Tag Archives: christianity

contributors, cultural, events

Sacred & Sequential Report from the San Diego Comic-Con, Part 1

Dr. Samantha LangsdaleSacred & Sequential has its own special correspondent Samantha Langsdale reporting exclusively for us from the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) – known more formally as the International Comic-Con San Diego. She has been sending us short blasts from on site concerning relevant events and products she has spotted:

A MINYEN YIDN coverToday [Thursday] there is a comics panel at 12:30 in 24abc called “A Bunch of Jews (A Minyen Yidn)”

With Hope Nicholson, Trina Robbins, and artists Jen Vaughn, Elizabeth Watasin, Miriam Libicki, and Willy Mendes.

As for the panel’s subtitle, A Minyen Yidn:

The title of the panel refers to an anthology they are creating.

Continue reading Sacred & Sequential Report from the San Diego Comic-Con, Part 1 →

academic, contributors, reviews

Review – Arnaudo’s The Myth of the Superhero

MYTH OF THE SUPERHEROMarco Arnaudo, The Myth of the Superhero, Trans. from Italian by Jamie Richards [Il fumetto supereroico: Mito, etica e strategie narrative, 2010], Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins U.P., 2013, 206p. [July7]

Better late than never! This book was published in English four years ago (and in Italian seven years ago), but apparently it fell through the cracks. It is difficult to explain why it received so little attention, with only one book review by Jason Archbold from Macquarie University according to my library research engine. Maybe it is because the back cover blurb does not seem to propose anything new:

“Through a series of close readings of DC and Marvel comics, Marco Arnaudo explores the influence of religion and myth on superhero stories as well as their relationship to the classical epic.”

Situating the superhero phenomenon within mythology and religion has been done in many articles, chapters or entire books (e.g. Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces,  Knowles’ Our Gods Wear Spandex, Weinstein’s Up, Up, and Oy Vey!, all cited in his book).

However, I just read Arnaudo’s book and found it an excellent short (150 pages for the main text), dense, and clear synthesis with, actually, some original ideas.

Continue reading Review – Arnaudo’s The Myth of the Superhero →

reader recs

Reader Recommendations: Archangels Comics, Volumes 1-3

Continuing in our coverage of works brought to our attention by readers, we received this recommendation from Brent Metzger:

[…] I (an adult man) requested Archangels comics for Christmas and received the 9 volume set.  They’re interesting in that they depict in sequential art what Frank Peretti sought to depict with words alone in his groundbreaking This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness novels: that, as in Ephesians 6:12, there is a battle going on with spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

We cannot see with out earthly eyes the demons seeking to tempt and discourage us, nor the angels who at times protect us from those attacks, and from ourselves.

[…] They were seemingly geared toward a younger audience, but were the rare piece to combine superhero type action with faith, prayer and Christian principles.

We’d like to thank Brent and welcome people to check out his site, www.HolyAction.com.

cultural

Bible Graphic Novel Is a Christian Book of the Year Finalist

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association has named The Kingstone Bible as a Christian Book of the Year Finalist in the Young People’s Literature category.The Kingstone Bible

Art Aryis, Kingstone Comics Founder, says, “I believe the graphic novel format—done well–is the perfect vehicle to reach a generation that, for the most part, does not read the Bible.” Their adaptation of the sacred text includes work by several dozen professional creators including mainstream artists from Marvel Comics and DC Comics titles like Captain America, Aquaman, Superman, Spider-Man, and more.

The company also touted that The Kingstone Bible is “the longest non-serialized graphic novel ever published” at 2,090 pages. (Presumably, series like Lone Wolf & Cub or Dave Sim’s Cerebus fall under the “serialized” header.)

Winner for all of ECPA’s categories will be announced May 2 in Colorado Springs.

articles and essays, from the Internet

The Daredevil of 2016, the Faithful of 2017?

Earlier this year, S&S’s own Scott Gardner reflected on “The Spiritual Consciousness of Marvel’s Daredevil” for The Huffington Post, analyzing both seasons of the hit Netflix superhero series in terms of its ties to faith. With the church-infused Luke Cage having become a binge-worthy sensation as well as Iron Fist, The Punisher, and Defenders all debuting out in 2017, ’tis the seaon, so to speak, to revisit the break-out characters’ heroic suffering and “struggling conflict of faith.”

DAREDEVIL #7 art by Paulo Rivera