Religions and Comics

CFP: Comics, Religion & Politics

2012-02-01T23:27:00.000-08:00

A CFP for a conference on "Comics, Religion & Politics" at Lancaster University in early September this year went out a few days ago. You'll find it in its entirety below. Note the submission date, which was missing from earlier versions. This should now have been amended on other sites where it's been posted.

Visit the Lancaster University website for future news and updates

Chick it Out X: Jack Chick and the Inner Life of People

2011-10-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

In this post, we turn to the consequences of lifestyles, life-choices, and living with a dead spirit, as perceived by Chick.

Conference and CFP - The 33rd International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts

2011-10-08T04:32:00.000-07:00

The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts have been publishing the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, a class among which comics are counted, for 22 years. Recently, a call for proposals and a list of special guests for the association's 33rd International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts was published online. More information and links after the break.

Chick it Out IX: Jack Chick and Godless Society

2011-10-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

In this post, and in the two following it, we’ll be looking at Chick tracts on phenomena perceived to constitute widespread evils in the majority, highly secular, society. The posts will deal in turn with:

Communism, Drugs/Alcohol/STDs, Evolution, Gangs, Military, and Sports
Abortion, Anger, Homosexuality, Greed, Suicide, and The Spiritually Dead
Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving

Chain World away!

2011-09-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

The pledge meter for Chain World, the comics experiment I have mentioned here earlier, reached the 100% mark today. The costs for shipping the book to the "achor artists" and other planned expenses have thus been met, so the project is a go. It'll be very interesting indeed to see what happens next. A. David Lewis, the man behind the project, has posted an update about a new, secondary goal:

Thrillingly, CWCE will be moving ahead thanks to the generous contributions of our over 50 donors. Almost 2/3rds of that total amount go directly to the "anchor artists," helping to ensure a high level of quality and value for the project itself.

But, with over two days left on the campaign, we are still accepting pledges of support; they'll go to further offset Amazon & Kickstarter fees, feed the pool of postage expenses for faster shipping to/from the anchor artists, and augment the Chain World website which can now be built.

So, if you're inspired by this project and still want to be a part of it (even for as low as $1), you still can! Keep spreading the word about what we're going to unleash upon the world -- it's moving from an abstract idea to a concrete (but still very fluid) reality!

So it's still not too late to get in on the project, for whatever reason. For those of you who have missed what the fuss is about, I'll repost the introductory video:

CFP: On the Scholarship of Religion and Comic Books (12/1/2011; PCA/ACA, April 2012)

2011-09-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't been able to as much as look at my own dissertation since before the summer, and have to keep this site at a slow simmer - and constantly, at best, under construction - due to all manner of work-related obligations, I find that I can, on occasion, become incredibly jealous of the esteemed Mr. A. David Lewis. Somehow, he manages to find the time to write comics, to dream up and attempt to implement experiments like the Chain World Comic Book which we are all anxiously awaiting hitting the 100% mark, to edit books on comics and religion, and most recently come out with the subject of this post, a call for papers for a panel on the scholarship of religion and comic books.

Chick it Out VIII - Jack Chick and False Religions, redux

2011-09-24T05:12:00.000-07:00

Much time and space has been devoted to Chick's representation of other religions in the posts published to date. I have felt it important to provide some detail on what views of these traditions he presents, and there is more to come on other aspects of culture and society critiqued in a similar manner. There is one more subject that need to be touched upon before leaving the subject of religions in Chick tracts, however, and that is their perspective on the occult.

Chick it Out VII - Jack Chick and Israel

2011-09-12T04:15:00.000-07:00

While the religious dimensions of Catholicism and Islam take up much of the space allocated to those communities in Chick’s tract oeuvre, Judaism is not treated to any considerable extent. Jewish themes crop up in five tracts, all labeled Israel. Two deal with the treatment of Israel by other nations and its divine consequences, one deals with the Holocaust (and will be dealt with later), and one in which “[t]hrough the story of Abraham, we learn how today's Middle East crisis began, and how God always keeps His promises.” As a religion however, it seems that for Chick Judaism has no particular weight worth speaking of. Only in one tract does Jewish religion play any part in its own right. That however, I would argue, does not preclude them from being included with the False Religion tracts.

As with the Islam and Catholicism post, the idea here is not to make historical judgments or to critique Chick’s argument, but to present his representation of Israel and Jews and the part they play in his world-view. The post is structured in the same way as the previous two, with one important exception: the issue of Jews as a collective is inseparable from the other aspects, especially that of Israel’s history, so it need not be discussed as a separate issue.

