Move over Superman: here comes Mandela, the comic strip hero	曼德拉——连环漫画中的英雄
Nelson Mandela, center, with his wife Graca Machel, left, and his former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, right. (AP Photo/Star, Debbie Yazbek) South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela is to become a comic strip hero in a new project aimed at encouraging young people to read, his charity foundation said. "We are harnassing comics to get across the message and the values of Mr Mandela," John Samuel, chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said Thursday. One million copies of each of the seven comic strips depicting Mandela's life will be distributed in newspapers and schools across South Africa as part of events celebrating the ex-president's 87th birthday on July 18. "Comics are an extremely useful way of bringing young people into reading," said Samuel. "Comics in fact are a very powerful vehicle for introducing literature, various aspects of reading to young people." "And this is our objective here," he told a news conference. Samuel dismissed a suggestion that the world's most revered statesman should not be reduced to a comic figure. "It would take a lot more than comics to demean his stature," said Samuel. "That's the least of our problems." Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for opposing apartheid before becoming president in 1994, won a court order in May to stop a former confidant from selling fake artwork bearing his name. Mandela is to spend his 87th birthday with his wife Graca Machel, the wife of former Mozambican president Samora Machel, his three daughters, grand-children and great-grandchildren, at his home in the Eastern Cape village of Qunu. (Agencies)	南非首任黑人总统纳尔逊·曼德拉名下的慈善基金会表示，一项旨在鼓励年轻人读书的新项目要把曼德拉写进漫画书，并让他成为其中的男主角。 纳尔逊·曼德拉基金会执行总裁约翰·塞缪尔周四称：“我们将利用漫画向人们传递曼德拉先生的思想及价值观。” 描写曼德拉生活的七本漫画书将通过南非国内的报纸和学校各发行100万册，以庆祝7月18日这位南非前总统的87岁生日。 塞缪尔称，“漫画是促使年轻人读书的一种非常有用的方式，事实上，漫画也是向年轻人介绍文学作品和其他读物的一种有效途径。” “这是我们的目的所在。”他在记者招待会上表示。 有人认为这位世界上最受人尊敬的政治家不应被写进漫画作品，但塞缪尔不同意这样的说法。 “漫画不会贬低他的声望，”塞缪尔说。“这不是什么大问题。” 曼德拉在1994年成为南非总统之前，曾因反对种族隔离政策在监狱中度过27个年头。今年5月，法院下令禁止其昔日密友出售附有曼德拉名字的伪造艺术品。 曼德拉将与妻子格拉萨·马谢尔、他的三个女儿、孙子及曾孙们一起，在库奴的东开普村庄度过他的87岁生日。马谢尔是莫桑比克已故前总统萨莫拉·马谢尔的遗孀。 （中国日报网站译）