Alumnus creates Dearborn-based superhero for Marvel; signing March 4
As a kid, HFC alumnus Saladin Ahmed always looked forward to his weekly visits to Comics Plus, a comic book store in Dearborn (owned by the late Gary Read, who taught biology at HFC).
On Wednesday, March 4, Ahmed, now a prolific author, will sign copies of Marvel’s The Magnificent Ms. Marvel No. 13 – which features the debut of Amulet, a new superhero who hails from Dearborn – at Comics Plus’ successor, Green Brain Comics, owned by HFC alumni Dan and Katie Merritt.
Hometown Hero
Things have come full circle for Ahmed, a Fordson High School alumnus who earned his associate degree in liberal arts in 1997 from HFC.
Like Ahmed, Fadi Falalah, the teenage alter-ego of Amulet, is from Dearborn and is Lebanese-American. He co-created Amulet with artist Sara Alfageeh.
When asked if Fadi goes to HFC, Ahmed laughed, stating, "He’s still in high school."
“When I proposed this idea to the Marvel brass, everybody was very excited and supportive,” he said.
Ahmed is keeping details of his character close to the vest, but said Amulet and Kamala Khan, the current Ms. Marvel (Marvel's first Muslim character to headline her own monthly title), join forces.
Amulet makes the news
So far, Amulet has received plenty of advanced buzz from local media. Channel 7’s Syma Chowdhry – who dressed up as Ms. Marvel, Thor, Spider-Man, and Col. Nick Fury for this story – recently interviewed Ahmed at Green Brain, promoting his March 4 signing.
“It’s been thrilling to see the hometown pride,” said Ahmed.
“Saladin has really thrived at Marvel over the last couple of years. And our customers have responded, making The Magnificent Ms. Marvel one of our top-selling series,” said Dan Merritt. “We’re thrilled to have Saladin back at Green Brain to premiere the character he co-created with Sara Alfageeh. And we expect that the proud citizens of Dearborn will come out and support the adventures of our newest hometown super-hero, Amulet!”
For questions or more information about Ahmed’s March 4 appearance at Green Brain, call 313-582-9444.