The Four Color Media Monitor

Some time ago, Marvel gave a Kuwaiti company called Teshkeel the rights to translating their products into Arabic, but it wouldn't come as a surprise to me if they allowed for more than just that. Now, DC follows suit by letting the same company go and fiddle with theirs:

KUWAIT CITY, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Teshkeel Media Group, KSC announced today a comprehensive agreement with DC Comics -- the American-based publisher of Superman and Batman comics and one of the foremost publishers of comics and comics-related products in the world -- to bring Arabic, Arabic-English and Arabic-French versions of DC comics, trade paperbacks and magazines to the Middle East and North Africa. The agreement was announced by Naif Al-Mutawa, CEO of Teshkeel, and John Nee, Vice President-Business Development, DC Comics.

Under the terms of the agreement, Teshkeel will engage in a multi-year publishing program which will return DC's comic books to the Middle East and North Africa regions, beginning with publications tied in to this summer's blockbuster movie, Superman Returns. Plans call for additional titles featuring DC's world-famous library of characters to debut in the coming months.

"We're honored to be working with DC Comics," said Al-Mutawa. "DC practically invented the comic book format and characters like Superman and Batman have defined the superhero genre. They are a company that has long enjoyed a reputation for excellence, innovation and creativity -- something we are proud to pass on to our audiences in the Middle East and North Africa."

Nee added, "Through comic books, television and film our characters are recognizable worldwide. We're excited to have our publications available in the MENA region once again and to continue our long tradition of publishing in these territories. It's a great opportunity for a whole new audience to discover the magic of DC's characters and stories. With the variety of formats and languages they are offering readers, Teshkeel has presented us with a great opportunity to reach the widest possible audience in this rapidly growing territory."

Headquartered in Kuwait, Teshkeel is a publisher of comics and other children's entertainment in the Arab world. Planned publications will feature some of DC's most popular characters, including Superman, Batman, Teen Titans and the Justice League.

Teshkeel's program will begin in late July with a special publication tied in to the regional release of the Superman Returns film. The company will also publish four other Superman Returns-related titles before launching monthly Superman and Batman titles.

In addition to DC, Teshkeel also publishes local versions of Marvel Comics and Archie Comics and its own original title, The 99. "The addition of DC's fantastic range of titles to our publishing program is a superhero-lover's dream come true," concluded Al-Mutawa. "We're extremely proud to be bringing the world's greatest heroes to the children of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond."

The article is really insulting in its gushing, ditto that DC would be willing to give them the rights to potentially abuse their products. Why do I get the feeling that they won't even inspect what Teshkeel is doing? As great as it'd be for many Arab communities to be reading comics, I simply don't trust Teshkeel to translate them into something honest and faithful to the original scripts, and that's a real shame.

Labels: dc comics, islam and jihad