“‘THE 99’ itself comes from the 99 names of God that Muslims believe from the Koran,” said Salah Hassan, English associate professor and presenter of the documentary tonight. “The idea is that each one of these characters embodies one of the traits of God.”

Panel coordinator of MSU’s Comic Forum Ben Chabala, who interned at Marvel Entertainment and continues as a freelance writer for them, said he is extremely interested in reading “THE 99.”

“Comic books are a perfect medium for learning about their culture,” Chabala said. “I mean what’s easier than picking up a comic book and looking at it? I think (‘THE 99’) looks beautiful and brilliant, it’s an awesome concept of showing people Islamic culture in a context everyone can understand.”

Not only does this series provide a new collector’s item, it gives Muslims a chance to enter personally into the world of superheroes, just like Americans have done for years, Hassan said.

There even has been an introduction of the Islam American and Muslim American culture in American comics with MSU alumnus Geoff John’s creation of the character Abbas in the “Green Lantern,” Hassan said.

To further expound on the Islam American and Muslim American connections, Special Collections staff at MSU has plans to introduce a new comic to their collection.

“Apparently there was a team up with the ‘Justice League’ and ‘THE 99’ so we have that comic on order to come in,” Assistant Head of Special Collections Randall Scott said.

In the end, the event is part of a bigger initiative — The Muslim Journeys bookshelf. This is where East Lansing and Okemos public libraries are working together to compile information on Muslim culture in order to inform the pubic with more reliable information on Muslims, Outreach Librarian Holly Flynn said.