Hat tip to Philip Culbertson, who emailed me this link.
Stephan’s web-page : Pop songs about Jesus
The people who compile this sort of things have way too much time on their hands.
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There’s a new 10th anniversary edition of Dylan Horrocks’ “Hicksville” coming out!
You can read more about it here - Newsarama.com : Dylan Horrocks Welcomes Readers Back to HICKSVILLE.
And there’s a book launch and exhibition for it on Friday, 19th March, here in Auckland. See Hicksville at the High Seas! « Hicksville Comics
I loved ‘Hicksville’ (Greenflame · Mapping the land and ourselves and Greenflame · Dylan Horrocks on comics, games and world-building) but I have never gotten around to purchasing a copy. Looks like this might be the time, though given how much I’m out of home in the evenings and weekends for work things at the moment, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get to it.
Over the past year of so I’ve become quite interested in the whole ‘warrior nun’ figure in contemporary comic book. From The Magdalena and Warrior Nun Areala through to more recent The Sisterhood. While they tend to follow the standard superhero formulae (including ’spandex’) there are the odd moments where some interesting religious/spiritual material gets dealt with and also novel ways that religious symbols are appropriated.
Finding back issues of these kinds of comics is pretty hard here in NZ - I’ve picked up some at events like Armageddon - some I was interested to read that there was a new series of The Magdalena coming out soon.
As part of that there was a recent interview with the co-authors of the series, Ron Marz and Nelson Blake, about what they plan to do with the series. (See Newsarama.com : The Descendant of Jesus Christ Fights in TOP COW Ongoing Series).
In the interview, Marz says,
Well, hopefully nobody thinks this is going to be a theology text. The book is still about a kick-ass chick in a cool costume fighting monsters. But we’ll definitely touch on matters of faith, and the role of organized religion in the world.
So I guess it’s business of usual there.
You can also see some of a past Magdalena story over at: Tied in with that is
Newsarama | Ron Marz/Ryan Sook’s Full MAGDALENA Story FREE! Page 1
(I wonder if any of the nuns I know have an assortment of ninja weapons and equipment?)
Way, way back as a kid I can remember us owning a couple of the “Terran Trade Authority” books that were packed full of space opera concept art and historical vignettes that tied them all together. (see here also). The best work in the books was, IMHO, that of Peter Elson (some of whose images you can see here)
Anyway, this nostalgic ramblimg was all brought on by this When Space Opera Becomes Art - space opera - io9.
The New Zealand Film Archive has been putting a selection of it’s archives of old television advertisements up online. Makes for some interesting viewing - though they didn’t have the ad I really wanted to see (the late 1970’s TV ad for Cadbury Crunchie bars based around a Star Wars saga motif).
See The Film Archive - It’s a Sellebration | They don’t make them like they used to.
A quick list from Newsarama site of movies coming out this year using comic books as their original source material. Newsarama.com : Comic Book Movie Decade - the Next 365 Days.
As noted around the web with Disney’s acquisition of Marvel, Warner Bros. and DC have some significant challenges facing them - though it looks like we might finally get Wonder Woman and the Flash on the big screen because of it. (See Newsarama.com : MARVEL VS. DC - AT THE MOVIES)
Of course, we’re all waiting for 2011 and the Green Lantern movie.
While looking around the web for the ‘Sierra Leone’ music video (by 80’s band Coconut Rough) I stumble across this really cool archive of NZ music videos. There goes the evening.
Vampires appear to be the order of the day, starting off with:
And then all the recent religion and popular culture posts about Twilight and Mormonism:
- Touchstone Archives: Mormon Vampires in the Garden of Eden by John Granger
- The Sci Fi Catholic: John Granger on Twilight
- Where Twilight Studies Meets Mormon Studies: Setting the Record Straight | A Motley Vision
- Mormon Vampires in the Garden of Eden? « Daniel O. McClellan
And then, in general:
If you liked Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and you like comic books then you might be interesting in this coming out from Dark Horse - Dr. Horrible (one-shot).
You can read an interview with the writer over at Newsarama.com : [Zack] Whedon’s DR. HORRIBLE: DHC’s Latest One-Shot Wonder.
A while back I wrote a piece for Candour, a Presbyterian eZine, on some of the different ways religion and comic books interact. A few months later I needed to lecture in that area for my Bible in Popular Culture course, and so had all the notes prepared. I love it when a plan comes together.
The article looked at:
- How biblical material gets directly transfered to graphical media. (e.g. a graphic adaptation of a gospel)
- How spiritual and religious material might occur in ’secular’ comic books.
- How comic book material might be used for tracts and polemics, and to support a faith-community.
- And finally, how the comic book format might be used as a theological or spiritual source (e.g. wrestling with theodicy).
