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Religion, Spirituality, and Comics – A Sampler (Part 3 of 3)

In the final part of this three–part sampler of religion and spirituality in comics and graphic novels, we look first at The Magdalena, the most active example of the warrior nun genre in comics, dip into Matt Murdock’s Catholicism in Daredevil: Guardian Devil, and finish up with atheist J. Michael Straczynski’s spiritual road trip exploring faith, hope, theodicy, and sacrifice. After that, a brief list of other comics that might be of interest is provided.

8. The Magdalena

Warrior nuns. Not the first thing you think of when you think of comics. But they are a thing, and an explicit connection between religion and comics. The most well-known and developed are Warrior Nun Areala and The Magdalena, as well as others such as Chrono Crusade, The Sisterhood and, obliquely, Sisters of Sorrow. Of all of these, The Magdalena is currently the most active, with the Reformation story line, published in 2017,  setting up the series for further adventures with a further generations of the supernatural protector.

The Magdalena first appeared in 1998 in the comic series, The Darkness, set in Top Cow’s universe that includes Witchblade, the Angelus, the Aphrodite characters, and the Artifacts series. Over time, she appeared in various crossovers as well as her own eponymous title. The Magdalena character is cast as the supernatural and superheroic protector of the Catholic church and wider world. Armed with the Spear of Destiny, the Magdalena is the Church’s trouble shooter – a kind of special operations figure – handling things the regular church apparatus can’t handle. The Magdalena conforms to the warrior nun genre in a variety of ways: attractive, energetic women, serving in a Catholic-oriented religious order, with martial arts skills, often with a connection to Mary Magdalene, and who engage in both spiritual activities and physical violence in the pursuit of opposing evil in accordance with the Catholic Church’s will.

One interesting dimension to the warrior nun characters, and the Magdalena in particular, is the way in which religious authority is challenged and subverted. As one critic puts it you have ‘sexy violent nuns who brandish pistols to ward off the enemy.’ Thus, the characters challenge to the notion of women who become nuns putting aside the things of this world, dressing modestly and chastely, and engaging in acts of charity and love for the sake of the Church and the world. Indeed, the portrayal of the characters in this way is typically where criticism is targeted, rather than through any theological or ecclesiological objection.

At another level, this engages with a wider conversation about the way that the men, and particularly the women, are portrayed in the entire genre of superhero comics. Interestingly, as characters such as Magdalena and Areala have developed and moved more into the mainstream their appearance has become more modest, perhaps under pressure from this critique and also as the characters themselves have deepened (leading to some ironic dialogue breaking the fourth wall). Another related theme running through the genre is the issue of how those in power can be corrupted by it, leading to the manipulation of those they oversee. This is a ongoing theme in the Magdalena comics, where the current Magdalena, Patience, has lost her faith in the Church for the way she sees herself and all those who have gone before her used by that institution for their own, and not God’s, agenda. The ongoing narrative contains the stories of those who represent institutional powers of oppression, along with those of people who are trying to reform the institution.

The Magdalena has crossed over into other comics publishers’ universes, as well as interacted with a variety of other comic book characters such as Vampirella, Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft, and Marvel’s Daredevil. The latter is a particularly interesting story revolving around the two Catholic characters attempting to solve the same supernatural crime.

9. Daredevil: Guardian Devil

The religious dimension of Marvel’s Daredevil (Matt Murdock) is well established as Roman Catholic. It connects with the history of his family, as well as providing a point of reference for his own life. At times it is a source of strength of him, while at others it is a source that can hinder him or be taken advantage of.

In Guardian Devil, Daredevil’s enemies take advantage of his faith, through the combination of subtly drugging him, hypnosis, special effects, and engineering crises in the lives of those around him. The story explores themes of life and death, redemption, deception, and the possibility of hope emerging from darkness. If you had to pick one story to explore the explicit religious dimension of a mainstream comic book character, then Daredevil in this story is a good choice.



The story ends with Matt Murdock, having overcome the false prophets and prophecies in his life, confident in the divine nature of his vocation as Daredevil, something that is undone in the recent “No Devils Only God” storyline where Murdock is now wrestling with a new crisis of faith and unable to see God’s purpose in his vocation as Daredevil (Daredevil #7, 2019).

