Rich Johnson at Bleeding Cool noted a particularly disturbing trait to one of the ISIS terrorists: He’s apparently a superhero fan. The Guardian newspaper profiled Reyaad Khan, a Welsh jihadist and, based on his Twitter feed, a Batman and Justice League enthusiast. Shouldn’t there be something inherently contradictory between the superhero credo and ISIS’s principles? Read more here.
Tag Archives: Rich Johnston
Huffington Post Features Muslim Superheroes — VOTE NOW!
Thirty-two of the comics world’s Muslim superheroes — and who thought there were that many, really? — are profiled in the Huffington Post‘s Religion section, squaring off in March Madness brackets-style.
Characters from Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Teshkeel Media, and a host of other, independent publishers are all featured as readers vote on who will advance to face each other. Which hero has what it takes to be the finest Muslim superhero out there? (And how many did you know already, eh?)
The Tournament will be running all through the NCAA finals into April. Voting is free and open to all!
Beast’s (Silly?) Atheism
In response to an earlier article entitled “Is the Beast a Very Silly Atheist?” by Bleeding Cool founder Rich Johnston, writer JD Church scrutinizes the initial claims:
Beast makes his position on the matter clear. Except it’s complete nonsense. Not for anyone reading the book, but for anyone living in the Marvel Universe.
This is a man who has served on the Avengers with Thor, God Of Thunder […] And even if his godlike status can be dismessed [sic] as a powerful alien race, he’s also served with Valkyrie […w]ho can transport people back and forth from the land of the dead. Even if Beast doesn’t believe it exists[, h]e’s had his soul cleansed by Illyana’s sword. Even if he’s not meant to have a soul.
Converting to Islam Its Own Sin?
In June of last year, novelist and comic book writer G. Willow Wilson gave an interview to Bleeding Cool News upon the release of her memoir The Butterfly Mosque. In both the book and interview, she chronicles what led her to convert to Islam and the stigma sometimes attached to converting into another religion.
Last week, The Infidel Bloggers Alliance essentially proved her point. Whereas Wilson calls “[c]omics readers […] the most open-minded, try-anything-once, take-people-as-they-are,” Avi Green holds Wilson in disdain, largely for converting at all but particularly to Islam. Green says that Wilson’s assessment of comics readers is “naive” and that Wilson herself “fell to Islam.”
Bleeding Cool‘s Rich Johnston, incidentally, stands by Wilson on principle and calls The Infidel Bloggers Alliance “a rabidly pro-Israel, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim site.”