Raqsh! They are both reborn, in a way, through this evolution.
Shahnameh Rostam3
DK: You favored action over dialogue this time with
spectacular battle scenes that keeps the crescendo going until the ultimate
confrontation between Rostam and the White Deev. I couldn't help seeing some
indirect cinematic tribute to Frank Miller's 300 (The Armies of Turan and the
Immortals) or even Spielberg's Indiana Jones (escaping the boulder
about to crush him). Was that intentional?
Team:
We wanted Rostam to speak through action, as he had been in
solitude with his tormented thoughts for so long, and it was time for him to
erupt physically from this low point. There was no conscious cinematic tribute
to anyone, we just wanted to show that the Deev controlled the world around
Rostam, and what Rostam had to do to survive. But you are right in noticing the
inevitable crossover between the world of comic books and movies!
J
DK: I particularly liked how you blend these action
scenes with Rostam's inner turmoil. We don't know if his nightmares correspond
to his real life challenges, like the episode of his fight with the dragon from
the "Haft Khan Rostam" (one of the "Seven Trials from his youthful days) or when
he sees his dead son Sohrab again in a Dream. I suppose the comic book format
allows the inclusion of elements of his life and legend without having to tell
the entire story? How did you weave these all together?
Team:
Yes, the comic book format does allow us to include segments, without having to
tell the whole story, and that's the beauty of the medium we use. We have
expanded and developed our adaptations along story lines that we find exciting.
In this case, Haft Khan is one of those amazing stories that we have identified,
and intend to feature at a later date.
DK: There are two extraordinary new characters, or
rather creatures that appear in this episode. The White Deev (which exists in
the original story) and the Red Deev, was he entirely created by the team? Tell
us a little about them, their motivations, similarities and differences and what
were Karl's visual inspirations in drawing them?
Team:
In keeping with our goal to make this ancient story current, we drew inspiration
from both the past and the present. The White Deev's visual references were
drawn from Persian miniatures and their ancient depiction of him. He is, after
all, Rostam's ultimate nemesis, the master manipulator, and pure evil! On the
other hand, the Red Deev was inspired by a more contemporary view of what the
devil looks like today. The Red Deev is motivated by whatever the White Deev
commands him to do.
DK: Rostam's new relationship with the Crown Prince,
Siavash allows him to overcome his grief. What can you tell us about the
father/son relationship between Rostam and Siavash and how it differs from his
relationship with Sohrab?
Team:
Rostam has the relationship with Siavash that he never had with Sohrab. He gives
Siavash guidance, love and sees him grow into a man. Rostam's greatest sorrow is
that he never had a relationship with Sohrab until after he kills him. That is
why Sohrab haunts Rostam in his dreams.
DK: It seems to me that contrary to Celtic or
Arthurian legends like in King Arthur where the illegitimate son Mordred kills
the Father (actually both die in a final confrontation) in the Shahnameh it's
often the contrary. Be it Siavash or Sohrab they both are killed by their
fathers albeit differently ... Are we to see a recurrent Freudian (Or Rather
Ferdowsian) symbolism here?
Team:
Yes, this is a very astute observation, as it deals with a fundamental
difference between eastern and western storytelling traditions. More often than
not, in the West, youth triumphs over age, where as in the East, wisdom (which
comes with age), typically overcomes youth.
DK: I can't help but think that your comic book
would make a splendid Motion Picture with either Old Fashioned Stop Motion
Effects like those in Ray Harryhausen's Films or an animated cartoon like what
George Lucas did with the Star Wars Trilogies. Have you thought of contacting TV
or Film companies who could show interest?
Team: That would be
the ultimate dream for our series. We have reached out to several entities, but
most are not ready for this unique approach to a great story. Do you know
anyone?
DK: What will the next
Adventure be about and when will we get to see it?
Team: Next we
tell the story of The Simorgh, Zal and Roudabeh. This story begins the birth of
Zal and ends with how he and his young son Rostam, place the new king on his
throne. This book will be out in early 2010.
DK: Once again truly congratulations to all three of
you, as well as your creative and technical staff for this exciting new comic
book.
