comics that have religious/theological themes?

dr. comic

hey i'm really interested in comics that have religious/theological themes- they dont actually have to be religious comics. heres some that i think count and i was wondering does anyone have any other ideas?

1)the ultimates- only the mark millar versions!
2)kingdom come
3)superman- for tomorrow
4)silver surfer reqiurm
5)jack kirbys new gods

it'd be a big help if anyone coould name some new ones for me thanks

ztoical

Not entirely sure what context your looking for them in but Hellblazer and Preacher would feature alot of elements from several religions dogma. Humberto Ramos's Crimson while mainly focused on vampires brought alot of Biblical themes into the storyline.

There are also comics like The Golem’s Mighty Swing which focus more on the characters struggling to come to terms with their own sense of faith and religion. Will Eisner's The Contract with God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue tells of the struggles of European Jewish immigrants settling the Lower East Side, Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer-winning graphic novel Maus: A Survivor's Tale addresses the artist's father's memories from the Holocaust, Persepolis parts are set during the Islamic revolution in Iran thought I'm not sure if thats really the context of religion in comics that your looking for.

American Virgin's main character is a born again christian and his struggle with issues of his sexuality and faith.

Fysh

It depends at what level and depth you want the religious theme to be relevant. There are loads of comics that have religious or theological angles to them, but considerably fewer of them have it as a core component of the narrative rather than an aspect of one of the characters.

American Virgin - The life and times of Adam Chamberlain, a young minister and frontman for a phenomenally succesful youth abstention program whose life is thrown into turmoil when a terrorist group murders his girlfriend. As Adam struggles to come to terms with the death of the girl he believed God had told him he would marry, he is confronted by various aspects of contemporary society which conflict with his faith.
Judenhass - Dave Sim explores the societal conditions in place in the run-up to the Holocaust and the general perception of Jewish society and culture at that time.
Preacher - An over-the-top series whose core character is given godly powers and decides to hunt down the Judaeo-Christian God and make him answer for the wrongs in the world he has created.
True Faith - From the writer of Preacher, a young man is dragged into the deicidal quest of a man driven mad by the loss of his wife.

Other comics deal with the subject in passing - as mentioned, Hellblazer's supernatural focus means that it has frequently featured theological or religious aspects (including confrontations with the Devil, various archangels, and the nature of Original Sin). Transmetropolitan had an issue in which Spider Jerusalem denounced religion in general as preying on human weakness. Rob Liefeld is currently working on Armageddon Now, a series exploring "hidden messages in the Bible". You could even argue for it as a facet of Secret Invasion, what with the whole "religious extremism" angle of the Skrull invasion. Or the Rann-Thanangar Holy War, for that matter. (Full disclosure: I haven't read either series, as they both looked like purest crap to me).

Is there any particular aspect of religion or theology that you're interested in? It might help people offer more useful suggestions to you.

dr. comic

hey thanks thats exactly the sort of stuff i'm lookin for. i study theology so all aspects. any comics like the preacher that have clearly religoius content but also the more subtle i.e. a character- they dont have to be overtly religious- who thinks about or deals with religioous content eg. superman goin to confession in superman: for tomorrow. can be any religion or even just spiritual. the more the better, theres no wrong answers for me. thanks and please keep them coming!

shenanigans1982

ztoical wrote: »

Not entirely sure what context your looking for them in but Hellblazer and Preacher would feature alot of elements from several religions dogma. Humberto Ramos's Crimson while mainly focused on vampires brought alot of Biblical themes into the storyline.

He also has a series called Revelations which has religious themes. The Virgin imprint has a character based on an Indian God from what I can remember. And also Just a Pilgrim by Garth Ennis.

magwea

What like Evangelian level religious/theological pap or something like John Porcolinio's Thoreau at Walden? Casting your nett pretty far there.

