Category Archives: from the Internet

academic, from the Internet, online

Paul Robertson Gives an Eye to Cyclopses

Scott Summers as Cyclops
Not the Cyclops you’re looking for.

Over on The Nomos Journal last year, Paul Robertson delivered a sensational account of the mythic Cyclops through the lens of graphic narrative:

[T]he modern graphic novel arises from, and in turn influences, our modern, Western culture. This culture is globalized, includes values, such as individualism, and contains an audience well versed in postmodern ideas and literature that lend a certain type of irreverent, cheeky, and highly culturally indexed humor. Thus, certain aspects of a given story that are important within the Hebrew Bible, for example, are omitted or given a humorous re-branding explicable to its modern audience. Other elements that may seem non-essential to the original myth, meanwhile, may be kept if they fit certain modern, Western sensibilities. In these ways, the modern graphic novel retains only certain elements of ancient mythology; thus, it maintains the relevance of these stories for a modern audience.

While Robertson overlooks one Cyclops particularly dear to the superhero genre, his analysis is nonetheless impressive and cogent.

Read more here.

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.

from the Internet

Knights Templar + Prince of Persia = Heist Comic

templarFirst, Jordan Mechner gave us Prince of Persia, the highly successful video game (and less successful movie, at least domestically). Then, in 2013, Mechner resumed completing his 2010 graphic novel with LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland. The result was First Second Books’ Templar — what  Boing Boing writer (and fellow graphic novelist of In Real Life) Cory Doctorow described as

…a conspiracy thriller about the treasure of the Knights Templar, an order of Crusaders who were persecuted by the King of France in the early 1300s…

Karin L. Kross at Tor.com evaluated Templar as “a heist in the best tradition of Ocean’s Eleven and The Italian Job.” Read Mechner’s own account of the completed hardcover here.

controversy, from the Internet

Where’s the “Muslim Wrath” a Year into Ms. Marvel?

Approximately one year ago, Debbie Schlussel — a “conservative political commentator, radio talk show host, columnist, and attorney” with “unique expertise on radical Islam/Islamic terrorism” according to her bio — posted her views on the debut of Ms. Marvel under the title, “Marvel Comics Adds Muslim Chick Superhero (to Appease Marvel’s Muslim Chick Editor).”

Schlussel relays:

No word on how many gay Arafats she’ll pretend to sleep with either. How many Fort Hoods she’ll shoot up or bras she’ll rig with explosives to blow up planes.

According to our records, so far, a year later, the score remains:

Gay Arafats: 0
Ft Hoods: 0
Rigged bras: 0

One commenter warned Marvel, “get ready to incur the Muslim wrath” due to their publishing Ms. Marvel.

Add to the scoreboard:

Muslim wrath over Ms. Marvel: 0

(Thanks to Martin Lund for noting this piece!)

from the Internet

Spider-Man the Crypto-Jew

Over at Slate, Arie Kaplan considers whether Spider-Man is Jewish, based on input from actor Andrew Garfield, novelist Michael Chabon, and producer Avi Arad. Or, at the very least, is he a “crypto-Jew,” especially considering his brand of humor? Read more here.

(Thanks to Steve Bergson, editor of The Jewish Comix Anthology and proprietor of the Jewish Comics blog for spotting this one. I think he’d appreciate the relevance of the clip below.)