Presented without comment —
— except for the possibly non-scholarly comment of “You go, Sana!”
(hat tip to CBR’s Robot 6)
Sacré & Séquentiel: The New, French-Language “Sacred and Sequential”
Since its launch, Sacred & Sequential has been exclusively an English-language site for the scholarly consideration of religion and comics. Now, with the new year here, S&S is expanding into French-language coverage as well, thanks to the skills of our own Etienne Domingue.
Founding Member A. David Lewis spoke with Etienne about the launch of Sacré & Séquentiel:
A. David Lewis: What makes Sacré & Séquentiel necessary? I mean, why not just shoot the old posts through Google Translate?
Etienne Domingue: Whereas automated translation has made great strides in recent years, human languages remain somewhat beyond the grasp of machine intelligence. Errors in automated translation abound: computers are notoriously bad at translating idioms, and they don’t typically have much of an ear for tone or subtext. I suspect this has contributed to comics writers’ exceedingly poor handling of foreign languages — I am frequently shocked by how some anglophone writers assume that word-for-word translation is “good enough,” as though all of syntax and grammar operates in roughly the same way. It does not. Even culturally-sensitive writers make this mistake: G. Willow Wilson’s Air is magnificent, but its French is awful.
I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before human translators — along with all humans, really — are obsolete, but for now this is not the case. I pray that when it is the case, our robot overlords will be merciful.
I believe Sacré & séquentiel is important because francophone interest in American comics exists despite a dearth of francophone literature on the subject.
Continue reading Sacré & Séquentiel: The New, French-Language “Sacred and Sequential”
Transcript: Comix Scholars List Discusses Indian Comics and Manga
Based out of the University of Florida’s Comics Studies track within the the Department of English, the Comix-Scholars Discussion List (COMIX-SCHOLARS-L) hosts lively and diverse free, digital conversation between subscribed members invested in comics as a field of study. And sometimes that discussion turns to religion and comics, as it did on Wednesday, November 18th when S&S’s own Beth Davies-Stofka asked the List:
I’m tying up some loose ends on a writing project that relates to scholarship focused on religion in comics.
I have about 250 words that I can devote to the topic of the study of religion in Indian comics. I have Karline McLain’s book, India’s Immortal Comic Books, which I am regarding as a kind of “first” in the field of religious studies.
But I’d like to know if there is work being done on the subject in languages other than English.
Anyone know?
Continue reading Transcript: Comix Scholars List Discusses Indian Comics and Manga
L.A. Artist Merges Comics, Superheroes, Modern Judaism, and Women
Last month, Shana Nys Dambrot wrote a piece for the Artbound section of KCET’s website, spotlighting the work of Southern California artist Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik. Dambrot explores his latest work, a show for the National Council of Jewish Women, and its incorporation of the superheroic with Jewish moral responsibility via papercut techniques:
The thing about superheroes is that they are a way for us regular folks to imagine being better — to imagine being strong enough to help others and fix the world, as well as being dedicated enough to understand how important it is to use our powers for good.
Currently a teaching fellow at American Jewish University’s Dream Lab, Brynjegard-Bialik feels, “Comic superheroes exist outside of the ‘natural’ world. Be they visitors from other planets, or people whose powers stem from strange scientific accidents; they have weaknesses and flaws, and their struggles are often a metaphor for the human experience.”
His “Women of Valor” show concluded November 30th but its catalog can still be viewed online through his site.
Panels Challenges Readers: Engage Comics About Other Religions
The marriage of text and image does magical things with all sorts of topics, but when creators tackle religion, we have an opportunity to read some of the most enlightening, affecting stories around.
In addition to recommending a number of high-quality titles (e.g. Sandman, The Rabbi’s Cat, etc.), Miller also steers readers to Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels, edited by S&S’s own A. David Lewis and Christine Hoff Kraemer.