To speak behind others' backs is the ventilator of the heart.

My real background was in art studies. At the beginning I was a painter, then I was this graphic designer, then I became an illustrator, then I was a comic artist. But for me it's a different way of expression, a different field of art. They're not separated; everything for me is related.

Words also are filters. They have to be translated. Even in the original language, there is interpretation and some ambiguity. If there's a cultural difference between the writer and the reader, that might come out in words. But with pictures, there's more efficiency.

Death, torture and prison are part of daily life for the youth of Iran. They are not like us, my friends and I at their age; they are not scared. They are not what we were. They hold hands and scream: “Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid! We are together!” They understand that no one will give them their rights; they must go get them.

You draw the character from all angles - side, profile, back, etc. so the animator has this character in all the ways it looks like.

I don't want to quit smoking. I am convinced that if I quit smoking, the world would go to hell.

For me, who loves to draw and who loves to write and cannot choose between one or the other, the comic is the best form.