10. Midnight Nation

ln this final top 10 entry, we consider J. Michael Stracynski’s Midnight Nation, a road trip comic with supernatural and religious dimensions.

Midnight Nation is one man’s story to recover his soul from ‘The Other Guy’, a Satan analogue. The central character, David Grey, is a police detective who witnesses a supernatural murder in Los Angeles, and in the process of investigating that crime he “loses his soul” and starts to fade from this world, becoming a nameless figure. He encounters, Laurel, an angelic representative of God, who explains what is happening and who then accompanies him on a cross-country road trip to recover his soul. Along the way, he faces demonic forces, meets Lazarus (the Wandering Jew), and is taunted by ‘The Other Guy’ who seeks to undermine God and his agent, Laurel, and turn Grey to his side.


Straczynski’s work covers a wide range of popular culture, including television, books, comics, and film. What is interesting about his work is that, while he is atheist, he often works substantial religious themes through his writing. Babylon 5, for example, differs from Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek in that it sees religion continuing to play a significant role in humanity’s future, and so introduces religious characters that play significant roles in the show’s story arcs.

Midnight Nation brings questions around theodicy (if God is good and all-powerful, why does evil and suffering exist?) and themes of redemption and sacrifice to the fore. The final part of the story poses Grey with the dilemma of whether he will choose to reclaim his soul or to sacrifice that in order to save Laurel.



So, an interesting story and some interesting locations for doing theology. The irony is that Christian writers often don’t do this as a well.

Wrapping up

From the three installments of this sampler it should be apparent that there are many stories, religious and spiritual, being told within mainstream and independent comics. Sometimes these stories use religious characters, at other times religious settings, while others explore religious or spiritual themes such as redemption, theodicy, divine intervention, and human and divine natures.

There are far more examples than can be included here, but the following list includes some others that you might be interested in following up on.

Testament

  • Creators: Douglas Rushkoff & Liam Sharp
  • Publisher: Vertigo (DC Comics)
  • Date: 2006-2008

Chosen (American Jesus)

  • Creators: Mark Millar & Peter Gross
  • Publisher: Image Comics
  • Date: 2009

The 99

  • Creators: Naif Al-Mutawa
  • Publisher: Teshkeel Comics
  • Date: 2007-2014

Vampirella Strikes

  • Creators: Tom Sniegoski & Johnny Desjardins
  • Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
  • Date: 2013

Loaded Bible: Jesus vs. Vampires

  • Creators: Tim Seeley, Nate Bellegarde & Mark Englert
  • Publisher: Image Comics
  • Date: 2006-2008

The Sisterhood

  • Creators: Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski, Wellinton Alves, & Andrew Dalhouse.
  • Publisher: Archaia (BOOM! Studies imprint)
  • Date: 2008

Blankets

  • Creators: Craig Thompson
  • Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
  • Date: 2003

A Contract with God and other Tenement Stories

  • Creator: Will Eisner
  • Date: 1978

Warrior Nun Areala

  • Creator: Ben Dunn
  • Publisher: Antarctic Press
  • Date: 1994-2002

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

  • Creator: Michael Mendheim; Mike Kennedy; Sean Jaffe; & Simon Bisley
  • Publisher: Titan Comics
  • Date: 2014

The Lone and Level Sands

  • Creator: A. David Lewis and mpMann
  • Publisher: Archaia (Imprint of BOOM! Studios)
  • Date: 2005

Some New Kind of Slaughter, or Lost in the Flood (and How We Found Home Again)

  • Creator: mpMann & A. David Lewis
  • Publisher: Archaia (Imprint of BOOM! Studios)
  • Date: 2009

Judas

  • Creator: Jeff Loveness & Jakub Rebelka
  • Publisher: BOOM! Studios
  • Date: 2009

Kismet: Man of Faith

  • Creator: A. David Lewis; Noel Tuazon; Rob Croonenborghs; Taylor Esposito; & Tyler Chin-Tanner
  • Publisher: A Wave Blue World
  • Date: 2018