The New Mold of The 99

Teshkeel Media, who will begin printing Marvel Comics properties in Arabic translation this year (and has far too many blinking shiny things on its website), announced that that in September they will begin publishing a series by Kuwaiti psychologist Naif al-Mutawa titled The 99, which the author hopes will find a balance between East and West.

Mutawa, 34, said existing superheroes fall into two main genres: the Judaeo-Christian archetype of individuals with enormous power who are often disguised or outcasts, like Superman, and the Japanese archetype of small characters who rely on each other to become powerful, like Pokemon.



Thus, he said he is seeking to consciously subvert such molds by founding his heroes in "an Islamic archetype: by combining individual Muslim virtues." Here's where the "99" comes in to play.

"Muslims believe that power is ultimately God, and God has 99 key attributes," Mutawa said. "Those attributes, if they all come together in one place, essentially become the unity of God."

Like Marwan Nashar of Egyptian publisher AK Comics, Mutawa sees a divide to be bridged between traditional forms of Western entertainment enjoyed by Arab World youth and stories rooted in their own culture and traditions. He plans to achieve this through placing his heroes all across the world so as to address as many cross-cultural contexts as possible.

Jabbar, the enforcer, is a hulking figure from Saudi Arabia with the power to grow immense at a sneer; Mumita is a bombshell from Portugal with unparalleled agility and a degree of bloodlust; Noora, from the United Arab Emirates, can read the truth in what people say and help them to see the truth in themselves.