The next step would be to take each of these sections and turn them into academic articles in their own right. I always wanted a job where I’d get paid to read comic books 
Picked up some good materials at Armageddon at the weekend to help with this.
One of the things we’ve touched on briefly in the Bible in Popular Culture course is the intersection of politics and religion in popular culture. This link demonstrates one particular way that might occur - One Nation Under God.
I don’t know if something like this (In-App Sales and iTablet: The Killer Combo to Save Publishing? | Gadget Lab | Wired.com) would work, but I really like something like that to buy and read comics and graphic novels on. If the screen was the same size as a printed comic book page and in colour then I’d be first in line to buy one. (Plus I wouldn’t have to worry about the plastic bags etc. for keeping the comics in).
Every now and then something like this comes along while you’re teaching a course on the same thing. Will be pointing students in the Bible in Popular Culture course over here - The Most Exalted Star Wars Religious Art In The Universe.
The New Yorker had short article looking at seven fantasy books you might read after finishing off the well-known staples of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. You can find the list at Seven Essential Fantasy Reads: Going to Second Base: The Book Bench : The New Yorker. (As an aside, I think I’ve read all of these, apart from “The Name of the Wind” which I’ll go an hunt down).
Setting up a ‘definitive’ list of books or an anthology can be a fraught process though. For example, see the recent reaction to ‘The Mammoth Book of Mindblowing Science Fiction’ (see also: Making Lists: Mindblowing SF by Women and People of Color).
I grew up reading anthologies of science fiction short stories and novellas, which instilled in me a love of tight, well-crafted speculative narratives - something I think has been lost in the grand multi-volume epics churned out by publishers now which seem to pad much of their stories with ‘character development fluff’ (yes, I’m talking about things like the Safehold series). And I love space opera as well as hard science fiction.
So I’m in rapture over the local public library taking my suggestion and acquiring both "The New Space Opera" and "The New Space Opera 2". Picked them up yesterday and thoroughly enjoying them.
From the bizzare, cult TV file - New Zealand On Screen releases a couple of episodes of “A Haunting We Will Go” featuring the milk-loving vampire, Count Homogenised. I have some vague recollection about seeing the character live somewhere as a child. Anyway, video links below:
- NZ On Screen - A Haunting We Will Go - Pilot Episode
- NZ On Screen - A Haunting We Will Go - Cellar Ghost
(I can’t believe I watched this stuff as a kid).
On a milk related theme - does anyone know if the “Milk Bottle Rap” that Anchor(?) used to advertise milk with on TV is online somewhere?
Continuing my current interest in things vampire, here’s an interesting article on the continual reinvention of the vampire in popular culture by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, particularly in the face of technological change:
And through awe, we once again regain spiritual humility. The current vampire pandemic serves to remind us that we have no true jurisdiction over our bodies, our climate or our very souls. Monsters will always provide the possibility of mystery in our mundane “reality show” lives, hinting at a larger spiritual world; for if there are demons in our midst, there surely must be angels lurking nearby as well. In the vampire we find Eros and Thanatos fused together in archetypal embrace, spiraling through the ages, undying.
Forever.
See Op-Ed Contributors - Why Vampires Never Die - NYTimes.com.
Hat tip to Mary
Some random pop culture links while I’m clearing out browser tabs.
Firstly, I’m really wondering how this comic book crossover is going to work. ‘Truth, justice and the American way’ and American superhero icons meet THE 99, a comic book which aims to provide Muslim and Arab youth with culturally-relevant heroes whose superhero strengths, actions and virtues personify each of the 99 qualities that Muslims believe are the attributes of God.
More details at:
- Superman and Batman to join forces with Islamic superheroes - Telegraph
- DC Comics’ superheroes join forces with characters inspired by Allah | World news | The Guardian
- DC Universe: The Source » Blog Archive » THE JUSTICE LEAGUE AND THE 99 TO JOIN FORCES IN UPCOMING MINI-SERIES
Secondly, an interesting short article on vampyr lifestyle - see Fangs for the memories - Religion and beliefs - NZ Herald News
Thirdly, Evangelicals In the Star Trek Universe | internetmonk.com (HT to James at Exploring Our Matrix.
And lastly, My iPhone’s bigger than yours - cartoonist Michael Leunig’s take on technology.
I’ve been reading this book over the past couple of days. So far I’ve read the Stargate SG-1 and Babylon 5 essays, both of which are useful summaries. Looking forward to next essay.
In the midst of all of the end of semester madness of assignment and examination marking, meetings and marketing it’s been a week to muse on theology and popular culture.
