The 99 #4

January 11, 2008

The 99 #4 (Teshkeel Comics)
By Naif Al-Mutawa, Fabian Nicieza, John McCrea, Jason Dennis & Ron Wagner

This issue, Nawaf gets a taste for heroism — saving some construction workers from disaster and leaping into battle — while a new villain called Blackwolf begins to hunt the 99. Al-Mutawa and Nicieza continue to deliver just what I want from this book, namely old-school superhero action. The book is a little light on character development, however. Nawaf’s continuing transformation into Jabbar isn’t exactly subtle, but then, a guy with a build like the Hulk isn’t a subtle character to begin with. And when you get right down to it, there wasn’t a lot of subtletly to those Silver and Bronza Age comics. That, I think, sums up what I like about this title. It has the feel of a Silver Age book without feeling like it’s just a pastiche (like Big Bang Comics, for example). It has a classic feeling, but the flavor is modern and unique. It’s a fun book.
Rating: 7/10