Ingin mengenalkan lebih dekat tokoh superhero The99 kepada anak, adik, keponakan, cucu, tetangga Anda? Anda bisa membeli seri Buku Mewarnai The99 yang terbit dua buku.

ikuti juga loba mewarnainya, lembar kerjanya bisa di dapat di dalam buku ini. Bonus stiker para heroes the99 pun ada di dalamnya.

Harga buku per satuan Rp 12.000, berhadiah 100 voucher gratis masuk SeaWorld Indonesia untuk 100 pengirim pertama dan tabungan jutaan rupiah untuk pemenang lomba mewarnai yang akan di undi di akhir periode pada Juli 2008.

Edisi ke-5 komik The99 sudah terbit. Edisi anyar ini menyuguhkan pertarungan yang lebih sengit dan seru. Muncul pula tokoh baru musuh The99 yaitu Jubah Merah, Al-Ashrar.

Mampukah Dr. Ramzi bersama Jabbar, Noora, dan pahlawan The99 lain mengatasi para tokoh jahat?

Edisi lima juga dilengkapi dengan bonus Badge Keren yang bisa Anda pasang di jaket, baju, topi, atau tas.  Buruan sambangi toko buku setempat sebelum Anda kehabisan edisi kali ini.

Edisi khusus “Pengorbanan” telah beredar, silakan kunjungi toko-toko buku dan dapatkan komik spesial berisi bonus Magnetic Stick alias Tempelan Magnet bergambar tokoh-tokoh The 99.

Di edisi ini juga ada 5 cerita baru. Penasaran kan?

Niat jahatnya pun muncul untuk mencuri batu tersebut dan Rughal pun menghancurkan benteng sehingga Permata Nur  terlepas.  Meski secara fisik tubuh Rughal hancur terkena hantaman bom, dia masih terselamatkan sebagai sebuah energi.

Seperti halnya Ramzi, Rughal pun berupaya menemukan ceceran permata yang hilang. Namun misinya bukan untuk  membangun ilmu pengetahuan malah sebaliknya berusaha menggunakan kekuatan batu permata untuk mengontrol seluruh dunia.

Ilustrasi pertama Rughal sebagai penjahat tradisional yang terlihat jorok, kotor, dan bermuka setan. Sebenarnya Rughal bukan sebangsa setan, namun lebih sebagai tokoh antagonis yang memiliki misi berkebalikan dengan Ramzi.

Meski usia Rughal dibilang mencapai 500 tahun, namun perlu guratan di wajah yang bisa menggambarkan umurnya jika dianalogikan dengan usia rata-rata manusia sekarang. Karakternya bisa berubah-ubah, kadang terlihat seperti lelaki berusia 30 – 50, namun juga bisa tidak berujud manusia, terlihat seperti hewan pemangsa.

Tidak seperti Ramzi yang tidak memiliki kekuatan khusus, Rughal menyimpan tenaga dan kekuatan mematikan. Rughal kadangkala mengubah penampilannya yang biasa berpakaian ala Edwardian atau Georgian dengan pakaian khusus yang memiliki senjata khusus ketika tampil di muka umum menghadapi The99.

Karakter Dr. Ramzi merupakan salah satu yang tersulit didesain oleh para ilustrator Teskel. Awalnya, desain mukanya terlalu kaku, mencerminkan latar belakangnya sebagai ilmuwan dari universitas. Desain awal ini ditolak karena muka Dr. Ramzi terlihat tua dan tidak mencerminkan seorang pahlawan.

Desain berikutnya adalah Ramzi yang terlihat lebih muda dan energik. Coretan tangan ini disukai tim kreatif di Teshkeel Comics namun mukanya yang bersih tanpa jambang dan kumis kurang lumrah bagi seorang lelaki dari budaya islam. Dandanan bajunya yang terlihat santai kurang menunjukkan wibawanya sebagai pemimpin.

Akhirnya karakter Ramzi terbentuk seperti yang digunakan di komik The99 saat ini. Ada guyonan dari tim pembuatnya bahwa karakter Ramzi yang akhirnya terpakai ini mirip dengan pencipta The 99, Dr. Naif al-Mutawa. Benarkah?

