I was doing some shopping the other day when I suddenly noticed something I was once upon a time so in love with. I couldnt wait for wednesdays to come to get my hand on a copy of one of the most successful childrens magaizes in the arab world. It was non other than the very famous ( at least in the arab world ) Majid magazine. I used to be a huge fan of the comic magazine but I lost touch with it since 1998 I think , because it suddenly started a little boring for me especially when one of my fave comic artist in the arab world , najeeb farah ( who used to illustrate 'abu'l thurafa2' ) , stopped working for the mag and was replaced by another artist , as well as the fact that they started translating western comics instead of creating their own as they used to before.
I took a look at the new issue of the magazine and I was really dissapointed with it. True that the printing and quality of paper has improved alot , but the magazine has become 70% based on translated comics and stories. They used to have so many original characters like 'kaslan jiddan' , 'khalfan w'fahman' , 'zakiyya al'thakiyya' and so many more that were alot of fun to read , but now all i can see are a bunch of silly and very very childish comics that have been translated poorly. Not only that , but many of the great artists who used to draw for the magazine are no longer working for it and the only ones who remain are Ihab (who draws 'shamsa w'dana') and Mustafa Rahma ( who draws 'kaslan jiddan' ) , as well as Hijazi ( who used to draw zakiyya , but I really hated his style which seemed so stiff and very computerized ).
I have decided to write them an email about this and tell them what I think of the direction they're headed into which is very shameful in my opinion. They need to get back to original and arab based comics , cause we are arabs and we should read stories that portray our morals , culture and principles.
One thing that really made me laugh though is the way 'Majid' looks now. for some odd reason , his face seems to be getting younger , the older he gets.
Oh well , it was nice looking at it again , it brought back so many nice childhood memories.
9 comments:
I used to read Majid that much when I was kid, though my brother & my sister used to get a new copy every week.
I lost the interest for the same reason you have mentioned NaBHaN, all because of their direction.
Talking about Majid's face, he is supposed to be young all the time.
As for me i used to read Mickey Magazine.. And i ALSO stopped for the same reasons.
I hear you on this one Nabs! I was a big fan of the magazine till age 12, and then passed on the passion to my sister... but I guess what you see now is also the same in TV cartoons! Weren't ours much more meaningful, with much more depth and value?? I see what my little brother watches and the magazines he reads and I think what a shame!! It is very disturbing!!
lina : that is very true , for some reason the cartoons now just lost the heart and emotion it used to have. good to see u here btw. :)
----
snooky : I used to read that too.
----
NF : lol.. he's 26 years old now , yet he looks 10. In the older days he actually used to look 17 or 18. the should have at least maintained the way he looked instead of making him look more babyish.
i used 2 read Majid 2 ..but when i looked at the new issues i saw many changed even the face of ( 'kaslan jiddan' ) my favorite changed :( ..also the stories become boring and witout point .....i loved young times magazine now ..although we face many difficulties 2 find it here in saudi arabia and i wrote many emails 2 them ( wala 7ayat leman tonadi ) ....i advice u Nabhan 2 send some of ur work 2 Majid magazine they will love them and may be u can improve this magazin and help it 2 restore its position :)
Maaaan! *sighs*
memories o memories.. I remember how I was so stuck up when I used to buy this magazine. I dont let anyone of my brothers read it untill I finish it first :p
jawaher , nice of you to say so. maybe one day when I have some free time I'll do something for the mag and send it to them. who knows..it might get pubished.
------
Enigma : lol , I loved sharing it with people and so I gave it to anyone who wanted to read it. :p
Maybe thier direction didnt change, but we grew up to understand how today's like thier magazine to look like?
arby : no really.. it seriously changed. at first all their stories were original and written by arabs , bas now they're translated. I say this cause i have read them in their original english versions.
Post a Comment