Tag Archives: polytheism

contributors, levity, reviews

Review of HOLY F*CK #4: “…I Still Want to Read It”

HOLY F*CK #3 coverToday  marks the release of the fourth and final part of Nick Marino and Daniel Arruda Massa’s Holy F*ck. The issue brings a high-action conclusion to Jesus, Satan, and the nun Maria’s struggle against Zeus, Isis, and the multi-pantheonic corporation Polydynamis’ attempt to plunge the world into nuclear chaos and feast off the belief they hope this will inspire.

There are three narrative threads running throughout Holy F*ck #4: Jesus’ attempt to stop Polydynamis’ missiles; Satan and Maria’s fighting their way through the diving company board; and Zeus’ attempt to keep his coalition together in the face of this final thrust. This choice of words is not haphazard; without spoiling what seems to be the major gag of the issue, the way Jesus handles the missiles cannot be described in any other way. (Ok, maybe a little spoiler: as a colleague put it, “their title is truth in advertising!”) Meanwhile, his companions blast their way through a small horde of nameless god-grunts before arriving in front of Zeus to effect the series’ final, and somewhat anti-climactic resolution. The whole thing is over too quick, rushing through developments so as to give more room to milk a couple of jokes.

I have reviewed the three previous issues for Sacred and Sequential, and consistently found Holy F*ck to be missing that certain something that would bring me to feel that I’ve really enjoyed it as a whole. The artwork has been consistent and the writing has delivered several independently funny gags that have not fully meshed with each other, making the final product seem directionless, almost scattershot. Still, every issue has managed to keep me wanting to see what happened next. Sadly, I feel that where the series ultimately ends up, with a nod to corny sit-com endings, just isn’t all that satisfying.

Continue reading Review of HOLY F*CK #4: “…I Still Want to Read It” →

contributors, reviews

Review: Marvel’s CHAOS WAR, an Epic (of Sorts)

“In the Marvel Universe, gods walk the Earth.

Some side with heroes.
Others spread dread and despair.
One god cares for neither.
He is the Chaos King.
And he will stop at nothing to end everything with
Chaos War.”

Hercules in THE CHAOS WARThus, with typical Marvel bombast, Greg Pak and Fred van Lente of Action Philosophers! and Comic Book Comics fame introduce the 2010–2011 “Chaos War ” storyline.

In many ways, “Chaos War” is a classic superhero comics event. It has the mandatory brawls between heroes who then become allies. It has the brains versus brawn tension and the triumph of ingenuity over smashing things that Marvel comics so often employ. It is also, like so many comics events, a massive weave of intertextual references: as always, it connects with established continuity in too many places to count and references to film and literature similarly abound. By virtue of the advanced age of many of the characters involved, there are a number of historical references (such as Sersi remarking to Thor that one fight “[k]inda reminds you of the siege of Paris by the Danes in the ninth century, huh, big guy?”). And, given its focus on gods, godlings, and pantheons, it also makes numerous implicit and explicit references to myth, story, and (what we can somewhat anachronistically label) theology.

But many of these references are arguably superficial. In most cases, “Chaos War” provides enough information for the reader to situate a specific god within the religious tradition from which it is appropriated, but there is not much of what we can call substance in those references. They have names that can be traced to one pantheon or another and an appearance that gives them the flavor of a place and (in most cases) a time, although there is a preponderance of gods in superhero-style garb. Thus, they are all interweaved and largely undifferentiated. The gods co-exist, they know each other, and some have banded together before the story begins, while others do so after. This mix gives the impression of a divine melting pot where all deities are superheated to become alike, so as to better fit the genre in which they appear. In this respect, it is significant that Amadeus Cho tells Hercules that he has “hooked [him] up with all-father powers” and that the hero is called a supergod more than once; even godhood follows the logic of power-levels and -types in the Marvel Universe. Continue reading Review: Marvel’s CHAOS WAR, an Epic (of Sorts) →

contributors, levity, reviews

Review of HOLY F*CK #3: “Slouching Toward Satire”

HOLY F*CK #3As something of a rarity in comics publishing, the third issue of Nick Marino and Daniel Arruda Massa’s Holy F*ck hits the stands this week (March 11, 2015), mere days after the previous one. As always, Sacred and Sequential and I were kindly provided with a review copy. Continuing the story of Jesus, Satan, and the nun Maria’s quest to stop Zeus and Isis’ plot to cause nuclear devastation in order to inspire humanity to have faith in them (and a cadre of other old gods who have remained more or less peripheral throughout the series) once more, this issue shows the gods finally get their plan crowdfunded through the website Kickslammer.

Although the plot moves forward at slightly faster clip than in #2, many of the problems I had with the previous two issues remain. Characterization is still rather flat and inconsistent, events are sometimes poorly connected to each other, and things that seem to move the story forward or to develop a character turn out to have little lasting influence. Again, the book is sprinkled with amusing gags. The opening gag this time, for example, giving author credits to Marina and Arruda Massa but crediting God as creator of Jesus and Satan, is a good one. And Jesus’ lengthy muttering about the complexity of the knots with which the hostage Maria has been tied to a pole is my kind of dry. Continue reading Review of HOLY F*CK #3: “Slouching Toward Satire” →

contributors, levity, reviews

Review of HOLY F*CK #2: “Provocation for Provocation’s Sake”

HOLY F*CK #2 coverJust over a month ago, I reviewed Nick Marino and Daniel Arruda Massa’s Holy F*ck #1. Where I landed then was on a note of cautious anticipation, despite not finding the comic book all that entertaining. In spite of my review being arguably negative overall, the creators have kindly turned to Sacred & Sequential and to me for a second review. While I wish I could say that the second issue did more for me, but having read it, I can’t help but feel my earlier anticipation was premature.

Continue reading Review of HOLY F*CK #2: “Provocation for Provocation’s Sake” →

from the Internet, interviews

Expletives and Sacrilege with Nick Marino and “Holy F*ck”

Over at Comic Bastards, Dustin Cabeal sat down with the writer of Holy F*ck Nick Marino  about his and artist Daniel Arruda Massa’s “sacrilegious satire sprinkled with action and adventure.” As the Marino explains:

From my perspective, this is really Sister Maria’s story. She’s the one who finds Jesus. She’s the one who brings him to Satan. She’s the one who’s actively going after the mythological gods and trying to stop their oppressive agenda.

However, if that’s too heady for you… LOOK!!!!! Jesus and Satan with big guns! Zeus and Isis with nuclear missiles! Nudity and profanity!!!

If that’s your cup of tea, click here for more.