Firstly, I’ve been finishing off the course outlines and assessment tasks for the course “The Bible and Popular Culture” that I’ll be teaching next semester. It’s a big class being a general education course at the university (an order of magnitude bigger that a regular undergrad theology class), so it’ll be a good chance to teach in a new environment. The class is taken by students from pretty much every faculty, so I won’t assume anything. You can see the description of the course over here.
Then on Wednesday the university hosted its annual STEAM AHEAD day, highlighting opportunities for Maori and Pacific Island school leavers. As part of that I did a presentation on theology using a clips from Bro’ Town, Firefly (the scene in Jaynestown where River and Shepherd Book discuss ‘fixing the Bible’), and a scene from Spider-Man (where the hero has to decide whether to save MJ or the cable car of kids - what would ground the decisions to be made here?).
And then on Thursday, I’ve been asked to write a piece relating popular culture and church - thinking I’ll do something on ‘Four-colour theology’ around comic books and graphic novels. Must be time to find some back issues of some comics while on leave for the next few days.
Now that’s really clever: YouTube - Buffy vs Edward (Twilight Remixed).
I am constantly in awe of people who can do this kind of mash-up.
Part 1 of an interesting interview on the comic book character ‘Robin‘ and sidekicks in general. I’m looking forward to Part 2.
See Confessions of an Aca/Fan: Boy and Girl Wonders: An Interview with Mary Borsellino (Part One).
See also: Project Girl Wonder
I stumble across A Softer World. The strips are an eclectic mix, and often dwell on death and grief, but there are some thought provoking strips in there.
Way, way back I started reading the late Robert Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” series. Probably back in 1991, I think. Anyway, I liked some of the series premises, even if I couldn’t stand how most of the latter books dragged, increased the number of extraneous ancilliary characters, and never appeared to be heading for a conclusion. I was hoping they’d be a final volume to wrap it all up - but with the sad event of Jordan’s death and then the subsequent author’s work on the series makes it looks like it’ll be three more volumes!.
Some I’m intrigued to see how this comic series will work - Newsarama | Preview: Wheel of Time: Eye of the World #1. Could it really take 28 years to get through the story in comic book form?
I also loved the one-shot introductory issue #0 of Dynamite’s Buck Rogers, so this looks like it might be worthwhile picking up for a while to see where it goes. See Newsarama | First Look: Dynamite’s Buck Rogers #1
A couple of Star Trek links. Pondering when to go myself.
An interesting short story giving a spin on Superman. See Last Son of Tomorrow by Greg Van Eekhout.
I thought this was very good - a virtual reality love story.
See also YouTube - World Builder (high quality)
Similar in some ways to Grek Pak’s Robot Stories.
Interesting post on why some TV shows get cancelled. Written predominantly about US shows, I think the point about allowing new viewer to jump in to a show at a later point is a good one. Shows with story arcs that build on each episode allow character and plot development, but do hinder picking up a show later on.
See in the open space: God & culture: Why good television shows get cancelled.
Some interesting posters highlighting different films reflecting on biblical material and themes. See Reel Religion: A Century of the Bible and Film - Telegraph
Interesting list over at Rant: The 7 Deadly Sins Of Religion In Science Fiction. For all the interesting things people do with religion in science fiction there are some real clangers.
Blog I stumbled across. Will drop in on it occasionally and see what’s being talked about. See in the open space: God & culture.
Looks like another comic to add to my religious comic mini-collection. In this case it’s Mark Millar’s American Jesus. You can read an interview with Millar over at Newsarama.com : American Jesus: Book of Revelation Told in Comic Book.
A preview of the comic can be found here: Newsarama | FULL ISSUE - Mark Millar’s American Jesus Vol. 1: Chosen
This looks interesting - really big robot fish being used as sensing devices. Shades of Stingray, perhaps?
See Robot fish detects pollution - technology | Stuff.co.nz.
For those of you who missed out on Stingray in your childhood, here’s a link to the TV show’s title sequence. (Always had a soft spot for ’scifi’ submarine/underwater shows like Sealab 2020, Man from Atlantis, Stingray and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Though, somehow really didn’t get into seaQuest DSV)
I love anthologies of science fiction short stories - a chance to read new stories by familiar authors, as well as the opportunity to find out about new authors to follow up at the library. Just reading "Year’s Best SF 11" by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer which was published back in 2006, and really enjoyed the following stories.
A Case of Consilience by Ken MacLeod intentionally picks up on James Blish’s pondering of religion in outer space in A Case of Conscience (See Greenflame: Books from Blogs). You can read it over here.
Secondly, David Langford’s New Hope for the Dead deals with the issue of transhumanist uploading - and more particularly who pays for that, a point I rarely/never see written about in their literature. Again, you can read the story over here at New Hope for the Dead.
