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:

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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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articles and essays, contributors, events

Jack T. Chick dies at 92

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According to Chick Publications, their CEO and founder Jack T. Chick died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday night. He was 92. His death is mourned by some, and celebrated by others.

chickrip

Since the news broke, “Jack Chick” has been trending on Twitter. It is not a pretty picture that is being presented. This is in no way surprising. For all but a select few, the man did not have a nice word to spare. And for the rest of us, he offered only glimpses of the hellfire that awaits us.

I should back up a bit, though, on the off chance that anybody visiting this site doesn’t know who Jack Chick was. He was the creator of the famous and notorious “Chick tracts,” small pamphlets containing black and white Evangelical fundamentalist propaganda comics. Chick had been publishing these pamphlets since the early 1960s, and his oeuvre touches on an impressive array of topics, from evolution to Halloween to “false religions” (everything that is not Protestantism, basically) to the end-times to, famously, role-playing games. The basic message was always the same, however: it doesn’t matter how good or bad you have been in your life, you are going to hell unless you accept the brand of Christianity that Chick promoted. You can read most of them here. He also produced comic books and sold literature that promoted his world-view.

The legacy he leaves behind is a strange one.

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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

@ the intersection of religion and comics: Graphic Religion