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Muslim and DC Comics Superheroes Unite

Giving religion a youthful appeal can look commercialised, but it does make faith more accessible. Superman and Wonder Woman are among those who will appear in new collaboration with Teshkeel Comics in Kuwait, writes Riazat Butt of The Guardian.

Characters from THE 99 Islamic comic Photograph: PR

They are superheroes battling injustice and fighting evil the Islamic way, and they are teaming up with some of the west's biggest comic book icons. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are among those joining forces with The 99, who personify the 99 attributes of Allah, according to Islamic tradition.

What will unfold on the pages of the collaboration between DC Comics in the US and Teshkeel Comics in Kuwait is yet to be seen, but the appearance of The 99 – who already appear in comics in the Muslim world – alongside archetypal American heroes would have been unlikely during the Bush years. DC Comics' president and publisher, Paul Levitz, believes the cross-cultural project is unprecedented.

He said: "It is a long-standing tradition for characters to meet others in the fictional world, and over the years a lot of the superheroes have been translated into Arabic, taking on ethnic elements. But this is a nice step forward. The most difficult creative test is when you are working with the least precedent and when you're trying to reach an audience that has a different cultural bias and different interests."

The mini-series will hit shops within a year, with links between the publishing firms easing the creative process.

Comic book aficionados have mainly responded positively to the news, although questions have been raised about how Wonder Woman's skimpy costume will fare in the Middle East...

Click here to read the full article.

More images of The 99 can be found here.

A genius fusion of spiritual inspiration and popular culture... or a  crass cartoonisation of the Holy Names?

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As'salamualaykum, there's also the emel feature. One can only hope mutual platforms of good intellect can arise from such zealousness. It's a cartoon after all, not the actual divinity. For those who buy, it's pass-time, Aesop's fables gone post-modern, it is a fusion, clearly. The question is, what's the point?

to the question 'whats the point', i think thought provoking, culturaly relative, innovative and engaging halal entertainment with clean, islamically driven core lessons embedded in creative stories. to enjoy, be inspired by, learn from, share, relate to and entertain ourselves with!