Greetings Friends!

 

On March 31st we celebrate what would have been our Hamza's 25th birthday. It is almost impossible to believe that it has been 5 years since he left us. 

 

As many of you may know, our family is honoring Hamza's life and passions with an ambitious project we're calling The Hamzanama Comic Contest. We combined our Hamza's love for comics and cartooning with the classic illustrated work from the Mughal era known as The Hamzanama. This fantastical manuscript was itself an early form of superhero comic and followed the outsized adventures of a man named Amir Hamza as he spread truth and justice across the world.

 

We worked with comic book artists to create an origin story that introduced the classic character of Hamza and gave him the power to travel through space and time so he could be a hero to any people who need him across human existence.

 

And THEN things got REALLY interesting!

 

We asked for artists and storytellers around the world to submit their own chapters of Hamza's Adventures. We had no idea if it would work. But amazingly, we ended up receiving submissions from over a dozen countries with beautiful artwork and inventive storytelling. With help from an all-star panel of judges we selected the best of the bunch that can be found on our website. The stories range from Hamza leading an anthropomorphic freedom march against fascism to him battling mech elephants hundreds of years in the future.

 

But most importantly, ALL the stories carry on the spirit of the legendary Hamza through the favorite medium of our very own Hamza.

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WHAT'S NEXT: 
- Please go to our website and check out the origin story we wrote as well as all the fantastic winners and tell us your own personal favorite!
- We'd love to publish the collected stories in a physical book so appreciate any support, both financial and advisory, in making that dream a reality!
- Sign up for updates on the future of our project so you'll be the first to know when we have copies available as well as future plans to extend the project even further.

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Thank you so so much to all of you who supported our family over the past few years as we've worked hard to make this happen. To say it was a deeply emotional work of love is a massive understatement. As we celebrate our Hamza's beautiful life, we pray this becomes a lasting tribute to him. Finally, please keep him and our family in your thoughts and prayers. 

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Suhaib, Afeefa, Zaki, Yusuf, Michelle & Eeba

The Barzinji Prize Foundation