Interview with Naif Al-Mutawa, Creator of The 99

2011-09-08T00:10:00.000-07:00

Jabbar - the powerful,
first ofThe 99

The 99 is, to say the least, a success story. A few short years ago, there was only a basic idea. Today, the comic book about a group of superheroes endowed with special powers after coming in contact with the mythical Noor stones has branched off into a theme park, animation, and even politics. Over the summer, I had a chance to ask their creator, Dr. Naif al-Mutawa, a few questions about the creation of the series, the reactions it has met, and a few other things.

NNCORE goes online

2011-09-07T03:40:00.000-07:00

The NNCORE - Nordic Network for Comics Research - website went online today. The site provides information on the thematic groups that will be doing comics research within the network framework, about the members of NNCORE, and other treats of various and sundry kinds. But what, exactly, is it all about? To quote from our first newsletter:

The Nordic Network for Comics Research, NNCORE, is funded by the Danish Research Council for a two year period starting from September 1, and the activities will culminate in an international conference to be held at the University of Helsinki, in the spring of 2013. NNCORE consists at present of 28 members from all the Nordic countries and Estonia, including both junior and senior scholars, who all have comics as an important component in their work.

The academic study of comics is experiencing a rapid growth, and with NNCORE we want to make sure that the Nordic countries are at the forefront of this development. Studying comics spans across many disciplines, from art and media studies to history and sociology, which offers a wide selection of possible connections between fields of research that are usually divided into different university departments. This characteristic makes it an exciting and challenging field of research, but it also means that it is necessary consciously to create platforms and spaces of interaction for comics research. NNCORE intends to provide such a platform. The result will hopefully be a strong Nordic network on comics research that will cooperate with other national and international networks, and that will generate new scholarship through collective research projects and the production of journal articles, anthologies and monographs.

My own hope for the network is that I will be able to really progress with my comics and religions project within that millieu, and that working the many competent scholars associated with NNCORE will help me clarify and better disseminate the work I'm doing here.

Comics – stories, culture, society

2011-09-05T04:37:00.000-07:00

In connection with the first meeting of the Nordic Network for Comics Research in Denmark in late October this year, a 2 ECTS credit PHD course titled Comics - stories, culture, society is being offered to all takers. Details after the break.

Chick it Out VI - Jack Chick and Islam

2011-09-05T02:12:00.000-07:00

For Chick, Islam is a doubly false religion; its teachings are deluded and its history artificial and in direct continuity with what he claims about Catholicism.

The "Chain World" Comic Book Experiment

2011-08-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

A. David Lewis, one of the people behind the Graven Images conference and eponymous book, as well as comics scholar and creator, has been at it again. This time he's initiated a project which sounds interesting, to say the least. The project, dubbed The "Chain World" Comic Book Experiment, is described in the following way in a release posted on LinkedIn:

with the endorsement of several comics industry professionals, [the project is] aimed at producing one artisan-designed hardcover slipcased 200-page comic book/"graphic novel" with a full-color wrap-around cover, beautifully illustrated initial page of story, and...199 pages left blank.

Call it the most aesthetic chain letter ever, call it the most beautifully tangible campfire "continue-the-story" game, or call it the oddest "jam comic" to ever come down the pike: This whole Experiment is about creating and releasing one book -- only ONE -- to find its narrative destiny unchecked. The book would be passed quietly from one artist to another, never discussing the ongoing story and likely never seeing the book again. Kickstarter donors would be contributing to a social experiment but also becoming part of something simultaneously exclusive and covert.

This Experiment tests whether comics are still an art or now only an industry.

Click below to watch the project's promo video:

For more information on the project, click here.

Got a Chick tract story?

2011-07-20T01:58:00.000-07:00

Like many, my first encounter with Chick tracts occurred in my teens. Like many at that age, I was an avid role-player. At one point, a friend mentioned Chick’s name, expecting immediate recognition and the wicked smile that was sure was to follow. Instead, I looked at him blankly and asked “Who?” A description of the tract Dark Dungeons followed. The story seemed unbelievable. Did something that hilarious really exist? Apparently there was someone who wanted to warn people about the dangers of role-playing (of course, I would soon become aware that were many people out there with socially framed concerns when a murder was connected to role-playing and a miniature moral panic ensued in Sweden). One character in the tract apparently killed herself when her adventurer died, while another had been primed for magic by her playing of the game and soon moved on to practicing real magic.