Being a teenager in the nineties, I grew up in a generation where comic characters and cartoons had an influence on the teenager ‘gang’. Teenage life is the age when one’s dad stops meeting the criteria of being a hero in the teenager’s life. Ofcourse, pre-teenage years are dominated by the childen patronizing their fathers who are their role models exclusively. The infleunce is strong and immediate However, teenage life comes with an inner juvenile tendency to separate from pre-existing concepts especially of choosing the role model. Its a confusing age, one which swings between childhood and a prospective adulthood and these swings of self-actualization, teenagers need role models the most. For my community and time, cartoons were the talk of the day among peers. From the latest episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Captain Majid (arabic version of Captain Tsubasa), boys used to revolve their day around their favorite programs, collecting merchandise and living their fairy tales. Girls had similar interests with a different program offers, for them the likes of Care bares were fancier. Nevertheless, from the Riyadhian community I grew up in, cartoons were one of the few rare windows we had to art and literature in general.

There are several cognitive theories backing the thesis that such early age programs influnce the characters of teenagers. Although I hardly believe that was the case in our community, afterall, our culture, heavily guarded by a traditional setup never ever allowed teens to be influenced a lot by tv. But todays’s children are different, with access to cell phones, the internet and a far larger tv channels list, the traditional family setup has lost its grip on the development of the teenage character and results have shown various negative trends among teenagers in such places.

There is a huge implicit debate going on in the Muslim world, at one end are the modernists (not liberals) who believe that Muslim Media should flourish and adopt the different media channels (print, video, audio, sitcoms, talk shows, comics, sports, news etc) which the developed world has patronized in recent times while on the other hand are the traditionalists (not conservatives) who believe that the media outlets should be restricted to the conventional Islaimc propagation centers, the Mosque, the Maddrassah and the home.

Both groups have their strengths and weaknesses, the traditionalists, like to see a stronger community bonding which is best achieved by a physical community center like the Masjid where nowadays not just worship takes place but at times, a Madrassah is associated too, imparting Islamic education, a library, community service centers like free kitchens etc. The modernists however, point out that it is difficult (infact baseless) to isolate the Muslim community from the rest of the world especially from television and radio. Since the tv and radio revolution, there hasnt been significant contribution by the Muslims to cater to the entertainment demands of Muslims which in some communities still is considerd a dead-end topic.

In this regard, several recent media figures have emerged among the Muslim world which manage an international following as well. Among journalists, people like Riz Khan (former CNN, now AlJazeerah)and Rageh Omer(former BBC, now AlJAzeera) on the international level have a huge credibiilty and following. It was Riz Khan who brought world’s eye to the Hajj pilgrimage by documenting on it on CNN. Rageh Omer’s documentaries on Islam and Muslims societies have also been worth watching. However, for me, the greatest service has come in the most unlikely form I could imagine, a British born, Pakistani Muslim writer/director Zarqa Nawaz with her highly entertaining and informative sitcom, “A Little Mosque on the Prairie” which has captured audiences from all faiths and have introduced the life of Muslims in a realistic, progressive way. She broke not just the west’s but the east’s stereotypes of a practicing muslim woman who can do comedy too. There are several characters which people are relating to and implicit role models are emerging, especially the character of ‘Rayan’ has become a symbol of female modesty.

However, for teenagers, gone are the days when we Pakistani teenagers used to read the likes of Naseem Hijazi and related to our real historical heroes and heritage. Its an electronic culture and recently this got my attention: The99.

The99 seems to be a very good idea since it brings a product in the comic book market in the Muslim world. Its a comic about 99 characters, each one having one quality of Allah but at a lesser scale, bringing a moral lesson the table which conforms to the Muslim life. (according to the creator). However, introducing change inthe Muslim world is difficult issue as this comic has spurred a debate of whether the message portrayed in it is consistent to the teachings of Islam or not. However, nothing ever remains free of controversy but at large, such projects are surely a way forward.

Written by: Atif-Abdul Rahman

Jakarta (ANTARA News) – An apparent explosion has leveled high-rise buildings in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, triggering a security alert.

It’s the work of an Islamic superhero, a giant, confused teenager who sneezed.

Jabbar the Powerful, the alter-ego of teenager Nawaf Al-Bilali, is the first of 99 superhero characters in an Islamic culture-based comic book series called “The 99″ just launched in Indonesia.

The comic seeks to act as a metaphor for what’s happening in the Islamic world, its creator, Kuwaiti-born Naif Al-Mutawa, told AFP during a recent visit to Jakarta to launch the colourful, action-packed comic.

“Islam or the Koran can be used for good or for bad,” Al-Mutawa said, adding that when either are misused, people blame the Koran, “when in fact they should be blaming the person interpreting the Koran”.

