Image from Super Sikh Comic Facebook page
Sat Sri Akal, Batman-ji, Superman-ji and Iron Man-ji. Please make way for Deep Singh, the new Sikh superhero. If you're a comic book fan, you've probably met Indian superheroes Nagraj and Doga. Deep Singh, the new superhero in town, is different and absolutely nothing like the comic book heroes you have grown up with. 'Skillful, smart and very well-trained British Special Air Service agent,' Deep Singh is not just part-Batman, part-Jason Bourne, he's way, way cooler.
Here's why:
As a turban-wearing Sardarji, Deep Singh is culturally important and part of gender and religion-specific comic book revolution. The new Thor is female, the new Spiderman is mixed race, the new Captain America is African-American, and Marvel recently broke ground with Kamala Khan, the first Muslim super hero. Deep Singh adds more colour to the world of comic book crimefighters.
Deep Singh looks like a regular office-going Sardarji, in a suit and turban. He wears no superhero attire -- no cape, mask or even embarrassing tights for him.
He listens to Elvis and is a huge fan of rock and roll. We don't know what Superman, Batman or Spidey have on their iPods but Deep Singh is sure to have a playlist that features Jailhouse Rock and Hound Dog. We imagine he hums That's All Right, Mama to himself when he fails to nab an enemy.
'Super Sikh' fights real fights, the ones that we read about in newspapers. His arch-nemesis is the Taliban. In this battle of good vs evil, the hero fights racial and religious stereotypes that we might recognise from real life.
Even as the new Batman movie plans to feature a female Robin, Deep Singh's makers are way ahead of time. His sidekick is a woman, his cousin Gurpreet Kaur who is smart and tough. With her scientist-ninja double identity, she makes the bad guys very, very scared. Batgirl, retire.
Get this - 'Super Sikh' is also the first comic book that started as a Kickstarter project. In early January, Oakland-based writer Eileen Alden and Silicon Valley executive Supreet Singh Manchada set out to raise $5,000 to produce a comic book starring a Sikh hero. In 27 hours, they raised the funds to produce the first issue of Super Sikh and by February they raised more than $22,000. How cool is that?