Some further evidence of religion and comics penetrating ever more deeply into academia…in both a negative and positive light:
Bleeding Cooland the German magazine Tazreported that a graphic novel exhibition by the German university of Duisburg-Essen was the subject of outrage and vandalism by Muslim protestors. The “What Comics Can Do!” exhibit included art from Craig Thompson’s Habibi and Rutu Modan’s Exit Wounds that the protestors found offense for their use of the Arabic word for Allah and for presumably pro-Israel sentiments.
BU Today, a publication of Boston University, highlighted a recent article in its School of Theology Focus magazine, a profile on pastor Andrew Tripp and his appreciation for superheroes and comics in accomplishing his job. They had a foundational influence on him, he admits, ““The superheroes and the comeback characters spoke to something profound about what it meant to be human.”
The Catholic News Agency reports that a monk of the Eastern Catholic Church, a part of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, has produced his own graphic novel to teach and explain his faith. Published in May 2013 by publisher Catholic Answers, The Truth Is Out There is penned by the Maronite monk Amadeus but is told through the experience of two interplanetary mailmen Brendan and Eric and, according to Catholic Answer’s site, “readers don’t have to be Catholic—or possess any kind of faith—to appreciate the thoughtful ideas and arguments they’ll encounter.”
The Catholic News Agency reached Bishop Gregory J. Mansour, of the Maronite Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, for comment:
[S]omehow the words ‘comic book’ and ‘intellectually challenging’ don’t usually go together, but they do in ‘The Truth is Out There’ by Amadeus…Thank you, Amadeus, for presenting the journey from the prison walls of our mind to the exhilarating freedom of the truth in such an exciting way.
Jeph Jacques’s comedic webcomic Questionable Content dedicates a rather insightful June 10th installment, entitled “A Question of Belief,” to the topic of faith for its sentient, man-made robot characters:
Questionable Content #2465 by Jeph Jacques
Punny — but still thoughtful.
@ the intersection of religion and comics: Graphic Religion
