Dr. Mutawa, Creator of the 99, Our Superhero

Meet Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, creator of the acclaimed comic book series, The 99. As a successful entrepreneur Dr. Mutawa, has turned The 99 into an empire, complete with theme parks, movie deals, animated series, and even a shout out from President Obama! Named one of ‘The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World,’ by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center (In Jordan), he is a testament to what hard work can accomplish, making him our real life superhero.

You have a lot of degrees, how did that happen? And are all of the degrees helpful as an entrepreneur?

When I was younger I made that decision, something tells me it was more genetics than free will. When I was an undergrad I decided I was going to beat the system and I pulled out 3 large pieces of cardboard paper to plot out how I was going leave my university with 4 majors instead of 1 or 2. I actually figured out how I was going do it, which classes could double, etc. I was 2 classes short of my 4th major and I got called into the dean’s office. He said listen, ‘We made it more difficult to double major about 2 years before you showed up here, so basically we wouldn’t allow this.’ And so that was my therapy, not taking those 2 classes.

After that, I was doing my PhD, at Long Island University (LIU), and they didn’t have summer courses. I couldn’t just sit on my hands for the summer and I wasn’t allowed to work because I was on scholarship, which precluded me from working. Otherwise I’d lose my stipend. I thought, ‘How do I beat the system here?’ I applied to a second master’s degree that I could do over 3 summers and I did that at Columbia while I was at LIU.

Then, I was having difficulty getting my PhD across. I tried to get my doctorate approved one last time, and applied to business school and I got both of them. I had to start collecting my data for my PhD and I got into Columbia Business School so I couldn’t put either one of them on hold. At that time, the US invaded Iraq, and I was studying post-traumatic stress in former prisoners of war in Kuwait. Since I was a civilian, I wasn’t allowed access to my research. So the PhD committee gave me a leave until the war was over, and I did my MBA during the leave but came back to finish my PhD afterwards.

I think that for me [the degrees] are helpful. The best way to put is that one of the larger companies in Kuwait that tried to recruit me for the manager position said, ‘We’re the only company that can help you and use all of your skills.’ And I said, ‘Well, there’s another company.’ They said, ‘Which one?’ And I said, ‘The one that I create.’ Because at the end of the day I’m going to create something that I know, so its helpful for the entrepreneurs that are doing what I’m doing but maybe not as helpful for the entrepreneur doing something more technology related or opening a restaurant, etc.

Where did the idea for The 99 come from?

Literally, I was in a cab going from Edgeware Road to Harrods, something I refer to as a pilgrimage all Kuwaitis must make in London. And in that cab my sister turned to me and said, ‘You know you always said you’d go back to writing for kids,’ she’s actually a very talented illustrator. I said, ‘I remember telling you that.’ I wanted her to be quiet. So, I said, ‘For me to go back now its gotta have the potential of Pokemon otherwise it doesn’t make sense.’ That wasn’t me saying I could do Pokemon, it was me saying it wasn’t possible. So then she shut up and I started to free associate in the cab. I said Pokemon and the thought that came after, was that Pokemon was banned in some Muslim countries because there was a fatwa against it saying that it was un-Islamic. And my next thought was that what happened to Islam. What happened to the open days of Andalusia and the Library of Baghdad and my next thought was that Allah must be disappointed with what’s going on in the world today. And my next thought was that Allah had 99 attributes. By the time I got to Harrods, I came full circle back to Pokemon, I was like, ‘Huh, what do you think of this?’ and I turned to my sister, and she loved it but I didn’t let her draw. I gave her a small piece of the company as a thank you for asking me the right questions at the right time of my life and I ran with it.

Who is your favorite character from the series?

I love all my children the same.

Do you think The 99 comic book is a good tool for diplomacy?

It certainly has been positioned that way by a lot of people. What you have in terms of The 99 characters, the people who own the rights, control them. They are not going to show up drunk to a lecture or none of them are going to show up in rehab. These are not real people so you can control the limits of what they do and can’t do. So in that sense yes, because they are the best of them.

Did you realize it would be such a phenomenon? With theme parks, an animated series, and now a movie?

If I had, I would have been the one locked up in that hospital I was working in. It’s beyond anything I expected and every time I hear one more thing that it’s done. It’s organic at this point. Another school will use it in its curriculum, another university teaches it in its course, or another academic conference will have a paper on it. It’s exciting but it stresses me out at the same time ‘cause it raises the bar.

What did it feel like when President Obama mentioned The 99 in his speech?

It was pretty amazing. I was sitting there and he said my name, and I was like, ‘Okay, he said my name.’ And then he kept talking about it and I kept lowering myself further and further in my seat. Apparently, I found out later I was supposed to stand up when he called my name, but I had no idea. I didn’t know this was going to happen. I felt very proud, very excited because it was unexpected. I’m somebody who’s a planner so the rare moment I get to really sit back and appreciate some of the fruits of the hard work over the last 7 yrs are when things like this happen. And they don’t happen all the time, so it was a very nice moment.

What advice would you give to a young professional trying to enter into the comic book/graphic novel field?

I’m somebody who since the age of 9 said to my parents I was going to be a writer. And they said that’s a great hobby. Finally, when I was in my early 30s it was do or die. I either shut up about being a writer or do it. I did it and it worked out for me but it’s a tough tough tough road. It’s very gratifying that I don’t have to keep my writing in the closet anymore I’m using it as a tool.

My advice is don’t ask for permission ask for forgiveness. Do what you can because people will try and talk you out of it.

What do you feel is the biggest hurdle for young Muslim youth?

In general I’d say probably one of the biggest hurdles is themselves. The Islamophobia that happens in the world today gives them more of a drive to do something traditional, to fit in versus entrepreneurship because the thing about entrepreneurship is being the odd one out. My parents were like, ‘You’re gonna do what?’ My dad thought I completely flipped a switch. At the end of the day, it’s an identity issue. Somehow there’s a feeling that happens that if you do something out of the traditional that must mean you’re not part of the norm and that must mean that all those people that say something about Islam are right. And it stops people from doing something non-traditional. So you’re going to see more lawyers, and bankers, doctors, etc. It’s about assimilation. I think one of the biggest set backs is ones-self.

How else do you plan to expand Teshkeel Comics?

We’re in the middle of writing Season 2 of the animation series. Season 1 comes out soon in your living room. Its in 3 DCGI, and will set the bar on animation when it comes out this fall/early winter. We’re in talks for a film with a major Hollywood player, so that’s probably the next step for me. The next 12 months is focusing on film because the animation is on its own trajectory and then other licenses, talking to people about doing a game for facebook, console games, toys, etc.

We all have overbearing, yet loving Muslim mothers. What does your mom say about your comic book series?

My mom was a philosophy professor before she retired. So the fact that her son’s product is being discussed in philosophy conferences, she loves it. At the same time, she is very happy that I still lecture at the medical school, and I have a clinic. I don’t work there anymore but I have people who work there. It’s something to fall back on. She was confused in the beginning: how did you get from point A to B?

One of the nicest compliments I got was from the CEO of the group in Kuwait that tried to hire me. I ran into him at the hospital about 7 years ago, we were both visiting the same person in the hospital, and he leaned over and he said, “This 99 thing is not so crazy anymore,” (I had tried to get him to invest before and he had declined).

Rapid Fire Questions:

Fear or Respect

Respect

Christmas or Ramadan

Either or? … Cramadan

iPhone or Blackberry

iPhone

Dubai or New York

That’s a political question for me, I spend half the time in New York, so New York

Prius or Hummer

Actually I had a hummer. Hmmm probably still hummer. Remember gas is cheap in Kuwait.

Twitter or Facebook