controversy

Kingstone Asks: WILL THE REAL JESUS PLEASE STAND UP?

DC Comics and Florida publisher square off on who Jesus is —

Second Coming cover

LEESBURG, FL January 11, 2019 – The battle between David and Goliath went into extra rounds among the faithful this week when DC Comics made a jolting announcement regarding a upcoming new series on Jesus Christ. In “Second Coming,” the writer Mark Russell previously explained that the series centers on the fact that God “was so upset with Jesus’ performance the first time he came to earth since he was arrested so soon and crucified shortly after, that he has kept him locked up since then.”  

Art Ayris is the publisher of Kingstone Comics, a small central Florida publisher, but still the largest Christian comics publisher worldwide with their comics in over 30 languages. Kingstone published the most complete graphic adaptation of the life of Christ ever done, contained in their graphic novel trilogy The Kingstone Bible. The tome was a finalist in the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association 2017 Book of the Year awards.  The graphic Bible is not only the most complete graphic adaptation of the Bible ever done but is also the largest non-serialized graphic novel ever published. With his feet in both the world of comics and the religion the comics publisher had a few thoughts on the new take on Jesus Christ.

“We are all for responsible fiction, but dissing the deity of Jesus Christ and his monumental sacrifice for our sins is a tough pill to swallow. I sure hope they (DC) will reconsider this blatant move. The even fictional concept that Jesus is sent on a mission by God to learn what it takes to be the true messiah of mankind from the all-powerful superhero Sun-Man, the Last Son of Krispex, is a blasphemous joke. I can understand why (former Campus Crusade President) Bill Bright offered 10 million dollars to Universal Studios to purchase the film negative of The Last Temptation of Christ.” Continue reading Kingstone Asks: WILL THE REAL JESUS PLEASE STAND UP? →

from the Internet

Religion News Service Examines KISMET, MAN OF FATE

A. David Lewis signing KISMET, MAN OF FATE at Comicazi in Somerville, MA
Author A. David Lewis signs his new graphic novel, “Kismet, Man of Fate,” at Comicazi comic store north of Boston on Dec. 4, 2018. RNS photo by Aysha Khan.

Following its coverage at Fanboy Planet, the new trade paperback Kismet, Man of Fate – Volume 1: Boston Strong has received some impressively thorough coverage from Aysha Khan at the Religion News Service.

Lewis rattled off a list of common tropes about Muslim characters he hoped to avoid with his character: the “noble savage” who is uncorrupted by modern civilization; the mystical Muslim superhero; the docile Muslim woman; the perishable “cannon fodder”; and, more broadly, Muslim characters being carelessly boiled down to a nebulous racial and religious mass.

For Lewis, writing a Muslim superhero was also an opportunity to address the connection between superhuman ability and cosmology. Do the powers to, say, fly or manipulate fire come from God?

It will be exciting to see if this leads to greater discussion about religion in comics, the superhero genre specifically. Can there be a secular narrative on a character who credits his abilities to some aspect of divinity?

(And, normally, we would warn “don’t read the Comments,” but there may be something informative to them at RNS, potentially.)

First Muslim superhero returns after 70 years, just in time to take down a few Nazis

 

 

contributors

“Happy!” Christmas: Possibly the Weirdest Advent Blog EVER

[The following is a guest column by Matthew William Brake.]

This may be the weirdest Advent post ever.

Cover to HAPPY! #1Grant Morrison’s Happy! is an odd little comic (now adapted to a TV series on SyFy) about a former-cop-turned-hitman Nick Sacks who, after a particular hit, finds himself pursued by powerful people believing that he has a password belonging to a deceased (but very rich) don. After the hit at the beginning of the story, he has a heart attack and now finds himself seeing an imaginary blue unicorn named Happy. Happy is the imaginary friend of a young girl named Haley, who has been kidnapped. For some reason (we find out later it’s because Nick is the girl’s long lost father), only Nick can see Happy. Continue reading “Happy!” Christmas: Possibly the Weirdest Advent Blog EVER →

contributors

When it comes to the classroom, not all comic Bibles are created equal

The Kingstone Bible
The Kingstone Bible

There are many different angles from which to consider comic book Bibles and plenty of excellent scholarship already shared on Sacred and Sequential. I don’t intend to go over this ground again but instead to consider comic Bibles from the perspective of Religious Education pedagogy; what might educators need to consider before they bring comic book Bibles into the classroom as materials for study and learning. I am not concerned therefore, with comics as tools for evangelising or as supposed miracle cures for reluctant readers. Instead I am coming from the perspective of English mainstream education where Religious Education is a legal requirement. Of course, this is a situation that is not always present in other countries but hopefully I can stir up useful questions and pedagogical judgements that should surround our classroom materials used by all students, regardless of the medium. Or encourage you to think about using comics in your classrooms, because I really think they are a fantastic, much under-appreciated resource!

Continue reading When it comes to the classroom, not all comic Bibles are created equal →

Uncategorized

Superheroes Do Hanukkah

Over at the Brooklyn Comic Shop site, owner Joshua H. Stulman shares a few candle-kindling moments from Hanukkah in comics:

In truth it is still rare to find Jewish comic characters in comics and even harder to find mainstream comic stories about Chanukah. Although I must say that both Marvel and D.C. have been pretty good about including a one page Chanukah pin up in their holiday annuals since the 1990’s.

Jack Kirby's family Hanukkah card

This does, tangentially, raise the question whether Batwoman, as portrayed by Ruby Rose on CW crossover shows Flash, Green Arrow, and Supergirl, will be overtly depicted as Jewish on television, too.

Chanukah In Comics!

@ the intersection of religion and comics: Graphic Religion