Newsarama.com : Could Kindle Kill Comics? e-Reading Devices Cloud Future raises some of the possibilities (positive and negative) digital comics as a product for readers like the Kindle might bring.
I enjoyed Justice League: The New Frontier so this looks promising Newsarama.com : Warner Bros Announces Green Lantern: First Flight.
And, seeing GL on the big screen looks like it might be getting closer too - Newsarama.com : Warners’ Green Lantern, Jonah Hex Get Release Dates.
I’ve been reading Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier edited by Rhonda Wilcox and Tanya Cochran on the train in the past week or so. Some really interesting essays on different aspects of the Firefly universe and well worth a look if you’re interested in looking how people from different disciplines might engage critically with a TV show like this.
I’ve also been reading Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale edited by James South and William Irwin. Again, some interesting material in there.
One thing that comes through from time to time though, is the sense that the occasional author is so caught up in the constructed world that they engage more with the characters as ‘real people’ rather than with the people (directors, writers, actors etc.) who shape that world. A problem perhaps for anyone writing about something they care about deeply.
That said, I’ve asked the library to order Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon’s Firefly and Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon’s Firefly Universe.
Does anyone know if what, if any, relationship exists between the Peter Haynes short film Fanboys (2003) and the cinematic release of Fanboys (2009)?
I’ve been meaning to get hold of "Batman Gotham Knight" for a while now. It’s a collection of Batman short stories animated and interpreted by different anime creators, similar to the "The Animatrix".
Henry Jenkins has some thoughts on whether it qualifies as true transmedia storytelling over at Confessions of an Aca/Fan: The Many Lives of The Batman (Revisited): Multiplicity, Anime, and Manga
Game Based Learning .:: alpha version ::. - Public Pedagogy through Video Games: by James Paul Gee and Elizabeth Hayes (Design, Resources & Affinity Spaces) is a really interesting article on how informal learning (and critical thinking within that) might function to enhance education.
Hat tip to Derek.
A couple of recent articles relevant to stuff I’m teaching later in the year.
Ages ago, when I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer (intermittently) I saw the final episode of Season 6 (Grave) and was struck with the juxtaposition the visual material at the end with a musical version of the prayer attributed to St Francis sung by Sarah McLachlan. Ever since then I’ve been wanting to track the song down, but it’s never been available in NZ.
However, I see now that recent 2008 album “Rarities, B-Sides 2 And Other Stuff, Volume 2″ (Sarah McLachlan) has that song on it, and it’s also now avaiable in the NZ iTunes Store and also at DigiRama. Cool.
Right.
Fernando’s post Fernando’s Desk » Why Joss Whedon Is a Better Theologian than Most Bloggers and Preachers linked through to Ryan Torma’s blog (ryan torma: Firefly & Faith) which in turn linked through to Cowgirl Jazz’s blog with lots of Firefly material and to Ryan’s own article “Seeking Serenity: Creating spaces for theological dialogue between churches and young adults through the Joss Whedon television series Firefly and film Serenity“.
Further chasing of links lead to:
Which in turn reminded me of:
And I’ve gone through the blog and now put everything Firefly and Serenity related into a new “Firefly” category with links to resources relating to Firefly, reviews, comics etc.
Next year I’m teaching the general education course The Bible in Popular Culture (in which I can indulge my love of comics etc. and be paid for it), so I’ve been checking material to add the that which previous lecturers have used. A while back (Greenflame · More comics and religion) I noted that there were some recent Superman stories that explored religious aspects of the character, and this week I’ve gotten around to reading the recent trade paperback that put several of them in one volume.
Superman: Redemption by Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza collects three stories - one about a woman who sees Superman as her personal angel of judgement, another about what happens when fundamentalist religion and superpowers mix, and a third that continues the DC universe’s development of the nature of Hell. The last story didn’t really work for me - it felt a bit clumsy (compared to some of the Sandman or Spectre material that intersects the DC universe) - but the other two stories were worth looking at. I’ll try and buy the TPB for my own collection of such things next time the comic shop has a sale.
Has anyone read "Aliens Are God’s Children Too" by J.J. Stewart? Sci Fi Catholic notes in A Little Bit of Christmas… that there’s a sample chapter available at Aliens Are God’s Children Too: Christmas on another planet.
I’m tossing up setting an essay on what the implications for religious faith might be in the face of potential discoveries of extra-terrestrial life, so the idea’s sort of floating around in my head at the moment. (Either that or it’s a side effect of too much Christmas cake eaten with strong blue cheese.)
I’ve just finished (and quite enjoyed) Walter Jon Williams’ novel “Implied Spaces”. Again, it’s a mix of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, virtual immortality, as well as some stuff relating to discussions about the anthropic principle. (See also Counterbalance’s The Anthropic Principle video material (Real Player, I think)). Plus, it’s got some theological speculation thrown in.
