Category Archives: from the Internet

contributors, controversy, cultural, events, from the Internet

Ms. Marvel and the Good Business of Democracy

msmarvel_13_election_5Marvel Comics’ Ms. Marvel #13 not only displays a determined, patriotic Muslim-American superheroine on its cover, but it also dedicates much of its page content to the titular hero pushing a “get out the vote effort.” In a U.S. Presidential election that has featured intolerance widely and Islamophobia specifically, having the Jersey-born Pakistani character campaigning for democratic action feels heartening, coming, even as a does, from a mega-corporation-backed publisher like Marvel.

The comic hits retail stores on November 30th, three weeks after the election.

Ethan Sacks, writing for the New York Daily News, sounds befuddled about this timing:

The timing of “Ms. Marvel” # 13, however, is a little puzzling. By the time the issue hits stores on Nov. 30, the presidential race will (hopefully) have been long decided.

First, Sacks is either naive about the comic book industry or, worse, willfully ignorant: there are any number of reasons to have this issue come out after Tuesday, November 8th. Not the least of these reasons is the very point he embeds parenthetically in his comment, namely that we can only hope Nov. 8th concludes the ugly, vicious election season. Yet, many suspect/fear a even nastier fight than the Bush/Gore debacle of 2000 — and, in that scenario, the release of Ms. Marvel #13 will feel particularly wise, prescient, and rightfully scolding.

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from the Internet

Four-Color Christ Jesus

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[The following post was written by Ron Edwards for his site Comics Madness and is republished here with permission. The entirety of the reader Comments that followed his writing are also included as of 9/16/2016; they have not been edited for content, and they reflect solely the views of their writers.]

Happy birthday to me! I grant you this is an odd topic for my birthday post, as I have zero affinity or resonance with evangelical Christianity. Its impact is definite at second-hand, though, as I think about the number of friends and family who became Jesus People (the early term) and (as soon called) Saved or Born Again during my pre-teens and teens, say from 1974 through the early 1980s. My previous column sort of got me going on the religion/comics topic and it turned out to be autobiographically non-trivial, so here we go.

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controversy, from the Internet

A Superhero against…Goyim?

In September, Tzion Publishing put out the call for all interested parties to submit contact information for their forthcoming Spring 2017 comic book series, Shabbat Man. Featuring “Joshua Polmar, an adult convert to Judaism,” the comic will square him off against “Jerome Goyim is the epitome of evil in the world and he is a slave to his wicked animal soul,” according to Tzion’s website.

Curiously, many of the characters in the dramatis personae are either adult converts to Judaism or struggling with their Jewish identity. Combine that quirk with Tzion’s stating that Shabbat Man “is designed to teach the reader about one or more of the 613 commandments and about Judaism, in general.  The adventures delve into the finer points of Judaism making non-Jews more aware of Jewish traditions.” Do we have the makings here of proselytizing Jewish comic book?

Of course, “Shabbat Man fights for justice on behalf of all people,” despite the questionable name of his arch-nemesis. And, there are product placement opportunities open to one and all…

…particularly in the areas of “lady’s high heeled shoes” and “beverages.”

Jerome Goyim

from the Internet

Grammy Winner, Now Christian Comics Creator

God's Silver SoldiersThe local Mesquite News out of Mesquite, TX reported last month on a local-boy-done-good personality now putting his attention to Christian-inspired comics. Grammy-winner Art Greenhaw of the Light Crust Doughboys is trying his hand at comic books as editor and co-writer of God’s Silver Soldiers from Truthmonger Press.

Described on its site as “a creative entity whose mission is to bring the much-needed messages of mortality and spirituality to today’s youth through the medium of comicbooks [sic],” Truthmonger Press has premiered the God’s Silver Soldiers “visual novel” at the 2016 Comic-Con International. The series, described in its marketing materials as “approved by the Christian Comics Code Alliance,” features a band of do-gooders united by faith: “When God’s Silver Soldiers come together, the Holy Armor of God increases their strength a hundred fold, and they are able to call forth the powers given to these Christian Super Heroes  by The Almighty.”

Greenhaw, who counts “Stan Lee and artists Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Al Hartley, John Buscema, Ben Dunn and Kurt Schaffenberger” among his inspirations, also produced a companion soundtrack to the series.  He told Mesquite News that, if he wasn’t writing music or comics, he would likely be “reading, studying the greatest works of religion and philosophy and picking back up karate/martial arts.”

controversy, from the Internet

Jordanian Activist Assassinated Before Cartoon Blasphemy Trial

Activists hold a picture of Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar on Wednesday at his funeral [Muhammad Hamed/Reuters]
Activists hold a picture of Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar on Wednesday at his funeral [Muhammad Hamed/Reuters]

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) has reported on a story that may otherwise have eluded American media: as Al-Jazeera and The Guardian both reported in late September, Jordanian left-wing writer and activist Nahed Hattar was assassinated while entering a courthouse to face blasphemy charges for a cartoon he posted on Facebook.

In the comic, God is depicted as taking orders from an ISIL agent cozily ensconced with two woman in Paradise. Hattar, part of Jordan’s 4% Christian minority, had intended the cartoon to criticize ISIL’s hypocrisy, but he subsequently deleted the offending piece and offered an apology in the face of Jordanian outrage.

[Full image available below.]

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