Maybe, Battle Pope.

spooydermot

There's Strange Girl by Rick Remender which is available in 4 trade paper backs.
It opens with the rapture and then continues the story several years later on an earth over-run by demons.
Deals with issues such as redemption, the responsibility of a creator to his creation etc


Also, Atomika which address the idea of the Revolution made God (maybe) , in anycase Newsarama are doing some of the issues free online here

Also that issue of Transmetropoliton that Fysh mentioned is well worth checking out, it's collected in Transmetropolitan Vol 2: Lust For Life, which also features the idea of moving the consciousness from the body into a non-physical form (well billions of tiny flying nanities) and living without a body and also has a story dealing with how we treat people no longer "useful" to society.

Theres also Blankets which is a huge volume of a thing, in the second chapter the main character, along with his brother attend a Christian teaching camp of sometype and then religious images that are impressed on the author are recalled later in the book from time to time (if memory serves correct)

At the bottom of that Wikipedia entry is a link to an essay entitled "Sexuality, Art and Religion in Craig Thompson's Blankets" - dunno of how much use that'll be.

Fysh

Strange Girl's an interesting one alright, I didn't follow it all the way through as I thought it lost its way a bit but from what I read it did complete its overall story quite nicely.

There's also Fallen Angel, which ran something like 16 issues at DC and then moved to IDW - the title character's background isn't explained until the IDW series starts, where it is revealed that

the lead character Lee was formerly a guardian angel until a series of events led to her being cast down to Earth

.

spooydermot

There's also Spawn which I have never read but it does have a whole heaven/hell thing going on.

Maybe at a pinch you could mention IDW's Angle series which continues on after the TV show, but from what I recall of the mythology in the Buffy/Angle series when they talk about Hell or Heaven it's one of a series of possible dimensions as opposed to biblical references?

Strange Girl's an interesting one alright, I didn't follow it all the way through as I thought it lost its way a bit but from what I read it did complete its overall story quite nicely.

I think I'll sit down tonight and re-read it.

el_tiddlero

There's Testament by Douglas Rushkoff, i've only read the first 2 trades but it's jam packed with biblical references.. it's a cool idea, things happen in 2 places at once, in the nowadays, and in the biblical long, long ago - it's a whole history repeating type deal.. worth look though for what you're after OP..

ztoical

There was The Coven by Ian Churchill ages ago that was based on the story of Cain and Abel and featured a Catholic priest possessed by a demon but wither you'd be able to track any issues down I don't know, plus the story was never finished.

Manach

There is 'Rex Mundi', which has the premise of being set in an alternative world where the Protestant reformation was crushed.
Also 'Pax Romana', which involves time-travel and the Vatican (which I never though would be co-located in the same sentence.)

Fysh

I've just remembered Heaven's War, in which The Inklings struggle to prevent Aleister Crowley from manipulating conflicts in Heaven and reshaping the world in his image.

GenghisCon

Fysh wrote: »

I've just remembered Heaven's War, in which The Inklings struggle to prevent Aleister Crowley from manipulating conflicts in Heaven and reshaping the world in his image.

Curse you Fysh I was just about to mention that and you beat me to it!!! The majority of comics with religous content are often heavy on the more fantastical elements. I recommend picking up the first of the Kevin Smith Daredevil visionary Tpbs. While the plot is fantasical (daredevil charged with protecting the anti/christ), its DD's internal reaction to it that really impressed me. Plus a very good twist at the end.

MarkHall

Aside for the Thor stuff? I wouldn't really say Ultimates was relgious themes.

Chosen would be more along the lines your after.
I believe Millar says it's a sequel to the Bible. Never read it. But may float your boat.



American Virgin is has a great message and never really rams it down your troat.

Preacher has some great questions on the religious Front.

Did Dc ever do anything with the Angel characther they introduced?
Zauriel was his name.

