Samandal, Arabic for salamander, is a volunteer-run comics collective founded in Beirut in 2007 by Lena Merhej, Omar Khouri, Hatem Imam, Tarek Nabaa and Fadi Baqi. Its magazine mixes Arabic, French and English, and comes out in changing shapes and sizes, with loosely affiliated artists contributing to each issue. Over the years it has published 18 magazines, seven anthologies, six graphic novels, zines and a set of Arabic online comics for teenagers. In 2019 it won the Alternative Comics Prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, and the same year AUB's Arab Comics Initiative gave it the Comics Guardian Prize. It also runs workshops, including with refugees in the Bekaa and in public schools. The collective has paid a price for its freedom: a 2009 lawsuit over a caricature ended with a $20,000 penalty.
Samandal at a glance
- Founded in Beirut in 2007 by five artists
- Won Angoulême's Alternative Comics Prize in 2019
- Publishes in Arabic, French and English
- Has released 18 magazines and six graphic novels
Who is behind Samandal
- Lena Merhej (Co-founder). Source: glob.art
- Omar Khouri (Co-founder). Source: glob.art
- Hatem Imam (Co-founder). Source: glob.art
- Tarek Nabaa (Co-founder). Source: glob.art
- Fadi Baqi (Co-founder). Source: glob.art