The 99 is a comic book published by Teshkeel Comics, featuring a team of superheroes based on Islamic culture and religion.

Ok, so I think The 99 is good.  It’s hard not to compare it to Marvel and DC comics. That’s just me being an arrogant American.

Titles like X-Men, The Hulk, X Factor, Young Avengers,  Teen Titans  etc. that deal with more progressive topics that are inclusive of all peoples whether it be by race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation etc.,do their part to push the limits and be progressive.  Teshkeel Comics, publisher of The 99 still has a lot of catching up to do.

With a tendency to think that some places in the world are a decade behind where the US stands [pop culturally] and though 50% of the states are pretty conservative, liberal thoughts are nothing new and the US is constantly going through culture wars of liberal vs. conservative.

Back to 99 though. It’s great that the message of peace is the focus. The art is alright [the cover art is better] and though it starts off in a very Captain Planet kind of way, by introducing multi-ethnic young adults that will inevitably receive one of the Sonic the Hedgehog like noor stones and gain some religiously magic power to help save the world, this is a comic I would probably have loved as a kid and teen.

Actually, It may grow on me.

I would hope the evolution of it might become bigger than the peace theme and that the characters [seemingly all 99 of them] would have story lines that are larger than the powers they are going to gain.  I would like to see someone subversive beyond that of shooting rainbows out of their arse, not that that has happened.

-Rueben