All posts by David McConeghy

academic, articles and essays, contributors, reviews

Religious Revivals and the Great Awakening of Religion & Comics

[Part Two of “What Makes a Scholar’s Pull-List?”]

Panel from _Manifest Destiny_, art by Matthew Roberts
Panel from _Manifest Destiny_ by Chris Dingess with art by Matthew Roberts

American historians sometimes call the waves of religious fervor in the 18th and 19th century our country’s “Great Awakening.” It is a powerful image–convinced that God’s spirit was calling Christians to renew their commitments–Americans flocked to open-air revivals to hear fiery sermons by orators like George Whitefield. Among the innovations of this era was what would become evangelicalism, that variety of Christianity that emphasized the individual, emotional “born again” experience of admitting one’s sinful nature and accepting Jesus’ offer of redemption.

Why this historical introduction? I have tried to consider various explanations for how my assortment of monthly comics came to be.  Are my subscriptions simply the products of obscure personal quirks? Am I distracted by certain styles of art or attracted to certain writers? No matter how I tried to explain why I had certain comics on my list to be set aside monthly when they arrive, I found that the list defied me.

Continue reading Religious Revivals and the Great Awakening of Religion & Comics →

academic, articles and essays, contributors, reviews

What Makes A Scholar’s Pull-List? Part 1

Those who study comics are often avid consumers of the medium. How do I select comics for myself? I cannot read or afford everything. Nor is every comic equal in my eyes as an object of study. What does my list say about me? Or about comics today?

This post and my next outline my pull-list as an extension of my scholarly interests. These items suit my eclectic tastes, but they also identify several trends in recent publishing themes (especially from Image). I could say that the Gods Have Returned, but that seems overly simple. As A. David Lewis’ recently released American Comics, Literary Theory and Religion makes the case for the centrality of the superhero afterlife, I think there’s a broader case to be made for the emergence of religious themes as the narrative choice of the day. The gods have returned, yes, but we’re also going to hell (Hellboy in Hell), heaven/hell (The Life After), and bringing all of the spirits along for the ride (Wytches, Wayward, and Hexed). It’s a veritable Great Awakening out there, readers.

Here’s what my physical list looks like. It is surely missing at least another half-dozen titles I’m currently vetting for their pull-worthiness. This is from my local comic shop in Irvine, California:

DMcConeghy's Pull List as of 3/25
DMcConeghy’s Pull List as of 3/25

As you can tell, my love for Image’s title selection is literally overflowing. I shun the conventional superhero titles from DC and Marvel. (I read the latest Thor but I have recently dropped Ms. Marvel when it became apparent that her religious identity was becoming more gimmick than substance and when Marvel decided her character would be crossing over into multiple other titles.) For clarity this makes my list:

  1. Low
  2. East of West
  3. The Wicked + The Divine
  4. Manifest Destiny
  5. Supreme Blue Rose
  6. They’re Not Like Us
  7. Rasputin
  8. Wayward
  9. Chrononauts
  10. Nameless
  11. Hellboy: 1952
  12. Outcast
  13. Wytches
  14. Ody-C
  15. Hexed
  16. The Devilers
  17. The Life After

See if you can imagine what drives this diverse collection. Continue reading What Makes A Scholar’s Pull-List? Part 1 →

controversy, from the Internet, interviews

“A War of Mythologies”: Jordanian Comic Creator Tackles Extremism

Captain America’s not-so-humble premier was a deliberate propaganda piece for American youth in 1941. With the iconic super-punch to Hitler’s face on the cover of Captain America Comics #1,  superheroes became patriots. Nationalism’s partnership with super-heroism still thrives today. With the slate of Marvel films to include Captain America: Civil War in 2016, film audiences can expect to take sides in the battle between Iron Man and Captain America over the limits of patriotism, freedom, and the great responsibility that great powers entail. This would appear to be the inevitable outcome when we imbue superheroes with our conflicting and imperfect moral ideals.

In a November 28th New York Times profile piece, Danny Hakim framed the recent comic creations of Suleiman Bakhit as explicit entries into a similar and ongoing propaganda war against Islamic State recruitment. Bakhit’s TEDtalk on “Superheroes Against Extremism” argued that this is a war over narratives about Islam, identity, hope, and justice. Superheroes must play their part. So where is the ‘Captain America’ for Muslim children that promotes tolerance? “Where,” as he was asked by children in Syria, “is the Arabic Barbie and Superman?” His comics are meant to be answers to these questions. Watch his TEDtalk for yourself:

As he explains, his first attempt, Saladin 2100,  met fierce opposition from censors in the Jordanian government who called his comic “too dangerous.” A second attempt, Hero Factor, seems ready to navigate the political waters with more nuance. Following in Captain America’s footsteps, Bakhit hopes his superheroes can be a way to oppose extremism. Persuasive stories will be the key to the development of morals and identities that reject narratives used by extremists to recruit members. Following the work of James Gilligan, a psychiatrist that argued that unhealthy shame is the root of all violence, Bakhit proposes that comics are the “best technology we have to cultivate heroic imagination.” It is this imagination, rooted in our common humanity and search for meaning, that can provide healthy responses to shame that generate love, compassion, tolerance, and true heroism.

Keep your eyes peeled for his comics as they make the (slow) transition into English. In the meanwhile, read more about Bakhit and his efforts here from Wired (UK), Forbes, and this TED blog interview. Or follow him on Twitter @suleimanbakhit.