hey! you got your god in my comic book!

[orangerful]

Okay, so I started reading the Daredevil run, starting with the first book by Kevin ("Clerks") Smith. So far it's pretty good, but I was surprised by the religious storyline. Is this typical of Daredevil? Is Matt Murdock all about the crisis of faith? How many catholic superheroes are there?

I just found this amusing since I was also reading 'Preacher' last week, another comic that delves into Christian ideas.

And while I was waiting for WoW to load, I picked up 'Proposition Player', a comic book that was reccomended to me by the clerk at Twilite Zone Comics. And it's all about a guy who accidentally buys all of his friends immortal souls for the price of a round of beers. (of course, god and the devil start bartering with him to get the souls back into their possession).

And there's that bit in 'Blankets' when the main character is sort of coming to terms with his conservative and religious upbringing and his thoughts about what god must be like.

Hm. 'V for Vendetta' said that "God is in the rain" but apparently he's also in my comic books!

Comments

[vertigozooropa.livejournal.com]

Oh, there's a lot of it. But most of it is skewed. There's an established concept, based on Catholic mythology, wherein Heaven represents absolute order (the library...sshhh, no talking) and hell represents all chaos and fun (the whorehouse...welcome to the jungle).

Nightcrawler studied for the priesthood for a while, until he learned his teacher was a fake. He kept the collar, though.

Neil Gaiman and Garth Ennis are the most responsible. Gaiman's Sandman introduced Heaven, Hell, Lucifer, Angels, the "American Gods" theological system (worship causes gods to exist). Mike Carey continued the work after him. Ennis' Hellblazer run involved a great deal of Catholicism and angels, and, again, Mike Carey continued the work.

Kevin Smith takes his religion very seriously (if you can believe that), or at least he talks about it. Frank Miller made the character Catholic, but Smith really pounded this home.

I think Blankets is the most honest view of Christianity I've read in a comic, though. Thompson's the only one who's really gone through it, as opposed to regurgitating a Catholic upbringing, which isn't the same thing.

Oh, and American Virgin has Christianity (or a facsimile of it) all over it. And Testament is rewriting the Bible. And I'm not kidding about that.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

actually, didn't Douglas Adams do the 'worship causes gods to exist' thing in 'Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul'? :D I think he did!

[vertigozooropa.livejournal.com]

I have never managed to read that book. Owned it for well over a decade, but...circumstances are mysterious.

I never got past the first chapter, which I've read many a time.

Adams' books are nearly all difficult to start. So Long is the worst for that.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

i love that book. I can quote huge chunks of it as I took out the book on tape from the library one summer and just listened to it over and over and over....

Of course, the fact that Simon "Arthur Dent" Jones was reading it made it that much better, since he really know how to deliver Adams' humorous lines juuuuuust right.

And let me tell you, it's even harder to quote a book on tape and have anyone recognize it! Oh character says "Oh ah" all the time in the book, but when Jones reads it, he has this great little voice he does and that's how I say "oh ah" now...

I found the first book 'dirk gently's holistic detective agency', to be the roughest of the complete Adams novels to read. It might be too wacky even for me.

[vertigozooropa.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about audio books. I used to borrow Adams reading Mostly Harmless, and listen repeatedly. He does a Monty Python woman voice.

And the catchphrases. Listen to Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason on audiotape, and you'll never get the way she says, "Hurrah!" out of your head.

[demonqueen666.livejournal.com]

You'd be surprised how often theology pops up in comics, particularly almost any book from Vertigo (albeit, their Heaven and Hell is a lot "radder" than is typical, but then that's why we all love Sandman and Neil Gaiman, right?)

If you're interested in a fun and quirky comic with religious themes, I recommend "My Faith in Frankie", a four-run series from Vertigo now collected in graphic novel format. Writing by Mike Carey, art by Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel.

[/salespitch]

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

OOOooh, a reccomendation! I love hearing about new comics, espeically if they are in trade form and I can order them thru the library ;)

*goes to see if she can find it*

[dstntp1lgr1m.livejournal.com]

You are always so far ahead of me in the book reading realm. CURSES!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

it helps that I work at a library and sit by the catalog all day. Any down time and I get bored and start ordering books! haha. And Montgomery County has a great selection of graphic novels that they are willing to share with us, so that helps. If I was actually paying money to read these I'd be so broke haha.

and this is why you should use the library! You don't even have to come in that often, you can order books online and have them sent to the closest branch to you, and then come in the day you get the notification. voila! Free reading material!