Author Karim K Devji had an unusual creative vision: to create a new genre of “American Superhero,” a character that broke boundaries, featuring a blond, blue-eyed, teenage Muslim superhero, who attends a multi-faith academy and fights evil.
The result: The Adventures of Jules Khan. In this novel, the fictional Khan attends a secretive, multi-faith ambassadorial academy, and fights against sinister weapons developers in order to protect humanity. Now, Karim (who prefers to be referred to by his first name) hopes to turn this award-winning novel and passion project into a comic series, full-length trilogy, video game, and even film series.
Hayat interviewed Karim about his latest project, and what might come next for both Jules Khan and himself.
Karim K Devji creates “Jules Khan” to inspire younger generations
The idea for Jules Khan first emerged when Karim volunteered for Model United Nations conferences in his hometown of Vancouver, as well as Harvard University and New York City.
“I recall meeting teenagers, educators and parents from all walks of life at these Model United Nations Conferences,” he says. “While trying to assist teenagers in discussing their Canadian or USA value systems, coupled with their faith and identity systems, I realized that today’s pre-teens and teenagers in North American society are not encouraged to be passionately patriotic or faithful to their beliefs in high schools.”
Karim wanted to offer an example to teenagers and younger kids. He hoped that by writing a character with a diverse background and open mind, but also a strong faith, he might inspire younger generations to embrace those values themselves.
So, in 2017, Karim set to work on developing just such a character: Jules Khan. (Jules means “youthful”, and Khan means “king”).
An author by passion, not trade
When not volunteering in his local community, Karim works as the CEO of a business brokering firm, IVEYCORP Advisory Ltd. Previously, he had a successful career as a residential realtor. He never really expected to be a published author. But, when he began writing out of passion for an idea, the rest fell into place.
“I am not a typical writer, author or artist,” he explains. “I have no illusions of grandeur – I am just a middle class, eccentric father of 2 beautiful kids, a wonderful family. Just as average as any other father struggling with finances, life and my soul.”
Outside work and family, Karim fills every moment with passion projects. When not working on Jules Khan, he will likely be found volunteering. His work in the community has earned him a number of honors, including being one of Vancouver’s “Unsung Heroes“.
Karim K Devji looks forward to the future of Jules Khan
Some of Jules Khan’s multi-cultural experience certainly stems from Karim’s own background.
“I love being an Indo-Canadian born in Kenya,” he says. “I love having gone to Christian elementary schools in Kenya, and I loved watching the Ten Commandments, starring Charleton Heston, with my family, and I love my Ismaili (pronounced e-smiley) Muslim faith that accepts all forms of devotion to God the divine.”
Karim hopes to bring some of these values to life with The Adventures of Jules Khan.
Although he has completed the first stage of his project, the author has no intention of slowing down. With the book published, he now hopes to help it grow into new media and audiences.
“What do we think when we try to visualize a Muslim man?” Karim asks. “And a Muslim woman? It’s always the same from a North American lens, and it’s like anything else, simple overgeneralization.” He hopes that characters like Jules Khan can help to shift these perceptions, and open new doors for kids of all nations and faiths.
“I promised myself that if God blessed me and I won book awards in Canada and the USA, I would take that as a sign of acceptance and credibility to continue this journey,” Karim tells Hayat. In a short time, he earned a slew of such awards, including the Canada Book Award and NYC Distinguished Favorites. So, he took this as a sign and set out to expand the reach of his creation.
Karim now hopes to develop the novel into a 6-book comic series, a trilogy for adults, and perhaps someday an animated series or live-action superhero film. He also dreams of creating a Jules Khan video game.
Catch the latest updates on The Adventures of Jules Khan here.
