I don't know if this is old news to some of you, but it certainly is news to me! While browsing through some sites looking for nothing in general (ie. wasting time online) I came across this news article on the Time website, talking about Islamic-oriented Superhero cartoon series, called "The 99", in reference to the 99 names of Allah. Apparently, there will be a total of 99 superhero characters, each with special abilities, with 50 of them being women (5 of those are actually veiled and Burka'aed!).
Desiged and concepted by Teshkeel Media Group, and funded by over 61 public and private investors from 7 countries, including Kuwait. Mainly;
- Unicorn Investment Bank
- Al Aswak Investment Company
- M.H. Al Shaya Company
- Bayan Investment Company
- Safat Investment Company
- Al Aswak Investment Company
- M.H. Al Shaya Company
- Bayan Investment Company
- Safat Investment Company
With characters like Jabbar the Powerful, Noora the Light, Mumita the Destroyer and Rughal, the Evil character (of course!), the storlyline & plot is slowly absorbing me into reading more and more of this uncommon Middle Eastern endeavor.
Who said creativity in the Middle East is dead??
2 comments:
Interesting finding, though it's a little bit board in terms of superheroes names and the number "99", I mean doesn't it seem like manifesting God in cartoons who is the sum of all those heroes and which I believe shall be a real controversial topic to tackle. And I personally find the timing inappropriate.
The irony rises when you know that some of the co-founders are Kuwaitis while Ministry of Information has rejected KNCC request to display "Watchmen" in their cinemas on the basis of that one of the superheroes resembles God's features and powers (I'm not sure about the fact but I've read it on one of the blogs), so go figure out how this shall be treated if it ever gets the green light for broadcasting.
Not to sound too rude, but it is old news. If I recall correctly, the animator is Nawaf Almutawa or Nawaf Albader (a jena3i guy). Last year, the US Embassy in Kuwait gave copies out in their goody bags for their July 4th celebration.
I agree, they are creative. Although, not sure what the Islamist feel about animations depicting God. They can get touchy about things like this..
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