THE 99

Continuing our discussion of the future of media and publishing, I would like to direct your attention to a comic book titled THE 99.

THE 99 was launched in 2006 by Teshkeel Comics. The series follows 99 heroes and villains who derive their superpowers from 99 gemstones (reflecting the 99 attributes of Allah) imbued with the lost knowledge of ancient Baghdad. While the multinational cast of characters are nominally presented as Muslim, the comic very deliberately never uses the words Islam, Koran, or Allah in order to appeal to a wider audience.

Over the last few years, THE 99 has enjoined both critical and commercial success in many parts of the world for its strong characters and universal moral themes. Most recently, it has also spawned a group of theme parks and an animated series is in development.

And it’s available online.

You can download the first issue, which explains the back story, for free from the site. And like many comics, you can preview the first several pages of every issue for free as well, before choosing to buy the issue (in PDF form) for $1.99.

As I learned about how THE 99 came into existence, I was instantly reminded of the advent of another comic hero almost 70 years ago. Wonder Woman was the brain child of Dr. William Marston, a psychologist who wanted to create a complex, realistic female hero for female readers. And he was wildly successful. Similarly, Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa (also a psychologist) created THE 99 as a way to reclaim Islamic culture and identity from terrorists for his young sons.

The characters are complex right out of the gate, demanding a slow and careful read. The back story is dense but not complicated, and it appears that the heroes’ abilities make them super-powered, but not super-human. They remain very real people despite the events occurring around them, which is refreshing to this comic fan.

The art is good, though not striking in its style. It is very familiar, in fact it reminds me of DC comics during the 1990s. Which is neither bad nor good, simply not exciting. Also, the color palette in the free issue struck me as rather subdued, almost desaturated to favor a small range of faded browns, greens, blues, and grays with only a few panels sporting any bold, bright, or primary hues. This may be intentional, but I felt it kept the level of excitement in the story similarly subdued. However, it appears that later issues feature more vibrant art as the heroes appear in costume using their abilities.

Sometime soon, the heroes of THE 99 will cross paths with Superman and the DC pantheon in a cross-over series, helping to put this Kuwaiti comic in front of more Western readers. Is it propaganda? Only in the same sense that Wonder Woman was propaganda, a way of putting positive, consciousness-shaping ideas before young readers.

If you have read more of the series (currently on issue #19), I’d like to hear your thoughts on the stories and characters.