Zauriel is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He first appeared in JLA #6. In his first appearance, he saved Aquaman's life from an evil angel and over time Zauriel has formed a friendship with Aquaman.
Character History
An angel of the Eagle Host in Heaven, Zauriel was assigned by The Presence (i.e. God) as a guardian angel. He protected the souls of various people over the centuries including Cleopatra, Mona Lisa, and Joan of Arc. Eventually, he fell in love with one of his charges. To be with her he, gave up his immortality (though still having wings and certain powers like the ability to part oceans, along with a flaming sword and sonic scream) and appeared on Earth. He aided Kendra Saunders, Hawkgirl, in discovering the true nature of her identity as a descendant of the bride of Khufu, an Egyptian prince along with the first Hawkman.

He aided the JLA against the angel Asmodeus. Since then, he joined the Justice League as their spiritual advisor. After Mageddon attacked Earth, Zauriel left the Justice League to protect others on his own.

Fysh

MarkHall wrote: »

Aside for the Thor stuff? I wouldn't really say Ultimates was relgious themes.

I'd say Thor was the main area of discussion, but I thought there was a pretty clear analogy to the what the media presents as "Islamofascism" in Ultimates 2 which dovetails nicely with the "modern-day-Crusades" interpretation of Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive strikes.

MarkHall wrote: »

Chosen would be more along the lines your after.
I believe Millar says it's a sequel to the Bible. Never read it. But may float your boat.

Good call; I thought the series fell a bit flat by virtue of ending in such a way as to feel very much like Part 1 of 3, but in terms of the central character and his struggle with self-identity, spirituality and religion it's definitely worth looking at. Can't help but feel Millar cribbed a lot of it from the Omen movies and hoped nobody'd notice, though...wonder if the upcoming sequel will have the same issue.

magwea

MarkHall wrote: »

I believe Millar says it's a sequel to the Bible. Never read it.

That was a joke right?

Fysh

magwea wrote: »

That was a joke right?

It's Millar, the man would claim his comics cured cancer if he thought he could get away with it

Patrick Brown

You'll probably want to know about Sancho, by board denizen Al Nolan. It's about a Mexican ex-priest and paranormal investigator who's had run-ins with the church, and met God in one issue - after he died, God decided to bring him back to life for amusing reasons. Al's also working with legendary Belfast cartoonist Davy Francis on the 4 Fathers, about a singing group of priests who also fight demons and monsters.

MarkHall

magwea wrote: »

That was a joke right?

Nope. This is from Thought Bubble last November.
http://www.comicbox.com/index.php/news/mar...e-video-part-1/


A bit of Googling gave me this site here.
http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html

Some interesting choices here.
I mean I never new the Vision was Catholic.

ztoical

Patrick Brown wrote: »

You'll probably want to know about Sancho, by board denizen Al Nolan.

And Ian, everyone always forgets poor Ian.

dr. comic

hey all, thanks very much for all the help. some of them i hadn't even heard of before so you're given me plenty to do.Testament by Douglas Rushkoff sounds really good thanks.
as someone mentioned: looking at the ultimates in a modern cutural context such as Bush v, Islamic extremism is one way, if you look at the reaction to thor as a re-interpretaion of jesus and how he was treated, especially tony as a comparison to peter, you can view it in a different light, just a thought.
any comics that has a link to Islam and Christianity would be cool too if anyone has any ideas.
oh and just so no one thinks i'm just some crazy religious guy. i'm a postgard in religion and culture so i write academic papers and theses on religion in comics and graphic novels. dealing with their content and art- so if you know of any with great art that would help too.

cheers guys:)

Fysh

I don't know if anyone's mentioned Bosch Fawstin's "The Infidel" yet. Go here for more information. I have a copy of Fawstin's Table For One and it was very good, so I imagine The Infidel ought to be of a similar quality.

alnolan

ztoical wrote: »

And Ian, everyone always forgets poor Ian.

I've spent the best part of my life trying to forget him.

OldGoat

I supprised nobody has added yet "Cerebus The Arrdvark" by Dave Sim to this collection where amongst his other professions the main character of the comics becomes both a pope and a messiah. Check 'Church & State' books parts I and II.
Enjoy.