Each of the superheroes personifies one of the 99 attributes of God in Islam, with their individual powers derived from mystical gemstones originating from 13th- century Baghdad, and infused with lost ancient knowledge.

Jabbar, for instance, has extraordinary strength that gives him “near- invulnerability and durability”. Indonesia’s own character, Fatah the Opener, can create a portal dimension used to travel anywhere on Earth.

The main struggle in the story happens between two characters representing the classic good-evil dichotomy, with each competing for the allegiance of “The 99″. Even the superheroes themselves are sometimes deceived into crossing to the side of evil, Al-Mutawa explained.

But while the comic is based on Islamic archetypes and culture, there’s nothing overtly Islamic in them, he said.

“They are as religious as Spiderman,” Al-Mutawa quipped. “There’s no mention of prayers or prophets, none of that.”

The characters, who work in threes, do not carry weapons and are evenly split between males and females.

Hail from two nations

In a bid to represent Islam’s spread around the world, characters frequently hail from two nations, which also helps to “make sense of the Islamic diaspora”.

“For example, Bari is from Sudan but grew up in France, Hadya is from Pakistan but grew up in the UK,” he said.

Al-Mutawa worked as a clinical psychologist for more than a decade before he started his own media company. He had treated former prisoners of war in Kuwait and worked with survivors of political torture in New York.

“The Iraqis that I treated were tortured by Saddam or his people. These are people who grew up with Saddam as their hero and yet they were tortured by (his people),” he said.

“What kind of message are we sending our children? Is this what heroes do?”

This disillusionment drove him to write several successful children’s books and then to create and co-write “The 99,” with former Marvel and DC comic artists helping out, hoping to fill a gap in the global market.

The comic, co-written with Fabian Nicieza, who has worked on hit Marvel titles such as X-Men, is now published across the Middle East in Arabic.

“‘The 99′ is selling as well in Kuwait and the Emirates as Spiderman is. I know because I sell Spiderman,” he said.

The comic will debut in the United States in October, followed by Malaysia next year, while Al-Mutawa is in talks with publishers in Turkey and France.

Yudha Kartohadiprodjo, general manager of “The 99′s” Indonesian license holder Femina Group, said he believed the comics would find a receptive audience in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

“In the market today there are no contemporary comics based on Islamic values,” he said. “The creator understands Islamic history, and that’s important for this Islamic-based story.”

Indonesian Muslims can be sensitive when it comes to religious-based stories, with any criticism from Islamic groups potentially risking a nationwide boycott.

A poem recently published in a newspaper in West Java, for instance, sparked outrage from a local religious group for its “un-Islamic” depiction of angels, forcing the writer and the newspaper to print a public apology.

Kartohadiprodjo said he was confident in Al-Mutawa’s Islamic credentials.

The 68-page, full-colour first issue of “The 99″ had a print run of 25,000 copies and is selling at bookstores for 18,000 rupiah (two dollars). A few national newspapers are considering printing extracts, Kartohadiprodjo said.

And of course, merchandising is to follow soon, with the Islamic superheroes preparing to infiltrate homes via notebooks, T-shirts and mobile phone paraphernalia. (*)

It’s 1258. The Mongols have just invaded Baghdad. They destroyed the library, but the Guardians of Wisdom manage to preserve 99 “stones of enlightenment,” which are scattered to the winds. So begins The 99, a comic book in which each superhero possesses one of Islam’s godly attributes, like wisdom, farsightedness or healing power. The series has become a phenomenon in the Arab world; when Teshkeel Comics–exclusive Arabic-language distributor of Marvel Entertainment comics like Spider-Man and The Hulk–launched The 99 in Kuwait in 2006, regional sales of the Muslim comic book were second only to Superman. The 99 debuted in the Indonesia and U.S. in 2007

(Source: forbes.com)

Di Edisi ke-4 ini pertarungan antarjagoan semakin hebat, lengkap dengan jurus dan kekuatannya masing-masing. Ada tokoh baru bernama Mumita, sang Penghancur, yang siap meremukkan musuh-musuhnya. Mumita yang dirangkul Dr. Ramzi akan melengkapi kekuatan permata-permata  THE99 seperti Sami the Assembler, Soora the Organizer, Jami the Assembler, Darr the Afflecter, dan lainnya.

Ingin tahu lebih detil buruan beli komiknya karena haram hukumnya pinjam punya teman atau tetangga sebelah:). Lagipula di edisi anyar ini kami berikan sebuah pin cantik bergambar tokoh-tokoh THE99.

Ayo, siapkan Rp 17.000!