Amin Abbas

Jassim Al-Mohannadi, a Qatari Manga author and the author of “Justice in the Wasteland REBIRTH”, a creator-owned story, available in English and Arabic, debuted in 2022.

When Al-Mohannadi first read Fist of the North Star, he developed a fascination for Japanese manga and since then he has been motivated to craft his own manga.

His writing career began in late 2019 when he began devoting more time to learning how to write comic scripts.

After taking a few online classes and working with experienced writers on YouTube, he was able to write the first chapter of Justice in the Wasteland Rebirth.

Al-Mohannadi shared exclusively with Arab News Japan his inspiration for Japanese anime & manga, “as a young boy, I recall coming home from school and spending the first few minutes watching anime on TV. And I always leaned towards action anime like Superman and Batman (the animated series – although I wasn’t aware of the term “anime” back then)”.

“A short while later, I recall my schoolmates discussing an anime about a powerful kid with a tail who goes on adventures with a cute girl and defeats bad guys– well, that turned out to be Dragon Ball (I had no idea I was watching one of the most influential manga ever written). From that point on I started watching more and more, like Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, Captain Tsubasa, Thunder Jet, and ultimately, Fist of the North Star, which was my turning point”.

“In addition to Western comics that I was already familiar with, Fist of the North Star was my introduction to Japanese comics. It was the first manga I ever read, and even now, after reading countless other manga, I still regard it as my primary source of inspiration and the one that’s most dear to my heart,” he added.

Regarding his work in the manga field and his concepts, Al-Mohannadi said, “I feel like when you read a lot of manga, you start to develop this urge of wanting to create your own– and I was no exception. I began creating these events and making connections between them and boom, I had a whole story in my head”.

“The implementation, however, was somewhat the most challenging aspect of it. Fortunately, the internet can make our lives so much easier in this day and age, so I took advantage of it and began looking for the ‘easiest’ approach to write a decent comic script. Surprisingly, though, I came across tons of comic book scripts that’d been written by renowned authors and creators,” he added.

Al-Mohannadi shared exclusively with Arab News Japan the story behind the creation of Justice in the Wasteland REBIRTH manga story, “When I first considered writing a manga, I had a difficult time deciding the setting of my story. It’s ironic because despite how much I’ve always admired George Miller’s Mad Max universe, I never gave it any thought”.

“But then I realized that the setting didn’t matter in George Miller’s Mad Max! Not precisely, but you get the idea: the world’s already a lawless wasteland, ruled by warlords and street thugs. Also, what was truly amazing about it was how well-versed in George Miller’s world I already was, given how frequently I had watched it. All I had to do was come up with a method to stand out, and that’s when Sarah was born,” he added.

He also references and notes from Fist of the North Star manga series for his story.

About the challenges and experiences that he has faced during his work on Justice in The Wasteland Rebirth manga series, Al-Mohannadi said, “I wouldn’t say it’s the writing itself, but rather about finding the time to be able to write down my ideas and develop the script. Being an athlete who is very aware of commitments and priorities, I have always been familiar with time management. All I had to do was prioritize writing, which fortunately for me, I was able to do”.

Regarding the feedback from the people who read Justice in The Wasteland Rebirth manga series so far, Al-Mohannadi said, “I can see a substantial increase in the number of views as the story goes on. This alone indicates to me that readers are interested in and willing to devote time to my story, which I greatly appreciate”.

Speaking of the challenges that he faced during his career in the manga field, Al-Mohannadi claimed, “Given that I’m just getting started in this field and that there’s so much more for me to learn, it is really nerve-wrecking to pinpoint the true challenges. The journey has been wonderful , and I plan to keep it that way”.

Regarding his upcoming projects, Al-Mohannadi said,  “Currently, Justice in the Wasteland REBIRTH is the sole focus of my attention. I want to share as much of this universe with the readers as I can, as well as the happy and terrible experiences that our characters will have”.

For those who want to check out the English version of “Justice in the Wasteland REBIRTH”, they can visit the following link: https://medibang.com/mpc/titles/al2301051015213150024620399/