Category Archives: contributors

Depictions of Jesus in Comics – the Sioux City Reporter Speaks to Dr. Coody

Elizabeth CoodySacred and Sequential‘s own Elizabeth Coody was featured by the Sioux City Journal this past week for her work at Morningside College and recent participation in the “Graphic Novels and Comics across the Humanities” conference. Food and Lifestyle reporter Earl Horlyk notes Dr. Coody’s astute observation that illustrations of Jesus as Caucasian or even quite muscular say “more about an artist’s interpretation than anything in the Bible.”

Additionally, S&S would like to further applaud our colleague for the wonderful sentiment behind her quote: “Well, I think it’s a sin to depict Jesus as dull.”

Religion, Spirituality, and Comics – A Sampler (Part 1 of 3)

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a reader of comics. I grew up on the old Planet Comics black-and-white newsprint anthologies of DC titles before moving onto the more expensive and imported coloured individual issues of Marvel and DC from the US and the weekly issues of Tornado and 2000AD from the UK. Because I’d read anything in that format, I read various religious tracts and comics, as well as graphically-adapted works of classics like Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and the serialised comics in the back of the daily newspaper.

I’ve always been intrigued by the power of these storied images, and as a Christian theologian with an interest in popular culture, I’ve spent the last twenty years or so collecting comics and graphic novels that have religious themes and material or touch on spiritual matters. Sometimes these comics are representations of sacred texts like the Hebrew or Christian scriptures; other times they explore themes of sacrifice, redemption, faith, and suffering. They might take an established comic book character and explore their religious dimension or fashion a detailed cosmology inclusive of heaven(s) and hell(s). There is something about the graphical format that lends itself to not just traditional narrative prose but also to poetry, to wordless stories, non-linear storytelling, and being able to tell stories from a variety of cultural and ethnic settings.

In these posts I’m going to highlight ten particular comic titles that I might recommend to people if they asked for examples of religion and spirituality in comics and graphic novels. I’ve deliberately steered away from graphical adaptations of religious texts like the Bible or material intended to educate or encourage the faithful. I may do a series on those eventually as they are also very interesting, but in these posts I want to highlight where we might find religion and spirituality in other contexts. I do not expect everyone (or anyone!) to agree with my choices, but I hope get you thinking about how people are telling religious and spiritual stories in this format. Continue reading Religion, Spirituality, and Comics – A Sampler (Part 1 of 3)

“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

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

Review – Toscano and Hartmann-Dow’s The Amazing Adventures of the Afterbirth of Jesus

The Amazing Adventures of the Afterbirth of Jesus is a subversive tale by Biblical scholar and Quaker Peterson Toscano and artist Joey Hartmann-Dow. A slim volume, over twenty-nine pages it tells the story of Hagar, the placenta born alongside Jesus in the stable. Key moments in Jesus’ ministry unfold as we expect in the background while the reader is given glimpses of Hagar’s influence. Born sentient, once used, the afterbirth is ignored and rejected and she consciously names herself Hagar, after a fellow rejected woman of the Old Testament. She follows Jesus carefully and is desperate for acknowledgement and inclusion. It is through her attention-seeking pranks that Jesus’ ministry develops. She causes coins to go missing in the home of a widow, sheep to escape their pen, wedding wine to be spilt, blindness and leprosy to afflict those who flock to Jesus and ultimately, the death of Lazarus. However, cleaning up her mess is not enough and it is only through eventually welcoming her back into his life can Jesus complete his purpose on Earth.

Toscana is a regular at the UK-based Greenbelt Festival speaking on the hidden LGBTQ+ voices of the Bible and it was here that I heard him mention Afterbirth. How could a comics scholar miss an opportunity to pick up a copy? Continue reading Review – Toscano and Hartmann-Dow’s The Amazing Adventures of the Afterbirth of Jesus