Executive Steve

Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise touches on religious attitudes to homosexuality and gender... There's a central lesbian relationship and there's also a committed evangelical christian character, as well as an awful lot of small town american attitudes; here's a brief excerpt of an interview:

DEPPEY: At what point did you decide a conversion to Christianity was the central defining moment in his life?

MOORE: I think right before I got to that scene. I was thinking that they needed to trade secrets. I knew that the problem for Katchoo in that conversation was that David knew more about her than she knew about him. And she was going to hold him to task for that. "You know all this about me but you're not sharing anything, and what kind of friend is that?"

So I was trying to think, "What can he reveal?" For some reason it struck me that there were no real Christians in comics, in mainstream-accepted comics anyway. I thought, "Well, that would be one of the most revolutionary things I could do right now." Because this was in the heyday of like Preacher and Son of Satan, whatever. Everybody was into being as wicked as they could be, or at least looking like they ran with wicked anyway, and I thought one of the most rebellious things David could do was just say, "I'm a Christian." I mean, he was the only one I could think of. There weren't any Christians in comics at all that I could think of, so I thought, "Well, I'll do that." And I'll do it with the same sort of in-your-face-attitude that I did with the whole Emma lesbian thing and dying of AIDS and all that. Here. Boom. Deal with it.

DEPPEY: Now that you mention it, there aren't a lot of positive portrayals of Christianity in comics. Or even in general media. And when it is, it's generally seen by the Coastal types as a sop to the so-called "red states."

MOORE: Exactly. I mean, being a Christian right now is the most uncool thing you could possibly be, whether it's in comics or literature or TV or film or whatever. Pop-culture-wise, for somebody now to stand up and say, "I'm a Christian," they'd have to be very anti-establishment. Unless, they're standing in the middle of the Bible Belt surrounded by churches or something. But, you know, in mainstream culture, it's just not acceptable any more. Which made it all the more fun for me. I like thumbing my nose at both the establishment and the revolution.

DEPPEY: In Volume Four of the pocket editions, Francine's mother introduces her to the local minister who finds himself trying to talk her out of, for lack of a better term, "lesbian temptation." What's interesting about this scene is you don't take the easy, politically correct route of depicting him as a two-dimensional bigot; rather, you portray him as a good man who's simply out of his depth and doesn't have a very firm grasp on what he's talking about.

MOORE: I've known men like that, where the times have just left them behind. They are good men, they mean well, and they're not trying to pass on a political agenda, they really are trying to pass on this lifestyle of faith. But their advice just doesn't work for a young person dealing with a new world, and Francine wasn't buying any of it. She's not a Christian, although she was raised one -- going to church services for holidays and things like that -- but it doesn't work for her, and she doesn't have a very high opinion of it all. I was interested in writing a scene where those two types of people come together. Whereas Katchoo would tell him, "You're wasting your time. Shut up." Francine allows people to talk, even if she's not listening, so you get this incomplete conversation, this unfulfillment.

DEPPEY: And she is very polite to him. You really get the sense that she's lived in this kind of community her whole life, and flows through it fairly easily.

MOORE: Yeah, not everybody's going to have a big reaction to things they don't agree with. Not everybody's knee-jerk emotional about "hey, back off." Given the setting at her mother's house and with somebody she knows, I think that's how she'd handle it. Polite, yeah, thanks but no thanks. She just never thought the answers were going to come from him. I think it was important for me not to make the whole problem of her and Katchoo... I didn't want that to be a religious problem because it's not about that; it's about human instincts. One person walks this way and another walks that way... How did they end up walking together? That's the level I wondered about.

http://www.tcj.com/276/i_tmoore.html

Paddy Samurai

REX MUNDI is quite good.It includes murdered priests, the vatican,the templars,the inquisition,john the baptist,magic and lots more.

THE BORGIAS(available from amazon) is about pope borgia ,murders,corruption etc.