Tag Archives: christianity

articles and essays, contributors

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

In the final part of this three–part sampler of religion and spirituality in comics and graphic novels, we look first at The Magdalena, the most active example of the warrior nun genre in comics, dip into Matt Murdock’s Catholicism in Daredevil: Guardian Devil, and finish up with atheist J. Michael Straczynski’s spiritual road trip exploring faith, hope, theodicy, and sacrifice. After that, a brief list of other comics that might be of interest is provided.

8. The Magdalena

Warrior nuns. Not the first thing you think of when you think of comics. But they are a thing, and an explicit connection between religion and comics. The most well-known and developed are Warrior Nun Areala and The Magdalena, as well as others such as Chrono Crusade, The Sisterhood and, obliquely, Sisters of Sorrow. Of all of these, The Magdalena is currently the most active, with the Reformation story line, published in 2017,  setting up the series for further adventures with a further generations of the supernatural protector.

The Magdalena first appeared in 1998 in the comic series, The Darkness, set in Top Cow’s universe that includes Witchblade, the Angelus, the Aphrodite characters, and the Artifacts series. Over time, she appeared in various crossovers as well as her own eponymous title. The Magdalena character is cast as the supernatural and superheroic protector of the Catholic church and wider world. Armed with the Spear of Destiny, the Magdalena is the Church’s trouble shooter – a kind of special operations figure – handling things the regular church apparatus can’t handle. The Magdalena conforms to the warrior nun genre in a variety of ways: attractive, energetic women, serving in a Catholic-oriented religious order, with martial arts skills, often with a connection to Mary Magdalene, and who engage in both spiritual activities and physical violence in the pursuit of opposing evil in accordance with the Catholic Church’s will. Continue reading Religion, Spirituality, and Comics – A Sampler (Part 3 of 3) →

articles and essays, contributors

Religion, Spirituality, and Comics – A Sampler (Part 2 of 3)

In the first part of this religion, spirituality and comics sampler, we looked at Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come, Vertigo’s Lucifer, and Matt Hawkin’s The Tithe. In this instalment of the sampler we turn to a couple of Superman stories, encounter the mysterious Phantom Stranger, and investigate a murder in the Vatican.

4. Superman: Redemption

The trade paperback, Superman: Redemption, brings together three different Superman stories with religious contexts:

Angel: Superman #659.
Redemption: Action Comics #848 & Action Comics #849
The Beast from Krypton: Superman #666.

The stories are interesting because the writers use an existing ‘non-religious’ narrative world or character – Superman – to explore something of the notion of religion and religious authority.  Continue reading Religion, Spirituality, and Comics – A Sampler (Part 2 of 3) →

controversy, from the Internet, interviews, online

ReligionProf James F. McGrath Talks with A. David Lewis on Kismet and More

Professor James F. McGrath (aka ReligionProf) sits down with Sacred and Sequential‘s own A. David Lewis to discuss Kismet, Man of Fate from publisher A Wave Blue World. This March 2019 episode of the ReligionProf Podcast also features linkbacks to S&S‘s discussion of the Second Coming debacle and Matthew Brake’s news of the new Religion and Comics series from Claremont Press. It all comes full circle!

ReligionProf Podcast with A. David Lewis

controversy

Kingstone Asks: WILL THE REAL JESUS PLEASE STAND UP?

DC Comics and Florida publisher square off on who Jesus is —

Second Coming cover

LEESBURG, FL January 11, 2019 – The battle between David and Goliath went into extra rounds among the faithful this week when DC Comics made a jolting announcement regarding a upcoming new series on Jesus Christ. In “Second Coming,” the writer Mark Russell previously explained that the series centers on the fact that God “was so upset with Jesus’ performance the first time he came to earth since he was arrested so soon and crucified shortly after, that he has kept him locked up since then.”  

Art Ayris is the publisher of Kingstone Comics, a small central Florida publisher, but still the largest Christian comics publisher worldwide with their comics in over 30 languages. Kingstone published the most complete graphic adaptation of the life of Christ ever done, contained in their graphic novel trilogy The Kingstone Bible. The tome was a finalist in the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association 2017 Book of the Year awards.  The graphic Bible is not only the most complete graphic adaptation of the Bible ever done but is also the largest non-serialized graphic novel ever published. With his feet in both the world of comics and the religion the comics publisher had a few thoughts on the new take on Jesus Christ.

“We are all for responsible fiction, but dissing the deity of Jesus Christ and his monumental sacrifice for our sins is a tough pill to swallow. I sure hope they (DC) will reconsider this blatant move. The even fictional concept that Jesus is sent on a mission by God to learn what it takes to be the true messiah of mankind from the all-powerful superhero Sun-Man, the Last Son of Krispex, is a blasphemous joke. I can understand why (former Campus Crusade President) Bill Bright offered 10 million dollars to Universal Studios to purchase the film negative of The Last Temptation of Christ.” Continue reading Kingstone Asks: WILL THE REAL JESUS PLEASE STAND UP? →

contributors

“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 →