AH stands for ‘Hijiri year’ or ‘Anno Hegirae’. The calendar starts from the year the Prophet Muhammed migrated from Mecca to Medina. It’s lunar-based and a little off-sync from the Gregorian calendar by a few days. CE is ‘Common Era’ following the Gregorian calendar. So 2025 CE is AH 1446.

In 2016 I talked about adapting the Persian/Ottoman miniature style as the core direction for this comic. At the time I haven’t really found comics who are doing equivalent stylised work, outside of a few animated films.

I’m relieved and happy to report that I’ve rectified that. Here is a list of works that adapt their art styles from the same historical sources, including the films I mentioned ages ago:

• Majnun and Layla: Songs from Beyond the Grave, Yann Damezin
• Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
• The Breadwinner, Cartoon Saloon
• The Thief and the Cobbler, Richard Williams

At the time, too, I was quite new to studying stylistic modes and then applying my studied adaptations into practice. So much of TCM’s layouts were experimental things I never did before. And I am grateful for the opportunity, especially nowadays when I am working on my Alexander the Great webcomic and I am forced to switch between multiple historical art styles. Don’t think I would have been able to do the work I do now without TCM!