AK Comics launching titles with Middle East superheroes.

SUPERHEROES do it routinely, but can a comic book publisher save the world? That's the question behind AK Comics, a company dedicated to producing titles to reflect the "themes and values of the Middle East."

Since 2004, AK has sold Western-style comics in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Kingdom, Greece and China. But its real goal is the U.S. media market. To that end, AK signed a deal earlier this year with Diamond Comics Distributors, the heavyweight firm for moving books to specialty comic book shops around the country.

This month, AK secured $6 million in private equity money to finance its U.S. expansion. Pi Capital, based in Brentwood, handled the deal. AK is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, but has offices in London and Los Angeles.

"The mission of AK Comics is to fill the cultural and social gap that was created over the years between the East and West by providing essentially needed role models--in our case, Middle Eastern superheroes," says Ayman Kandeel, a former economics professor and chairman of AK Comics. "Those heroes are predestined to become global ambassadors, spreading peace and good will, creating a more optimistic and positive image of the world's most turbulent and misunderstood region."

Luckily for retailers, AK's four debut titles fit nicely into conventional comics segments. "Aya: The Princess of Darkness" follows the Batman model of a child, left parentless by criminals, who becomes a super crimefighter. In "Jalila: Protector of the City of All Faiths," a teen-age girl gains super powers by surviving a nuclear attack. "Rakan: The Lone Warrior" wanders the deserts of medieval Arabia accompanied by a saber-toothed cat. "Zein: The Last Pharoah" involves an ancient monarch who preserved himself and his evil siblings for a post-modern revivification.

The titles launch in May. If the strategy works, some of the new equity funding will go toward the development of animated and live-action TV programming based on AK characters. According to Kandeel, AK has "uncovered a previously untapped keen interest in Middle Eastern-themed action-adventure entertainment."

Staff reporter Joel Russell can be reached at [phone], ext. 237, or at jrussell@labusiness journal.com.