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Religion has pretty much always had at least some small part to play in comic books. In the Marvel comic book/movie Daredevil, the title character’s alias Matt Murdoch is seen going to confession regularly, and is a devout Irish-Catholic. Another Marvel Comics mainstay, Thor, is himself a Norse god. Kitty Pryde of the X-Men (another comic gone Hollywood) was rarely seen in the comics without her Star of David necklace.
But trying to find a recognizable Muslim superhero is like trying to find a diamond in your toilet tank. Not bloody likely to happen.
Until recently that is.
“The 99“- an Islamic themed comicbook is hitting American retail shelves in select cities today.
“Every child is looking for a superhero,” said Firas Ahmad, an editor at Islamica magazine. “When I grew up, the people from my cultural background were always the bad guys in comics.”
Already a hit overseas, “The 99″ features superheroes from around the globe using their superpowers to battle forces of evil.
While Mumita the Destroyer relies on her martial arts expertise, Jabbar the Powerful brandishes his muscles. Other characters — Widad the Loving, Noora the Light, Bari the Healer — capture superheroes’ softer side.
“‘The 99′ has strong female and male superheroes,” said creator Naif Al-Mutawa. “I didn’t want a comic book where the boys break the bones and the girls mend them.”
Like Batman and Superman, the cast of “The 99″ aren’t overtly religious. They don’t pray or quote the Quran, but promote universal values such as goodness and love.
But each superhero embodies one of the 99 attributes that Muslims ascribe to Allah.
So are the western world’s non-Muslim readers ready for The 99? The trade papers will tell the tale.
Popularity: 3% [?]
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