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.

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.

academic, online

Elizabeth Coody and Christine Hoff Kraemer, Unquestionably “Women Write About Comics”

Women Write About ComicsOver at Women Write About Comics, two of S&S’s founding members, Elizabeth Coody and Chiristine Hoff Kraemer, engaged in a marvelous discussion about Kraemer’s role in the 2010 Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels and her subsequent work. Their interview lauds not only Carla Speed McNeil, the groundbreaking comic creator behind Finder, but also Jill Lapore’s work on the originator of Wonder Woman, William Moulton Marston.

His Wonder Woman stories from the 1940s demonstrate distinctively different values, including a commitment to nonviolence. After his death, later writers took the character apart, until by the early 1960s Wonder Woman had been demoted to Secretary of the Justice League and would stay behind while the male superheroes left on missions. Wonder Woman has had a few interesting rewrites since then, some more sophisticated than others, but I don’t think she’s ever been as revolutionary a character as she was in those early days.

Read more on this and their views on Blankets, on Y the Last Man, and on Promethea here.

http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2017/01/25/comics-academe-christine-hoff-kraemer-on-graven-images/

from the Internet

Muslim Heroines (and Their Comics Fans), Assemble!

(The following article by Madison Mahida Lynn originally appeared at Muslim Girl in May of 2016. It is republished here, slightly edited,  with her permission.)

Welcome to the Golden Age of Muslim Women in Comics

MONET ST. CROIX, AKA MThis is a good time to be a nerd. Marvel’s superheroic epics have taken over the box office, and most importantly comics have become cool again. Or, maybe they have? It depends on who you ask. If you’re asking us, then yes, comics are DEFINITELY COOL.

Unlike the seemingly monochromatic nature of heroes in Marvel’s cinematic oeuvre (we love the MCU but let’s be real, the leads of their films tend to feature a strong diversity of white men named Chris), the comic universe is a multifaceted medium with diverse voices leading the way. At the center of this movement is a group of badass Muslim girls–scientists, doctors, high school students, superpowerful mutants, and more–leading the way.

We could go through a dozen articles talking about the different Muslim girl characters making waves in the medium, but for now I will detail the biggest movers & shakers in comicdom. This is the team that defines today’s era as The Golden Age of Muslim women in comics.

So, let’s meet the team!

THE NAVIGATOR:

Fatima
The Midas Flesh, Writer Ryan North, Artists Shelli Paroline & Branden Lamb

fat dap coop 2

This current era of “Muslim girl Comic Heroism” didn’t begin with that geeky Pakistani teenager from Jersey City, as most would assume. A few months before Marvel released Ms. Marvel #1, indie publisher Boom! Studios released their first title on a new imprint. The Midas Flesh is a sci-fi adventure with a familiar story: A small rogue band of resistance fighters seek a powerful weapon to put an end to oppressive imperial powers. That is where the familiarity ends. The Midas Flesh stays true to the standards of its genre, but turn conventions on its head over and over. The eight-issue run features talking dinosaur scientists, Greek gods, and a deep mythology encapsulated in a richly creative universe.
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@ the intersection of religion and comics: Graphic Religion