Zeroing in on Zahra

Out of the various artistic works that emerged out of the aftermath of the contentious 2009 Iranian elections and the protests following them, Zahra's Paradise, a comic written by Amir and drawn by Khalil, probably garnered the most international acclaim (apart from the celebrated tweets of course). The political webcomic, which has been serialised online since the beginning of 2010, and was published in a hardcover format in late 2011, saw its India launch at the 3rd Annual Comic Con, which was held in Delhi recently.

Both Amir and Khalil were present at the release, signing copies of the book and interacting with fans. While Amir's family moved to California when he was 12, following the 1979 revolution, Khalil was born and brought up in France before shifting base to the US at the age of 20. They were both impacted by the 2009 elections in Iran, specially by the plight of an Iranian woman who lost her son in the riots and later found him buried in Behesht-e Zahra, the country's largest cemetery.

"This and other stories influenced our work and resulted in the comic series," said Amir, adding that the duo are working on other political comic series.

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