Anyway, in the novel Williams posits the idea of ‘implied spaces’. Drawing upon architecture and the design of virtual worlds this argues that the constraints applied to the desired design produce implied or unforeseen design artifacts. For example, if you want to build a building with a dome that’s supported by arches that will produce certain kinds of spaces in that building as a side-effect. Moreover, this is apparent when designing virtual worlds. If you’ve ever been involved in world-building, say for a role-playing game or simulation - then there are particular ’spaces’ that exist between ’spaces’ that have intentional, focused design in them. And these implied spaces might demonstrate new or interesting landscapes when stuff ‘leaks’ into them from outside or by the constraints that have been applied to them.
Where this is all going is some fairly loose theological thoughts. What implied spaces do we generate in our theologizing? What is created in the spaces between doctrines, for example? And what new theological landscapes need mapping as we seek to link different reflections upon faith and life? And what might we find already there if we do this exploration? What might have leaked from the nice, categorised, and safe(?) landscapes that have been developed over time into these implied spaces?
A colleague returned from SBL in Boston with a copy of Steve Ross’ Blinded for me. It’s a graphic interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles from Saul/Paul’s perspective, but as with Ross’ previous graphic novel Marked this one remixes the 1st century Mediterranean world with contemporary imagery and settings. The retelling creates quite a different perspective on Paul than some (many)people would be comfortable with (and also with some of the other figures from Acts), but then that’s what this style of work is all about - taking a story, interpreting it graphically, and creating a paraphrase that challenges the reader. Definitely worth a look if you’re interested in the interaction of popular culture and religion.
Excellent. I’m all for different ways of getting people to think about things and this looks interesting: How Comics Can Save Us From Scientific Ignorance
Related links: Greenflame · Action Philosophers!
James points to a number of links over at Exploring Our Matrix: Religiously-Inflected Science Fiction. Of note are:
- This World and the Next: Classic books on science fiction and spirituality. (Sojourners Magazine/November 2008) by Elizabeth Palmberg.
- Spiritually-Inflected Science Fiction by Elizabeth Palmberg
To which we can also add The Sci Fi Catholic: Sci-fi Essay at First Things pointing to FIRST THINGS: On the Square » Blog Archive » Reel Aliens.
Related links: Greenflame · Science Fiction
A couple of interesting posts over on io9.com:
- Steal This Pitch: What Other Classics Need To Be Given The Odyssey Treatment? talks in passing about creating sci-fi based on biblical stories. (HT James)
- Green Lantern: Green Lantern’s Epic Space-Hero Script Gets A B-Minus. See also Newsarama.com : Guggenheim on the Green Lantern Movie & Rumors. Hopefully this works out well.
I’ve always loved science fiction, but I really, really love space opera. Whether that’s on TV, in the movies, in comic books or novels or short stories, there’s nothing quite like curling up with something like that on a Sunday afternoon or on the train on the way home from work.
So I’m really enjoying Neal Asher’s Polity series with it’s space ships, artificial intelligence, cyborgs, alien invasions, political intrigue, biotech etc. etc. etc. It’s probably on the fringe of moving from space opera to more serious science fiction given some of the deeper themes in it in places, but that’s not a problem. Some of the transhuman and posthuman themes in it intersect with those of Alistair Reynolds
Haven’t had too much time recently for leisure reading, let alone trawling the library for various graphic novels, trade paperbacks and other items of interest. Normally, I’d read on the train but I’ve had to drive into work much more this semester and what time I have had for reading on the train has been spent in part reading journal articles or reading material for courses I’m teaching.
That said, I have managed to read a few lately and here are some random thoughts about them.
Firstly, I managed to track down a copy of “Rex Libris: I, Librarian” by James Turner. Think Indiana Jones meets Mean in Black meets the library. So librarians are actually highly trained agents of a secret organisation that seeks to promote and protect human civilzation, and will go to great lengths to promote that agenda. The mild mannered librarian is just a front, and patrons (from as far away as outer space or spirit realms) will be pursued by ‘armed and dangerous’ librarians for the overdue books etc. The humor is dry, there’s some interesting philosophical discussion at points, and it works well in the black-and-white vector format. Definitely work a look at.
You can find out more at:
- James Turner’s web site www.jtillustration.com/rex/
- Sample comic pages at SLG Publishing.
I’ve also just finished Craig Thompson’s graphic novel “Blankets”, which is possibly the longest graphic novel I’ve ever read (582 pages!). It’s basically an autobiography by Thompson describing his childhood growing up in American fundamentalism/evangelicalism, his first love, and his early adulthood. It’s hard work in places, and Thompson’s art isn’t always to my liking, but it’s a very good example of using this format to tell a story.
