Southern Hemisphere Greets THE 99

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Southern Hemisphere Greets THE 99
By Philip Schweier
October 3, 2012 - 11:31

$2.99 US

Public broadcasters in Southern Hemisphere celebrated summer by ushering in THE 99 in Australia on ABC and South Africa on SABC. ABC, like its public broadcasting counterparts in Great Britain and the United States, has the nation’s most prolific offerings of children and family entertainment. Its website is one of the best children sites in all of broadcasting, available from anywhere in the world.

In South Africa, THE 99 appears weekly on the eclectic SABC1, South Africa’s favorite and most watched television channel. THE 99 is offered as family programming throughout South Africa. SABC is a unique brand of public/private-funded television, the business model for which is being watched closely by public broadcasters throughout the world.

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa

THE 99 is an Islamic comic book published by Teshkeel Media Group in Kuwait City. Created by Dr. Naif Al Mutawa, it features a team of young heroes endowed with super-powers who are gathered by Dr. Ramzi Razem to fight evil, in many ways similar to Marvel's X-Men. Although the series is based on Islamic concepts, it is promoted as appealing to universal virtues, and the religion of each character is not made explicit.

The title debuted in the Middle East in June 2006, and six months later it was outselling the Arabic language versions of the American comics Teshkeel licenses. Since then it has spawned a popular cartoon series now in its second season.

Praise and adulation? Scorn and ridicule? E-mail me at Philip@ComicBookBin.com