Meet Secret Agent Deep Singh

SUPREET SINGH MANCHANDA

Secret Agent Deep Singh takes on the Taliban in "Super Sikh."

This crimefighting superhero doesn’t have secret powers, a magical past or a cape.

But he does have a turban.

Meet Secret Agent Deep Singh, the Taliban-hating, Elvis-loving, Indian techie nerd hero of the new comic book series “Super Sikh.”

Created by a Taliban-hating, Elvis-loving Indian techie, Supreet Singh Manchanda, Deep Singh is intended not only to be the Sikh superhero, but a role model for an ethnic group whose members are still often mistrusted because of their headwear.

SUPREET SINGH MANCHANDA

A Kickstarter campaign to fund the first issue met its goal in just one day. 

“The Taliban hijacked my turban,” said Manchanda, who, like all observant Sikh men, wears a turban to cover his uncut hair. “People think we Sikhs are Muslim. We are not. People think we are Islamic terrorists. We are not. In fact, for 400 years Sikhs have been the guardians of India.”

Because he lacks super powers, Deep Singh is more like a Sikh Batman, relying on his wits, smarts, gadgets and guns to fight crime.

By day he works at an information technology company in India. But that’s just a convenient cover for his true calling as a member of a top secret United Nations force of bad guy busters.

SUPREET SINGH MANCHANDA

"Super Sikh" creators Eileen Alden and Supreet Singh Manchanda hold up their new comic.

In the just-released intro issue, his main target is the Taliban, which is about to burn books in Afghanistan in hopes of keeping girls uneducated.

“Women shouldn’t fill their heads with numbers and reading!” a one-eyed mujahideen screams at the crying schoolgirls. “You’ll soon be free of the curse of education.”

But after one well-placed blast from Secret Agent Deep Singh’s bazooka, it’s the girls who are free of the curse of the Taliban.

SUPREET SINGH MANCHANDA

The intro issue of "Super Sikh" is digital only, but future issues will be published in print.

“Boom!” the storyboard reads, as Singh walks off, his bazooka slung under his arm and his chest muscles rippling. He hops into his car, fires up “Blue Suede Shoes,” and heads off to his next adventure.

Turban-wearing heroes were unheard of when the creators of “Jonny Quest” unveiled Hadji, Jonny’s indispensable sidekick and fellow adventurer, more than 50 years ago.

Over the years, there have been other Sikh supermen, including Randu Singh from DC Comics and Ram Singh from the pulpy series “The Spider.”

SUPREET SINGH MANCHANDA

Secret Agent Deep Singh loves Elvis.

There is even another “Super Sikh” comic series — unrelated to Manchanda’s — that is now raising money on Kickstarter. In this universe, Raj Singh uses the power of meditation to become a flying hero named Super Sikh, who leads a multiracial team of crimefighters to battle both bad guys and discrimination.

Racial and ethnic expansion in the comic-book world has continued, albeit tentatively, to include Muslims. The latest “Ms. Marvel” series features Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American living in Jersey City, and DC Comics had a Muslim-American become a member of the Green Lantern Corps to protect Earth while Hal Jordan was stuck in another plot line.

“Diversity is growing in comics, as it rightly should,” said Manchanda’s “Super Sikh” co-creator Eileen Alden. “A piece of fiction, especially a comic, with even a single positive character can make a huge difference in a kid’s life.”

She and Manchanda are apparently not alone in this belief. The pair met its $5,000 Kickstarter goal in a day.

Once the four issues of “Super Sikh” are completed, the pair are planning another series starring Gurpreet Kaur, Deep Singh’s female cousin, who is a nuclear scientist and also a ninja.

source:-www.supersikh.com.