More information over at:
- Blankets (graphic novel) - Wikipedia
- Topic Shelf Productions - Blankets by Craig Thompson (including preview)
Also, in anticipation of the movie coming out next year I’ve been reading Alan Moore’s “Watchmen”. Credited as one of the most significant graphic novel/comics ever produced, it’s far too complex for me to describe here. (See description over at Watchmen - Wikipedia). It will be interesting to see if the movie is true to the book’s alternate American history set in the 70/80s Cold War, or whether it is revisioned for the contemporary world. My other concern is that the book is really intellectually engaging - whether that comes across in the movie remains to be seen. This is as much a deconstruction of the popular superhero mythos as a critique of Western values. You can look at the film trailer over here.
Finally, I also read “Infinite Crisis”, in the vague hope it’d clear up some confusion over the current state of the DC comics universe(s). Didn’t work for me - to disjointed and definitely not as good as it could have been.
Ah, WarGames. I loved that movie when it came out, but can’t really believe it was 25 years ago. Probably one of the things that influenced my computer science studies a few years later. Here’s a write up on the movie as it hits its 25th anniversary. See WarGames: A Look Back at the Film That Turned Geeks and Phreaks Into Stars
After listening to Steve’s presentation on River as a Christ-figure in the movie Serenity, I felt inspired to walk up to Heroes for Sale and grab the last two parts of the latest Serenity mini-series “Better Days” from Dark Horse comics.
Suffice to say I was disappointed. The story seemed to drag, some of the characterisation and language seemed “off”, and it didn’t really grab me like the first mini-series “Those Left Behind” did. Plus, there’s the sense of “dead men walking” if you’ve seen the film. Still, it is Serenity (and walking up the hill to the shop did clear my head of conference ‘fug’ and stretch my legs after a day sitting listing to stuff).
I also picked up the next issue in Image Comics “Transhuman” series - which deals with venture capital funding in this issue. It’s okay, but again the previous issue was much better.
See also:
Greenflame · Serenity: Better Days
Greenflame · Transhuman - The comic mini-series
Very busy this week juggling SBL + work stuff in the gaps - always a problem when a conference is happening on your own campus.
Good to catch up with lots of different people over the week.
Various random highlights included:
Going to a presentation in an ecological stream and in the question time finding out about Transition Towns (see also Transition Towns New Zealand Aotearoa)
Having Steve (the emergentkiwi) to stay for a couple of nights and enjoying his paper/presentation on female Christic figures in cinema (especially in “Whale Rider”, “The Fifth Element” and “Serenity”).
Seeing a new crop of postgrads (and a few undergrads) from around the country front up and present their research. Some really good presentations today which bodes well for new people coming through in biblical studies in this part of the world.
Doing my paper on “Broadening the application of the co-creator metaphor”, getting some good feedback, and surviving getting into my talk before realizing I was using the version of the paper without the last minute changes I’d made to it the night before. (Luckily I had the new version on me and could grab it without breaking stride too much).
Listening to an intriguing paper after mine on Melanesian perceptions of the world (especially time) and how that shapes the enculturation of the the gospel and teaching theology. Some good material there that would intersect with developing an Oceanian theology of technology.
It’s been a long week so I’m now looking forward to a lazy weekend.
Picked up the following book from a sale pile today at a book clearance store. Hoping to find some time to flick through it at some point - perhaps on the train traveling to and from the SBL international conference in a week’s time. Must have a hunt through the conference programme book and see if there’s anything in there relating to popular culture.
“Living with Star Trek: American Culture and the Star Trek Universe” (Lincoln Geraghty)
Great little article by Sam J. Miller over at mental_floss Blog » Battlestar Galactica vs. Star Trek looking at the difference in anthropologies underlying Star Trek (pretty positive) and the new Battlestar Galactica (pretty negative). Worth a quick read.
Miller argues that Galactica doesn’t hide the warts or flaws in human nature and relationships, or paint a rosy picture of some kind of trajectory towards perfection achievable through the myth of progress. He says of that,
Galactica is sci-fi without that BS. Sci-fi with all the anger and stupidity and sadness that real people experience. Sci-fi without the conviction that we will conquer our own ugliness. Sci-fi for the age of peak oil and 9/11 and natural disasters compounded by climate change to the point where they can completely destroy major cities. Galactica’s message is that unless we come to terms with our own history, we are doomed. Mankind created the Cylons to fight our wars and to do our grunt work for us. Eventually they rose up and wiped out 99.999% of us. This basic lesson is one we still haven’t learned: that exploitation leads to exploitation, that if you oppress someone you sow the seeds of your own oppression. “You can’t play God and then wash your hands of the things you’ve created,†says the Galactica’s commander, William Adama. “Sooner or later, the day comes when you can’t hide from the things that you’ve done anymore.â€
It’s similar to the flaws in humanity that Joss Whedon brought out in Firefly or J. Michael Straczynski kept in Babylon 5.
