All posts by A. David

Indian Comics

Does the imminent cancellation of Outsourced leave Aziz Ansari from Parks and Recreation, tweets from Deepak Chopra, and CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta as your only connection to Indian culture and Hinduism? Let’s correct that:

Liquid Comics. Good comics companies don’t die — they rebrand. When Virgin Comics, launched in 2006, moved from New York to Los Angeles in 2008, it became Liquid Comics, and it remains home to some sensational titles like India Authentic, Devi, and The Sadhu. One could do worse than sampling Hindu lore from Liquid Comics, either in print or digitally.

Chitrakatha: Indian Comics Beyond Balloons and Panels. This upcoming documentary from filmmaker Alok Sharma examines the native roots of comic book and comic strip making in India, spanning over three generations of artists. His film promises to show how alive the art truly is and the complex traditions from which it sprung.

Vimanarama. This stand-alone Vertigo graphic novel allows award-winning writer Grant Morrison to immerse his Western readers in a mix of Hindu lore and his own boggling storytelling. Perfect for the comic book reader steeped in British or American fare but uncertain as to how to tread into foreign territory. Post-orientalist, Vimanarama is a love letter to Bollywood, superheroes, and Jack Kirby as a vendatic guru!

India’s Immortal Comic Books: Gods, Kings, and Other Heroes. For the brainy and the brave, there is Karlin McLain’s book on the decades-old publication of Amar Chitra Katha which takes the interwoven lore of the Hindu gods and delivers it in accessible comic book form. Perfect for English-speaking scholars, India’s Immortal Comic Books looks at what make ACK “special to comic book lovers everywhere,” says Pradeep Sebastian of Businessworld.

Sequart on “The God of Preacher”

Australian writer and podcaster Daniel N. Gullotta recently provided Sequart.org with an excellent article on the logical issues with both deism & theism and how they are nicely problematized by Garth Ennis’s Preacher series.

[I]n Preacher, God invades the lives of many, affecting the way people make their decisions, and not allowing much or any free will at times. The theology is confusing and contradictory, but in Preacher, that’s the point. God in Preacher is a violent, tyrannical, hypocritical, and irresponsible super-being. He is the representation of theism gone horribly wrong.

Read more from Gullotta at www.catholica.com.au and at www.ticket2ridecomic.com.

Jewish-American Literature: The Graphic Novel offered at University of Texas El Paso

James Bucky Carter, founder of the SANE Journal (i.e. Sequential Art in Narrative Education), recently announced that the University of Texas – El Paso (UTEP) would be offering his special section of ENGL3327: Jewish American Literature in the Fall 2011. Specifically, Carter’s course will focus on the graphic novel:

I’m not Jewish, but there is a rich backlog of texts and articles dealing with comics-and-judaica connections. What an exciting challenge to put together a course list and to have to choose from all the great comics and graphic novels out there!

Expect to see — for sure! — a lot of Eisner and Sturm, some Spiegelman, Crumb’s Genesis, some Superman comics, some Stan Lee, probably some Kominsky-Crumb.

On Facebook, Carter also noted that the course may include The Golem’s Mighty Swing and the possibility of The Rabbi’s Cat and MAUS.

Graphic Details: Confessional Comics by Jewish Women

Thanks to Sequential Tart for highlighting this:

KOFFLER GALLERY OFF-SITE PRESENTS
Graphic Details:
Confessional Comics by Jewish Women

Vanessa Davis, Bernice Eisenstein, Sarah Glidden, Miriam Katin, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Miss Lasko-Gross, Sarah Lazarovic, Miriam Libicki, Sarah Lightman, Diane Noomin, Corinne Pearlman, Trina Robbins, Racheli Rotner, Sharon Rudahl, Laurie Sandell, Ariel Schrag, Lauren Weinstein, Ilana Zeffren

February 17 to April 17, 2011
Koffler Gallery Off-Site at the Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St W (Toronto, Ontario)
Originated by Michael Kaminer and Sarah Lightman

OPENING RECEPTION | FREE
Thursday, February 17, 7:30  10 PM | Curator’s Talk at 8 PM

Graphic Details is a groundbreaking touring exhibition, providing the first in-depth look at a unique and prolific niche of graphic storytelling – Jewish women’s autobiographical comics. While the influential role of Jews in cartooning has long been acknowledged, the role of Jewish women in shaping the medium is largely unexplored. This exhibition of original drawings, full comic books and graphic novels, presents the powerful work of eighteen Canadian and international artists whose intimate, confessional work has influenced the world of comics over the last four decades, creating an entirely new genre.

More at Koffler Events.

The (Controversial) Muslim French Batman – or French Muslim Batman

The short version of this story goes something like this:

Both this month’s Detective Comics Annual #12 and Batman Annual #28 feature a new DC Comics superhero, Nightrunner. As Batman (aka Bruce Wayne) travels the world and takes his fight against crime global, he is appointing local heroes Batman-like roles, just as he has long done for Gotham in America. Nightrunner, otherwise known as Billai Asseiah, has an Algerian background and is Muslim.

Let the sideshow begin.

Warner Todd Huston, freelance writer for websites including BigGovernment.com, RightWingNews.com, and, StoptheACLU.com, calls this “a PCing of the American comic book industry that has been going on for far too long” and “a misreading of what ails France.” He writes:

You see, DC Comics has decided that the “French savior,” the French Batman is to be a Muslim immigrant. The character’s name is Bilal Asselah and he is an Algerian Sunni Muslim and an immigrant that is physically fit and adept at gymnastic sport Parkour. Apparently Batman couldn’t find any actual Frenchman to be the “French
savior.”

Arturo R. Garcia, writing at Racialicious.com, argues against Huston’s position, sardonically commenting:

In the meantime, far be it from us here at Racialicious to completely dismiss the views of people like Mr. Huston or the “Astute Blogger.” In fact, here’s a hot tip for them to pursue: as it happens, DC has been guilty of exploiting an undocumented immigrant superhero for decades on end. We’ll even provide a picture for reference:

The “Astute Blogger” quoted by Garcia refers to Avi Green writing at The Astute Bloggers, who, among the rest of his commentary, suggests Nightrunner might “bring justice to the Parisian streets by lighting dozens of evil automobiles on fire every night” or “setting disabled women on fire too.” Like Huston, Garcia feels this is DC’s PC “kowtowing” (He points, too, at the cross-over between Batman’s superteam and Teshkeel Comics’ Muslim supergroup, JLA/The99, being “a fiasco.”)

Comics-centric sites like Comics Alliance, Superhero Hype, and Comic Book Resources have largely fallen on Garcia’s side of the debate, citing similar uproar over an African American actor in the Thor movie or Captain America‘s rebuke of the Tea Party.

Meanwhile, Dylan Moran, writing for 3News in New Zealand, says, “the [comic book] industry appears to be making equality a focus lately, and the inclusion of Nightrunner may be a real signal of that intent.”