Soon enough I had read it – if it was a digital copy or an actual paper tract I cannot remember – and was indeed as amused as my friend had expected. Although we didn’t play Dungeons & Dragons like the people in the tract – we were more into the supernatural-themes games produced by White Wolf –, we got the message and applied what seemed to be the suitable amount of irony to our reading of it. Then, it was forgotten and we went back to playing our games and stuffing ourselves with obscene amounts of snacks and soda.

Flash forward a decade or so. I am not entirely sure of the time frame, but sometime in the darker and wetter parts of 2008 or 2009, I once again found myself confronted with the works of Jack T. Chick. This time I was walking past a movie theatre in Lund, Sweden, where I was living at the time. As on several previous occasions, I noticed that a table and some chairs had been set up in an advantageous spot for someone trying to get attention on a Friday or Saturday night in the city. The people responsible were handing out free coffee to anyone who wanted – but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone drinking a cup of it – and with it, as it turned out, Chick tracts. This was the first time I’d noticed that part of the operation and, remembering my previous encounters with them, walked up to the table and accepted both the coffee and the tract. This time it was My Best Friend, a less acerbic tract that focuses less on condemnation than it does on salvation.

I am sure I am not alone in having stories about Chick tracts to tell. After all, they are far from a marginal or isolated phenomenon. After presenting my paper in April this year, I was approached by another researcher who told me that she had once, much to her surprise, found one lodged between the pages of a book she'd bought at Barnes & Noble (it could have been Borders). I would like to ask anyone who has a story about finding or receiving a tract to please send it to me or post it as a comment here. I want to know where and when, why and how you found it, and what effect it had on you. Did you react like I did upon first encountering them, with sarcastic glee? Or did you find something in it that touched you or at least made you want to know more about its producers?

In short, I want to know how people who encounter Chick tracts in their everyday life, whoever you may be, think about them, whatever that opinion is - I want to hear the good and the bad.

Recommendation: Graven images: Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels.

2011-07-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

Lewis, A. David, and Christine Hoff Kraemer, eds. Graven images: Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels. New York: Continuum, 2010.

Toward the end of last year, the edited volume Graven Images: Religion in ComicBooks and Graphic Novels, containing a handful of chapters by comics researchers and comics creators on various aspects of the relationship between comics and religion appeared. Since this is a topic that interests me – a lot – I became cautiously… giddy… when I got the news that it was in press; on the one hand, this could be a book that marked a significant step along the road to the establishment of a sound basis for the study comics and religion, but on the other hand it could turn out to be just another superficial collection of articles that one, at best, had the energy to trudge through, from cover to cover.

It turned out to be the former. In Graven Images, there is a healthy mix of interesting case studies and theoretical discussions, revolving around familiar comics such as Garth Ennis' Preacher and the ubiquitous Chick tracts, but coupled with less often mentioned comics, such as Michael D. Allred's Golden Plates, which is an adaptation of the Book of Mormon.

In short, this is a book well worth the read for anyone interested in comics and religion.

(A full review of the book by yours truly will appear in the Scandinavian Journal of Comics Art at a later date.)

Religion and Comics - From Poor Man's Bible to Battle Pope

2011-06-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

(article originally published as "Religion och serier - från Fattigmans bibel till Battle Pope" in the Swedish comics journal Bild & Bubbla 186, March 2011. Translated and reproduced with permission.)

There are numerous comics today that, to a greater or lesser extent, contain allusions to the world's religions and their inner worlds. The inclusion of religious elements does differ widely from comic to comic - but they all have a use of religious symbols, structures, and stylistic elements in common, to enrich the story being told, whether it is religion using comics in its service or if it's comics taking religion into their service.

Call for Papers - Casting out Evil: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Functions and Understanding of Exorcism in the Abrahamic Religions

2011-04-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

Half outside the topic of this blog, yet not entirely, a colleague and I put out a call for papers today. It’s for a book on exorcism in the Abrahamic religions. While it is not all about comics, there are suggestions for chapters dealing with the representation of exorcism in the arts, literature, and pop culture – the last category, it goes without saying, has room for submissions dealing with our (as in yours and mine) favorite sequential art medium. For those interested, the full text is available below.

Conference Paper on Chick Tracts

2011-04-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

The week so far has been hectic. Monday through Wednesday was conference time, a first for me. The conference in question was Stereotyping the Other. Examining the Anatomy of Religious Prejudice - and Ways to Dismantle It. My own contribution was a paper entitled Turn the Other Chick - Religious Stereotyping in Fundamentalist Comics Tracts.

Thursday was also a long day, but for other reasons not really related to the topics of this blog.

Friday, I posted the paper here - warts and all.

Read more »

Chick it Out V - Chick and the Vatican

2011-04-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

A little later than hoped for, the survey of Chick tracts continues with a trip to the Vatican.

