Tag Archives: judaism

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 →

levity, online

Hugh Jackman Is Not a Mohel

Maybe, perhaps this is sort of a religion & comics topic? That is, it could be…in a way.

Universal Press International (UPI) is carrying the story of Hugh Jackman’s likeness as the superhero comics and film character Wolverine being used to advertise a circumcision service in the Philippines.

“The advertisement went viral,” reports UPI,  “after a photo was shared online by Joey deVilla, a blogger and self-styled ‘rock accordionist.'”

The service, which does not seem to carry the spiritual and covenantal authority of a Jewish bris per se, costs just $28 USD.

The odd and likely unauthorized advertising campaign was joked about on this past week’s episode of Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me from NPR.

Whether Wolverine, with his regenerative healing factor, could convert to Judaism and be the recipient of a bris is an entirely different, though amusing, question.

online

Got Comics? “Golem” Found, Always Seeking More!

Here at Sacred and Sequential, we always welcome individuals interested in the study of religion and comics to write original pieces or review works for us, so long as they’re scholarly in nature or approach. But we also invite people simply to tip us off about new works or trends they’re seeing, even if there’s no analysis yet formed.

THE GOLEM OF SOUTH FLORIDATo that end, we want to thank stalwart colleague Steve Bergson for signaling us about a new series, The Golem of South Florida (available now from Comixology). From independent Pittsburgh comics publisher Punch Press comes a story of the legendary Jewish golem, planted now in modern-day Florida, having to “protect the local Jewish community from all new adversities: inclement weather, voting recalls and the high cost of prescription drugs.”

If you have or know of a new comics series that might benefit from the scholarly analysis of religion and comics scholars — or if you think religion and comics scholars would, conversely, benefit from analyzing such a work — don’t hesitate to contact our Sacred and Sequential team via the Contact link in our masthead.

contributors, cultural, raowantstoknow

Top 5 Religion & Comics Posts of 2016

From JLA (2015)A multitude of issues pertaining to religion and comics have filled the media and the Sacred and Sequential site in 2016: Islamophobia, superhero gods, idolatry and blasphemy, proselytizing, memorializing. Below are the five most-read articles from our pages; in toto, they all seem to orbit concerns of the medium’s essential alignment with either Christianity, Judaism, or the far, far more esoteric. Is there battle for the “soul” of comics amassing?

5. Four-Color Christ Jesus
10/31: Ron Edwards of Comics Madness penned this birthday reflection on Jesus, comics, Jack T. Chick, and The Cross and the Switchblade (along with eye-opening comments from his readers).

4. Jack T. Chick dies at 92
10/25: Jack T. Chick likewise headlines this post by Martin Lund, who explores the difficulty of Chick’s impact and legacy.

3. Jews and Comics: The Decade in Review
2/2: The Jewish Comics Blog‘s Steven Bergson addresses the flaws in religion & comics reportage, particularly by a January Haartez article.

2. Questioning Frank Miller and Superman’s “Jewish Essence”
10/13: Lund approaches the “Judaism and comics” issue from a new perspective, this time triggered by Frank Miller’s comments to CBR.com.

1. Sacred Texts: Lovecraft, Alan Moore, and Religion in Providence
2/9: Bobby Derie of Facts in the Case of Providence gives S&S readers a tour of Alan Moore’s latest (and last?) comics series along with its deep linkages to the study of religion.