controversy

Foreskin Man

6 Comments
Foreskin Man #1 by Matt Hess, Gledson Barreto, and Ian Sokoliwiski

In January of 2011, the MGM Bill was presented to the United States Congress as well as 14 state legislators including  in Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. Known in full as the Bill to End Male Genital Mutilation, MGM is an attempt by those known as Intactivists to put an end to baby circumcision in the United States.

And they have a comic book, Foreskin Man.

Both issues #1 and #2 of Foreskin Man are available for free online and tell the story of Miles Hastwick’s superhuman crusade to stop dastardly circumcision at the hands of those like Dr. Mutilator or Monster Mohel. And, before one leaps to claims of antisemitism, it may be worth noting that mgmbill.org is endorsed by groups including Jews Against Circumcision and the Israeli Association against Genital Mutilation who are against performing a bris, for what it’s worth.

Rao wonders, who would win in a fight — Foreskin Man or Shaloman? And with whom would the Jewish Hero Corps stand?

controversy, cultural

Whose God Is Thor?

Image from IDLE HANDS, Thor's HammerIn the wake of Thor‘s #1 opening weekend, Comics Alliance is reporting that another group is unhappy of its godly portrayals. Whereas the Council of Conservative Citizens previously railed against the casting of Idris Elba, a black man in the role of a Nordic god, (mentioned in a previous entry), this objection is a tad more level-headed. Namely, some modern-day Neopagan practitioners are rumbling over the depiction of their deities in the film.

A follower of Ásatrú (or Germanic Neopaganism, as it is also known), writer Eric Scott of religious discourse magazine Killing the Buddha made the sincere and deeply personal observation whilst inspecting Thor merchandise in a Walmart.

I held that foam hammer in my hand for a long time, which I’m sure only confirmed my weirdness to the nightgaunts of the third shift. With my other hand, I rubbed the Mjolnir necklace I have worn every day since my initiation into my family’s coven. I did not know what to think of it.

The truth is, I looked at the toys in my hands and I saw the result of millions of dollars of development and thousands of hours of manpower, put into something bearing the name of a god, my god, and it had nothing to do with me.

Scott suggests that his fellow practitioners were “too few to matter” to the corporations using this material for their merchandise. Pagan Blogger for Patheos.com Star Foster feels quite the opposite: that Thor will bring attention to active Pagans in a positive manner.

The issue here is not just appropriating a mislabeled “dead religion,” but also how these deities function for real-life worshipers versus storytellers. A sideline discussion over at City-Data.com offers the thought that the word “gods” is misused in various narratives, comic books in particular. Are Thor and his fellow Asgardians distinctly gods in the movie, or are they some other classification? Would calling them, say, onses show a greater sensitivity by storytellers or would it divorce them even more harshly from real-world practitioners?

interviews

Writer Joshua Dysart on Religion in Unknown Soldier

Though the series was recently canceled by DC Comics, the Unknown Soldier has once again been nominated for an Eisner Award. Over at The Comic Book Bin, Beth Davies-Stofka conducted a multi-part interview with its writer Joshua Dysart, and, in this featured segment, she focuses on the role of religion in the series. Dysart tells Davies-Stofka:

There was virtually no conflict between the Christian culture and the Islamic culture as I saw it when I was traveling through Uganda. And I just was obsessed with that. I was fascinated by it.

Read the entirety of the interview for the role of religion in the main character’s life as well as subsequent parts that segue into discussions of general morality.

academic, events

Comics and Muslim Identity at Harvard

The Harvard University Center for Middle East Studies (CMES) has held a number of educator and creative workshops over the past year on comics and the Middle East. (See here and here.) This upcoming one at the end of April, though, is for all audiences and is open free to the public:

Comics and Muslim Identity at the Harvard University CMES
Flier for "Comics and Muslim Identity" at the Harvard University CMES

The day-long conference features talks by Jeffrey Melnick (University of Massachusetts, Boston), Hussein Rashid (Hofstra University), A. David Lewis (Boston University), Darby Orcutt (North Carolina State University), Laura Weinstein (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), and Nasser Weddady (American Islamic Congress Civil Rights Outreach Director).

It’s worth noting that the day prior, they will be holding another workshop, this time focused on making comics that address Islam and the Middle East region. Fascinating from all angles!

@ the intersection of religion and comics: Graphic Religion