Hat tip to Exploring Our Matrix: Around the Blogosphere (The End of the Banana Argument)
Related link: Greenflame · Science fiction as safe(?) space to explore unpleasant questions
Just finished watching Justice League: The New Frontier DVD borrowed from the local library, which is the animated movie of Darwyn Cooke’s “The New Frontier†detailing the formation of the Silver Age Justice League. I enjoyed it, and especially so because it dealt primarily with the characters of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen) and Martian Manhunter (J’onn J’onzz) rather than the normal Trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
The artwork style is very much 1960s, and for the comics enthusiast there are all sorts of cameo appearances and background details to note. And while it’s animated superheroes the plot and content (for example, the shades of grey in politics) are definitely geared for an audience above children’s level (The rating on the the DVD here is “Mâ€). As the Line of Fire review noted below states: “This is a fine film, definitely geared towards adults, a little too violent for the kids, but for anyone who ever loved superheroes, you will find an appreciation of this film.†However, for audiences outside of the US there will be a few moments where the elements of the story may not resonate as strongly as they might for those brought up in the US context.
Related links:
Justice League: The New Frontier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Justice League: The New Frontier DVD Review - Line of Fire Reviews - Comics Bulletin
Absolute DC: The New Frontier HC Review - Line of Fire Reviews - Comics Bulletin
As a child growing up there were certain TV shows that could only be watched from “behind the couchâ€. You wanted to know what happened, but at the same time the tension (and scariness) of the episode required that some form of retreat or protection was needed. These shows included the (Tom Baker) Dr Who ‘Pyramids of Mars‘ episodes, the UK series ‘Children of the Stones‘, and the New Zealand kid’s science fiction drama ‘Under the Mountain’, based on the Maurice Gee novel of the same name.
Today, we picked up the Under the Mountain DVD of TV series (filmed back in the early 80s). I’m looking forward to moving the couch forward a bit from the wall, and sitting down to watch it with the kids. Should be fun, especially as a couple of the kids have already read the novel.
Also, on a related note - the creator of ‘Black Sheep‘ is going to produce a movie version of the book aimed at teenagers. That should be worth seeing when it happens. More details here.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away Darren wrote in an email “i’ll do serenity asap…â€. That was June 2006.
Now, however, he’s started the great Firefly Study Series and you can find the first parts at:
- Firefly Study Series - Introduction | Youth Ministry Blog
- Firefly Study Series - Episode 01 - Serenity | Youth Ministry Blog
- Firefly Study Series - Episode 02 - The Train Job | Youth Ministry Blog
He’s also noted the link (via Tensegrities) to a series of Firefly clips over at Cowgirl Jazz.
A while back I saw the graphic novel “The Homeless Channel†being mentioned around the net. Part satire, part social commentary, part something else, the story is based around a cable reality TV show that provides 24 hour coverage of the homeless people in the city and the lives of people that intersect with that TV show. It sounds intriguing, and quite different from any other graphic novel I’ve seen recently. I’m going to try and see if I can get hold of a copy.
Comics Bulletin has a couple of pieces related to it: The first is an interview with the creator, Matt Silady, while the second is a review of the novel.
- Matt Silady’s Homeless Channel: Not Just Basic Cable: Interviews & Features Archive - Comics Bulletin
- Homeless Channel Review - Line of Fire Reviews - Comics Bulletin
The creator, Matt Silady, also has a preview of the novel and a movie trailer of the story.
“Rapture” theology, and indeed the broader category of ‘apocalyptic’ that it sits within, lends itself to dramatic, visual imagery that can be picked up by comics books. The latest of these, Armageddon Now: Word War 3, is about to hit the shelves (if it hasn’t already). And as with many of these things it juxtaposes contemporary world-events with a particular (often loose) interpretation of apocalyptic biblical material. The way things are portrayed you get the impression that many would like to be ‘left behind’ so they can go to town with extreme armament and fight their way into the pearly gates.
You can see the main web site for comic over at: Welcome to - Armageddon Now: Word War 3
There’s an interview with one of the creators of the comic here at NEWSARAMA.COM: ROB LIEFELD GETS BIBLICAL.
