Are You Reading The 99?

I just finished another awesome issue of the most incredible comic book series currently being produced, The 99. I've seen next to zero buzz on this book, despite how solid it has been for the first five issues of its American publication history.

I'm not going to go through and recap the entire fictional premise of the story behind The 99. Suffice to say that it's a modernization of the themes that have made Giant-Size X-Men #1 a creative benchmark in comics. It's international in scope as it works with a fascinating premise.

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa is the creator and driving force behind the book. Together with veteran comic writer Fabian Nicieza, Dr. Al-Mutawa produces a monthly series that debuted on the United States comic book scene in the fall of 2007. It's been stellar since its first issue.

At the end of every issue, Dr. Al-Mutawa publishes a short essay regarding the themes used to bring that particular issue to life. In this latest issue, he speaks of knowledge and wisdom, citing their value and their longevity. Dr. Al-Mutawa takes the content to the next conceptual level by enriching the reading experience with his revealing words.

If you can't find these books at your comic shop, you can pick them up digitally from Teshkeel Comics. I'm a big proponent of digital comics since I've been reading them for my advance comic book reviews. I'd give The 99 a shot in this format if I were you. The first issue of the series is even available for free.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hadn't heard of this, I was so busy with the idea of Fab not doing Deadpool anymore I hadn't even looked to see what else he was up to.

Unknown said...

Funny thing about that - I actually got in touch with Fabian to interview him for my AudioShocker podcast. He declined the interview because he's no longer working on The 99. He's been done for months, which means that the next issue will be his last (if #5 wasn't already his swan song). From what I gathered from his short email, he'll focusing mostly on DC Comics work in the near future. Stuart Moore will be taking over as the main writer of The 99.