Fighting Fascism by a Muslim superhero.
Appears in Bomber Comics #2 (May1944)
Kismet, the first Muslim superhero!
First appearing in Bomber Comics #1 (Spring 1944), Kismet is a superhero of Algerian origin who fought for the Allies in World War II.
The first Muslim superhero, his codename "Kismet" means fate or destiny, a word derived from the Arabic "quasama."
Published by the Gilberton Company, Bomber Comics and Kismet lasted only four issues. Kismet was created and written by "Omar Tahan," a penname believed to belong to Ruth Ann Roche (Feb. 18, 1917– May 4, 1983), a writer and editor at the Eisner-Iger Studio which produced comics for Gilberton. The artist is uncredited, though possible artists include Chuck Winter, Paul Cooper, Alex Blum, Henry C. Kiefer, and Matt Baker.
Under the name "Rod Roche," Ruth Roche was also the editor of Bomber Comics. As one of the few women in the industry at the time, Roche also worked on Eisner-Iger features like "Phantom Lady," "Señorita Rio," "Kaanga," "Camilla," and "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle," as well as the newspaper strip Flamingo. She eventually replaced Will Eisner as Jerry Iger's business partner, renaming the studio the Roche-Iger Studio in 1945, lasting until it closed in 1961.
Kismet represents several layers of representation at once: a Muslim hero, created to fight Nazis by a Jewish writer in a Jewish studio shop during World War II, written and edited by a woman in a male-dominated field.
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