Iasmin Omar Ata
Iasmin Omar Ata is a Palestinian-American comic book artist, writer, letterer, and video game designer,[1] recognized for their works Wallflower, Nayra and the Djinn, and Mis(h)adra, as well as for their work as an artist on series such as Snotgirl for Image Comics and Sonic the Hedgehog for IDW Publishing.
Career
Iasmin began drawing as an amateur at the age of 8 when they became a fan of the Sailor Moon anime. Although many people tried to dissuade them from pursuing a career in comics and illustration, they had the support of their father from the beginning. After moving to New York in 2011, they sought to start working professionally in comics, and during their final year of college, they began working on their first book, Mis(h)adra.[2]
In October 2017, they finally published the graphic novel Mis(h)adra, a semi-autobiographical work starring Isaac, a young man dealing with epilepsy, showing the difficulties that epileptic people experience in carrying out seemingly simple activities such as attending college, going to a medical appointment, or living with roommates.[3] The book was originally published as a webcomic.[4] A year later, Iasmin was awarded the Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent.[3]
On January 18, 2019, they published the webcomic The Anti-Palestinian Propaganda You Don’t Know You’re Consuming on the website of the publication The Nib, in which they criticize the way American popular culture fosters harmful stereotypes about Palestinians, continually portraying them as terrorists and dangerous people, also citing specific cases from American cinema such as True Lies, The Siege, and You Don't Mess with the Zohan.[5]
In 2023, they published the comic Nayra and the Djinn through the Viking Books imprint of Penguin Random House. This comic follows the story of Nayra Mansour, a young Muslim girl trying to find her place in the world while suffering the difficulties of having a strict family and being bullied by her classmates at school, which leads her to seek refuge on the internet during Ramadan. There, she begins reading the stories of other young American Muslims sharing their own experiences. She meets a strange user who claims to be a djinn and who, being believed only by Nayra, decides to offer her his help in gratitude. Two years after its publication in the United States, the comic was also published in Spain by the publisher Astronave, translated by Iris Mogollón and lettered by Rocío Vargas.[6]
On January 13, 2026, again with Penguin Random House, they published their comic Wallflower, which follows the story of Marlene, a girl with the power to see people's emotions as invisible flowers, who seeks to discover the origin of her abilities after meeting Ashe, a new student who shares her same gift.[7]
Awards and nominations
- 2018: Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent[3]
Recognitions
In February and March 2026, their work was exhibited in 5 cultural centers in the municipality of Bilbao, Spain, on the occasion of the exhibition "Palestinian Comic: Own Voices, Collective Cry" (Cómic palestino: Voces propias, grito colectivo), which sought to gather Palestinian stories told through comics that, according to the Al Fanar association, had long been marginalized, fragmented, and discarded by dominant discourses. The exhibition was available between February 2 and 3, February 17 and 27, March 3 and 16, and March 18 and 31, featuring, among others, the works and graphic heritage of Leila Abdelrazaq, Sara Shehadeh, Hassan Manasrah, Hamza AbuAyyash, Khaled Jarrada, Shahd Alshamali, Dania Omari, Samir Harb, and Mohammad Saba'aneh, in addition to Iasmin's own work.[8]
Works
- Mis(h)adra (Gallery 13, October 2017)
- The Anti-Palestinian Propaganda You Don’t Know You’re Consuming (The Nib, January 18, 2019)
- Alloy: Electrum (Shingworks, anthology, April 2019)
- Nayra and the Djinn (Viking Books, February 28, 2023)
- Sonic the Hedgehog: Winter Jam (IDW Publishing, December 2023)
- Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2024 (IDW Publishing, October 2024)
- Snotgirl #16-20 (Image Comics, December 2024 to April 2025)
- Sonic the Hedgehog #81 and #84 (IDW Publishing, September 2025 to February 2026)
- Wallflower (Penguin Random House, January 13, 2026)
- Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic Racing Crossworlds (IDW Publishing, March 2026)
Personal life
Iasmin is openly Muslim[9] and transgender.[10]
References
- ↑ "Iasmin Omar Ata". Tebeosfera. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "Iasmin Omar Ata tackles health through comics". Maamoul Press. 2016-10-13. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Ignatz Award Winner Mis(h)adra Shares An Accurate Depiction of The Seizure Disorder Experience". WomenWriteAboutComics. 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "An Interview with Iasmin Omar Ata". The Comics Journal. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "The Anti-Palestinian Propaganda You Don't Know You're Consuming". The Nib. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "Nayra y el Djinn, de Iasmin Omar Ata". Zona Negativa. 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "Wallflower". Queer Comics Database. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "Una mirada distinta sobre Palestina: "Cómic palestino: Voces propias, grito colectivo"". Radio Nervión. 2026-02-06. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
- ↑ "Iasmin Omar Ata". The Nib. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "Iasmin Omar Ata". Comic Art Fans. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
External links
- Official website
- Iasmin Omar Ata on Instagram
- Iasmin Omar Ata at Tebeosfera
- Iasmin Omar Ata at Whakoom
- Iasmin Omar Ata at Comic Vine
This article "Iasmin Omar Ata" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Iasmin Omar Ata. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
