Happy Birthday!

Mana Neyestani the great Iranian cartoonist is imprisoned. I know him from his cartoons, as I think he is one of the best cartoonists in the world, in the same place as Quino, Mordillo, Naji al-ali,... When I was living in Shiraz, my brother and I were used to archive the Cayhan Caricature Magazine (I hope my mom hasn’t thrown them away yet). I was 18 years old, when I found an excuse to come to Tehran to see the Tehran International Cartoon Biennal in Museum of Contemporary Art. At that time, I really wanted to meet him and tell him how I appreciated his works.

From his works, his comic strips were my favorites .Having his own style, he didn’t need to sign his cartoons; since, his drawings were completely unique and distinguishable from others. His cartoons were full of all the delicate senses that a human being could have. Most of them were very complex and needed a lot of thinking to understand and I think it was a reflection of how deep and prudent his personality was.

I think it is very hard to be able both to think and draw. It is a profession that needs artistic talent, the power of thinking, and a good knowledge of the world and that is why we have only a few good cartoonists in the world.
Today is his birthday.If I could visit him in prison, I would liked to bring him a sketchbook and a pen and tell him to keep drawing!
I hope he gets released soon.