Tag Archives: catholicism

articles and essays, contributors

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. Continue reading Religion, Spirituality, and Comics – A Sampler (Part 3 of 3) →

contributors

“Happy!” Christmas: Possibly the Weirdest Advent Blog EVER

[The following is a guest column by Matthew William Brake.]

This may be the weirdest Advent post ever.

Cover to HAPPY! #1Grant Morrison’s Happy! is an odd little comic (now adapted to a TV series on SyFy) about a former-cop-turned-hitman Nick Sacks who, after a particular hit, finds himself pursued by powerful people believing that he has a password belonging to a deceased (but very rich) don. After the hit at the beginning of the story, he has a heart attack and now finds himself seeing an imaginary blue unicorn named Happy. Happy is the imaginary friend of a young girl named Haley, who has been kidnapped. For some reason (we find out later it’s because Nick is the girl’s long lost father), only Nick can see Happy. Continue reading “Happy!” Christmas: Possibly the Weirdest Advent Blog EVER →

academic

CFP: Religion and the Marvel Universe (9/15/18)

Editor: Gregory Stevenson (gstevenson@rc.edu)

Theology and Pop Culture is currently seeking contributions for a potential edited volume from Rowman and Littlefield on the intersection of theology and the Marvel Universe. Essays may focus on comic books/graphic novels, film, and television/streaming series. Essays should be written for academics, but avoid “jargon” to be accessible for the layperson.

MARVEL logo

Potential ideas include but are not limited to:

Greek mythology and the Marvel superhero; Catholicism and the character of Daredevil; Ms. Marvel and the rise of the Muslim superhero; Ghost Rider and the deal with the devil; Spider-Man and moral theology; Luke Cage and liberation theology; Black Panther and African theology; Iron Fist and the conflict between capitalism and spiritualism; violence and redemption in The Punisher; religious tolerance and intolerance in The X-Men; the depiction of cults in Marvel’s Runaways; Dr. Strange and the conflict between faith and science; christology in Marvel; Iron Man and Tony Stark’s quest for redemption; Marvel’s cosmic beings; Thor and Norse theology; Captain America and the role of faith; apocalyptic themes in Marvel stories; Cloak and Dagger and the metaphor of light and darkness (this list could go on indefinitely so feel free to propose any relevant topic)

Submission Guidelines:

  1. Please submit an abstract between 300-700 words with CV or resumé, including a list of any previous publications, to Gregory Stevenson at gstevenson@rc.edu by September 15, 2018
  2. Submission deadline for drafts of accepted papers is April 30, 2019 (if a particular essay needs to incorporate the fourth Avengers film, a later submission date can be negotiated)
controversy

Alt-Right Traces in Comics Publisher’s Past, Now Marketing Trump?

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Pope Francis is an extremely popular figure. His Holiness was once known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina before he ascended to the papacy, just as his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI was previously Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger of Germany. And, at the time of his own ascension, it made no small news that, as young Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI was a member of the Hitler Youth (though, reportedly, an unenthusiastic and even subversive one).

So, when it was announced last year that the publisher formerly known as Bluewater Productions would do the graphic novel The Life of Pope Francis, eyebrows might not have been raised. After all, comic book biographies of real-life celebrities and political figures had been Bluewater’s modus operandi, having also done an earlier biography of Jesus Christ.

Bluewater Productions, however, is no longer Bluewater Productions. Their site currently lists their new name as Tidalwave Comics in its URL and its logos. But traces of their site content as well as their listings on sites such as Comixology and Tumblr still has them listed under their 2015 rebranding: Stormfront Comics.

As noted by Bleeding Cool, that new name has some ugly connotations:
Continue reading Alt-Right Traces in Comics Publisher’s Past, Now Marketing Trump? →

articles and essays, contributors, events

Jack T. Chick dies at 92

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According to Chick Publications, their CEO and founder Jack T. Chick died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday night. He was 92. His death is mourned by some, and celebrated by others.

chickrip

Since the news broke, “Jack Chick” has been trending on Twitter. It is not a pretty picture that is being presented. This is in no way surprising. For all but a select few, the man did not have a nice word to spare. And for the rest of us, he offered only glimpses of the hellfire that awaits us.

I should back up a bit, though, on the off chance that anybody visiting this site doesn’t know who Jack Chick was. He was the creator of the famous and notorious “Chick tracts,” small pamphlets containing black and white Evangelical fundamentalist propaganda comics. Chick had been publishing these pamphlets since the early 1960s, and his oeuvre touches on an impressive array of topics, from evolution to Halloween to “false religions” (everything that is not Protestantism, basically) to the end-times to, famously, role-playing games. The basic message was always the same, however: it doesn’t matter how good or bad you have been in your life, you are going to hell unless you accept the brand of Christianity that Chick promoted. You can read most of them here. He also produced comic books and sold literature that promoted his world-view.

The legacy he leaves behind is a strange one.

Continue reading Jack T. Chick dies at 92 →