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.

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

articles and essays, from the Internet

Didactic or Dynamic? Superheroes from the Middle East

(The following article by Fredrik Strömberg was originally posted on the Mizan Project website. It is copied here with permission.)

Superheroes from the Middle East: Adaptation of the Genre?

A selection of comic books published by AK Comics and Teshkeel.
A selection of comic books published by AK Comics and Teshkeel, including The 99 (photo credit: Fredrik Strömberg).

This is the third essay published here on Mizan Pop in our Muslim Superheroes series. The first and second installments in the series can be read here and here.

America has been exporting superhero comics for more than seven decades; nevertheless, there have been few commercially successful comics created in that genre in the rest of the world. Given that there have been several violent conflicts between the United States and Arab or Muslim-majority nations over the last few decades, it is intriguing that attempts at establishing a line of original superhero comics were made in the Middle East in the first decade of the twenty-first century by two different publishing houses: AK Comics in Egypt and Teshkeel Media Group in Kuwait.

Continue reading Didactic or Dynamic? Superheroes from the Middle East →

controversy, from the Internet

UPDATE: Ms. Marvel and the Good Business of Democracy

Before U.S. Election Day 2016, Sacred and Sequential posted a critique of the coverage provided by The New York Daily News‘s Ethan Sacks of the forthcoming Ms. Marvel #13.

Good to his word, Mr. Sacks did provide several comments via private Direct Message on Twitter. And, in the spirit of open dialogue, I republish the majority of them here:

Continue reading UPDATE: Ms. Marvel and the Good Business of Democracy →

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.

Continue reading Ms. Marvel and the Good Business of Democracy →

@ the intersection of religion and comics: Graphic Religion