If you missed this year’s Free Comic Book Day, then you likely didn’t hear about
Fantagraphics’ Worlds Greatest Cartoonists collection featuring such creators as Ed Piskor, Richard Sala, or Liz Suburbia. Additionally, the FCBD offering — intended,
says the publisher, to “Features a Breadth of Styles and Visions and World-Building” — also included a notable piece from Ron Regé entitled “From the Star and the Clot,” a visual retelling of the Quranic visit of the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad.
Given the frequently cited tensions between comics and Islam, Sacred and Sequential had the opportunity to interview Regé about the origin of and his goals for this work. (Note: “From the Star and the Clot” was first presented as a
minicomic and is still available for purchase as a stand-alone work.)
S&S: Where did “From the Star and the Clot” come from? What was your source of inspiration for it?
RR: I was inspired to draw this sequence after reading about it in a book called The Alphabet vs The Goddess. I think I happened upon it in a bookstore, strangely enough. In it, Leonard Shlain lays out his theory about how the development of written language helped bring about a patriarchal hierarchy of power and control that was absent from previous image based, matriarchal societies. It’s not a perfect work, but it brings up questions and ideas that I’d been curious about for my entire life.
S&S: How long ago was this, approximately? That is, was this a recent discovery or something that’s shaped your thought for some time?
RR: I guess between 2008-2012 I was putting myself through a sort of self-directed course, reading dozens of books related to spirituality, history, philosophy, etc. I found myself attracted to figures & people with some pretty out there philosophies & ideas. Tesla, Mesmer, Wilhelm Reich, Swedenborg, Gurdjieff, etc & so on. This was all in the period that I was working on The Cartoon Utopia.
The idea that laws and rules written in books could be used as instruments of control by men in power, that a literate class could control the rest of society with such tools is a pretty powerful & obvious argument when looking at the misogynist horror that is Western Civilization. Is it wishful thinking of the modern age to think that oral traditions and societies of the past were more holistic, matriarchal, and malleable when dealing with matters of their moment? Perhaps, but it brings up fascinating conflicts between left & right brain, male & female, science & spirituality that continue to cause much confusion in the world today.
S&S: That all sounds very binary. Is that how you personally look at the world or how you think the world arranges itself?
RR: Not really, but I find his theories interesting. I’m not a big fan of civilization, though. I’ve never been convinced that we incarnate here to suffer and compete with each other. The fact that almost all humans at this point have to conform to an idea as imaginary as money seems a bit sad. Earth is a paradise that gives us all we need, the struggles of our society seem foolish.
I’ve been on a path of exploring the varied & intermingling ways that humans have created to explore such ideas for a number of years now. I can’t say why exactly, or where it all began, but I suspect it has roots in my Catholic upbringing. I attended Sacred Heart elementary & high school in Kingston MA, taught by The Sisters of Divine Providence. Typing it out like that, it doesn’t seem surprising that I might find myself curious about ideas like Alchemy & Gnosticism later in life.
S&S: Were you at all familiar with the Quranic account previously?
RR: No, I hadn’t heard of this Quranic account before I read about it in Shlain’s book. The shock & surprise that I felt about this prompted me to want to present it in comic form right away. As a cartoonist, as someone who makes drawings as opposed to other forms of art, I’ve always seen the idea of making images with lines as a very primal sort of human activity. The fact that I had made it so far into my life without knowing that a pen features so prominently in the origin of Islam really blew my mind. This account of the Prophet’s first vision is such a beautiful story that should be an inspiration to all writers and artists. Is knowledge and language a dangerous gift from the spiritual realm?
In this increasingly secular age, it feels so important that we try to tie together the world’s spiritual belief systems, because they are all basically the same! The continued fracturing of the Abrahamic religions is a foolish crime. Why wasn’t I taught this story along with the rest? How can we shake everyone up & force them to step back & notice this? Anyone who seeks guidance from archangels is today’s world operates a far end of the New Age spectrum that is wholeheartedly dismissed by pretty much everyone else. BUT c’mon people! Gabriel & his pals are right there at the origin of so many stories! These non-gendered humanlike forms from a spiritual dimension are clearly the basis for superheroes, ancient aliens & everything else going on in contemporary pop culture & fantasy!
S&S: And were you at all wary of depicting a key scene from the beginning of Islam, considering modern geopolitical tensions?
RR: And yes, of course – even the first glimpses of an idea that I would want to illustrate this story contained a real & present fear that I shouldn’t attempt it. This riled me up even more & made it seem impossible to ignore. I had to do it. There has been so much struggle throughout history that worked to allow me to live in this time & place. In the spirit of slain colleagues at Charlie Hebdo, I had to persist. No one is obligated to look at my work, or to assist me in publishing or distributing it, but I will not be stopped from creating it.
RR: What was your struggle, this “riling up,” like? Did you ask anyone else’s opinion on what you should do?
SS: No, I didn’t ask anyone. I don’t tend to make work that’s particularly controversial, but I’m pretty dedicated to following my inspiration. It’s really important to me that people are able to create what they want.
Printing the drawings up as a minicomic to send in the mail to my 60 monthly subscribers wasn’t much of a risk. These are dedicated fans, receiving something privately on paper. The idea of presenting it in a free comic book, in a print run thousands of copies above most of my other work, to be distributed to mainstream comic book stores across the USA? That’s another thing entirely. I submitted a number of recent stories for Fantagraphics to consider. Eric Reynolds chose this one as being the most compelling. I reminded him of my concerns, and as everyone does when I present something I see as a bit controversial, he told me not to worry about it, that no one would notice.
I think it’s a beautiful story, I wish that knew of it the way that I know the story of Noah’s Ark. I think there should be visibility of the links between the Abrahamic Religions. Angels like Gabriel are a great example.
I did not represent the face of The Prophet, as I know this is frowned upon. I see it as a beautiful & respectful technique for representing spiritual reverence anyhow, the empty face. It’s like the halo, but better. Regardless, Wikipedia shows
this piece of artwork when you look up Muhammad’s first vision. Is this offensive to some? It’s just a few clicks away for almost everyone.
S&S: Which of your available works, particularly through Fantagraphics, most address this intersection, do you feel?
RR: Both of my books through Fantagraphics are relevant to this discussion:
the brand new
WHAT PARSIFAL SAW
as well as
THE CARTOON UTOPIA
(newly republished in paperback)
S&S: Where else can people look for your work?
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