Category Archives: raowantstoknow

controversy, cultural, raowantstoknow

Batman for only Judeo-Christians, implies politician

Rep. Louie Gohmert

In July of 2012, the Huffington Post reported that Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) responded to the Aurora movie theater shootings by stating that “the shootings […] were a result of ‘ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs.'” These comments from The Heritage Foundation’s “Istook Live!” radio show have some ugly implications to them: not only do Batman movies attract primarily Judeo-Christian audiences (hmm, ok…) but that the victims of the shooting were paying the price for attacks on specifically this theology. Link this to the relatively Orientalist nature of the first and third films’ villains (i.e. Ra’s al Ghul), and there’s a growing strain (see previous “By Rao!” posts) of either Islamophobic or non-ecumenical taint artificially attaching itself to Batman’s mythos.

Rao wants to know: Is Batman becoming associated with a particular faith?

controversy, raowantstoknow

Rao Wants to Know: Gail Simone Makes History/Herstory…for Religion?

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Gail Simone at SDCC 2009
Image provided by the Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society Miscellanea and Ephemeron

In addition to being a civil union, many consider marriage to also be a religious union and rite. So, Rao has chosen to relay this report from Christopher Holden at The Mary Sue blog though it may not be explicitly religious (or, at least, not yet):

I am fairly confident that there has never been a polygamous, same sex marriage in mainstream comics before […] Regardless of whether this marriage remains canon or not, Gail Simone made a bold move in writing it into her last issue, and deserves admiration for including it because it was not done for shock value and stays true to the characters she had developed.

Get all the details on Scandal, Knockout, and Liana over at The Mary Sue, but, lest one is skeptical, here’s an image from the storyline in question.

Scandal, Knockout, and Liana from Secret Six #36
Image from Secret Six #36, art by Jim Calafiore

Rao wants to know: Does this rare union pertain to religion, or is it exclusively a comics milestone/footnote?

raowantstoknow

Rao Wants to Know: Why No Zoroastrianism?

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There are more hints of Zoroastrianism in U.S. culture than one might initially recognize. Brands such as Jaguar, Tetley Tea, and LandRover are all owned by a company long run by a Zoroastrian family. The haunting, familiar music from 2001: A Space Odyssey is named for the Zoroastrian prophet (as is Nietzche’s book that inspired the title); so is the music of Queen, with Zoroastrian front man Freddy Mercury (formerly Farrokh Bulsara).

So, asks Hervé St-Louis at the Comic Book Bin, where are all the Zoroastrianisms in American comics?

I’m quite amazed that the comic book world, known for its propensity to create stories based on any religion or myth has not yet plunged into the world of Zoroastrianism to add some texture to its characters.

While Indian comics may fare better at addressing the religion, St-Louis can offer a scant few examples in comics for American markets. “Zoroastrianism does not seem to have been explored in comic books to the same extent as other religions in character origins and mythologies.”

The question remains: Why not?