Quick update

2011-03-28T00:44:00.000-07:00

I was planning on getting a post on Chick and Catholicism out this weekend, but the best laid plans of men and mice and all that... It's been an exhausting and expensive few days that - thankfully - ended on a high note. The Twilight Singers delivered just what I needed Sunday night in Copenhagen. Still, me legs hurt something fierce.


Cover image by the very talented Ola Skogäng, creator of Theo's Occult Curiosities.

Over the weekend, the latest issue of the Swedish comics journal Bild & Bubbla was released. Among its, as always, very interesting content my article "Religion och serier - Från Fattigmans bibel till Battle Pope" (Title in English: "Religion and Comics - From Poor Man's Bible to Battle Pope") can be found at the very end, just before the review section (which contains my review of Swedish MAD's sadly lacking 50th anniversary album.) I have talked to the editor of the journal and have gotten permission to reproduce it here, in English translation. So, expect a sort of "road map" to what I aim to do here in a while. While I write this now, the article won't be up for a while yet. I don't want to toss some of the journal's content onto the Internet when the issue itself is still hot of the presses. Waiting a while just seems like the right thing to do.

And now, back to work.

Chick it Out IV - Jack Chick and "False Religions" pt. 3

2011-03-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

Continuing the run-through of Chick tracts on "False Religions," the time has come to touch upon their treatment of Santeria, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Batman Incorporates Muslim - Chaos (and Hilarity) Ensues

2011-03-15T01:31:00.000-07:00

Shortly after the events on September 11th 2001, Marvel Comics introduced the Grant Morrisson-created character Dust. Not too long ago, Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa and Tashkeel Comics introduced the superhero team known as The 99, based on Islamic culture and religion. They quickly became a success, and have since their creation gotten their own theme park, animated series, and a crossover with DC's Justice League of America. Now, the Batman roster has a new parcouring member - who happens to be Muslim.

Far from surprising, there has already been critique of the "left wing" publishers for their "PC indoctrination" and response to the "right wing" critique by people who connect it to the Council of Conservative Citizens lunging at Marvel's throat for having a black man play a Norse role in Thor - and thus ensuring that white people have nothing unique.

Jon Stewart's Daily Show - always able to smell a good controversy - were not slow to react, focusing on a highly Islam-critical comic book creator named Bosch Fawstin:

The Daily Show - Batman's Muslim Sidekick
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Fawstin - apparently not suspecting that what would would be, would be, when he signed on to do an interview for The Daily Show (actually, he seems pretty gracious about his portrayal all things considered) - posted his defense of his less than favorable appearance on his blog, which begins with the ominous sentence "First thing. The Daily Show is a left-leaning comedy show." There's an awful lot of finger-pointing at political camps going on. Somewhere along the line it seems that the "debate" got off track, leaving the ostensible religious dimension far behind. It's almost as if Islam had little to nothing to with it.

Chick it Out III - Jack Chick and "False Religions" pt. 2

2011-03-12T03:20:00.000-08:00

In the last "Chick it Out" post I framed my discussion of Chick’s tracts on “False religions” with Jan Assmann’s idea of truth and falsehood in religions, and introduced the tracts dealing with Masonry. This post continues that discussion with his treatment of two other groups which have their foundations in Christianity: Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Chick it Out II – Jack Chick and "False Religions" pt. 1

2011-03-05T03:20:00.000-08:00

Since the first post in this series on Chick tracts ceded as much space as it did to the view on other, “false”, religions espoused by the Chick ministry, it seems prudent to begin the survey with those tracts dealing with non-Evangelical religious traditions. Later posts will deal with Judaism, Catholicism, and Islam. Before moving on to world religions, however, I will dwell here on smaller groups classed as “False Religions” – Masonry, Santeria, Hinduism, Buddhism, Mormonism, and Jehovah’s witnesses.

Chick it Out I - Introducing Chick Tracts

2011-02-24T03:09:00.000-08:00

Maybe you’ve seen Chick tracts before, maybe not. Perhaps someone’s come up to you and handed you one when you least expected it, or you’ve stumbled upon this blog completely without prior knowledge. How and why you got here doesn’t really matter. Over the coming weeks or months, I intend to present most of the Chick tracts published to date, with synopses and short discussions. Hopefully, when this project-within-a-project is over, you’ll know everything you’ve ever wanted to know (and much that you didn’t) about these small pamphlets.

The plan is to present them five tracts at a time, sorted according to the classification provided by the Chick Publications website. I already know, going in, that this will not be possible for all the types of tracts published, so expect both shorter and longer posts.