Related links - Greenflame · Once Upon a Tribulation
For those of you who are suffering from needing a Serenity or Firefly fix, then Dark Horse’s Firefly/Serenity mini-series “Better Days” is now out. I picked up issue 1 the other day, and it’s a good read if you’re a fan-boy or girl. Actually, it’s a good read for a comic in general - I’ve read some not so good comics recently from the library’s trade paperback/graphic novel selection. If you can do the character’s voices in your head while reading then it really rocks.
More details over at Dark Horse Comics > Profile > Serenity: Better Days #1 (of 3).
Oh, and I see the “Star Gate: The Ark of Truth” is already out on DVD in NZ. Seeing as I’m still finishing off Season 9 of Stargate SG-1 it’ll be a while before I get there, but it’s nice to know it’s waiting for me. Just like I’ll get to “Battlestar Galactica: Razor” when I’ve knocked the last few episodes of Season 3 off. I must admit I’m struggling to be enthralled with the end of BSG season 3 maybe it’s better watched one episode per week rather than three episodes at a time. Currently, I’m trying to avoid Season 4 spoilers - which seems to be harder than it should be - people keep putting them in their blog posts without spoiler warnings!
Picked up the first issue of Transhuman from Image Comics yesterday. It’s a four-part mini-series in a documentary format set in the not to distant future and deals with the initial commercial forays into commercialising technologies to produce ‘off-the-shelf’ human self-modification of a transhumanist nature. I thought the first issue was quite good, and offered some insight into the commercial agendas of biotechnology often glossed over in the transhumanist literature. I’ll be interested in where the series goes.
The comic made it onto the transhumanist-related Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies blog. See IEET - Transhuman, the comic, which includes a link to some sample pages from the issue here.
Various reviews of the issue can be found at:
Over at InsideCatholic.com - Science Fiction and the Areopagus, Mark Shea contends that science fiction (and fantasy) are one of the last places left in the media to explore questions relating to philosophy and religion. And the intriguing proposition that fandom is similar to the Pauline Areopagus.
Such work is, it seems to me, vital. St. Paul did not wait around for the Athenians to come to him. He walked into a city where, as Luke marveled, “all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new” (Acts 17:21), and opened his mouth on the Areopagus. It’s a perfect description of the world of fandom.
Hat tip to The Sci Fi Catholic: Mark Shea Discusses Catholicism in Sci-Fi.
Related links:
A brief but useful article on care of comics. See Store Your Comics Properly - Wired How-To Wiki
We recently picked up the first season of Amazing Extraordinary Friends on DVD and the kids (plus some older ones) are loving it. A locally-made teenage superhero series that doesn’t take itself seriously, with the kids yelling out when they see a location in ‘Central City’ that they know. The effects are a little corny and a selection of familiar faces fill the adult roles, but it has a certain charm, pays homage to the genre, and has a soundtrack heavily influenced by Danny Elfman (from my ear anyway).
Think Heroes (with way less violence) meets The Greatest American Hero meets Who Wants to Be a Superhero? (and I’d also throw in elements of Zenith, Mystery Men and Ben 10).
We never saw the series when it first played on NZ free to air TV, but will look out for it in future.
You can find the trailers for seasons 1 and 2 at:
- YouTube - Amazing Extraordinary Friends - Series 1 Trailer
- YouTube - The Amazing Extraordinary Friends - Series 2 Trailer
On a related note - other TV series the kids have enjoyed on DVD recently include:
- Maddigan’s Quest - YouTube - Maddigan’s Quest Trailer
- Shoebox Zoo - both seasons 1 & 2 (though season 1 was the favourite)
- Jane and the Dragon - Trailer and clips here.
Al Hsu (over at The Suburban Christian) had a couple of interesting posts recently.
The first, The Suburban Christian: Planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence, links through to The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard and ponders Christian responses to consumerism.
The second, The Suburban Christian: On role playing and creating culture, notes the recent death of Gary Gygax (co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons) and the need to be creators of engaging culture rather than just critics of culture. I can identify with Hsu’s point the Gygax created an attractive immersive and social environment. Certainly, when I was at high school in the early 80s D&D (and to a lesser extent Rune Quest) were all the rage amongst my classmates.
Personally, I enjoyed Traveller (a science fiction role playing game) because it came with rules for starship and solar system generation, a developing historical context (detailed in the supporting journal), and series of board games that fitted into this history (e.g. Dark Nebula).
Related links: Wired - Dungeon Master: The Life and Legacy of Gary Gygax and Dylan Horrock’s Gary Gygax R.I.P. - Vox (with link to Horrock’s 95bfm interview about D&D).
I’ve just gotten around to starting to watch the third season of the new Battlestar Galactica. So far, so good - the planet-side setting adds a different dimension to the show for a bit, while the socio-political commentary continues.
Related to this are several links I’ve come across recently.
Firstly, FlowTV - ‘a critical forum on television and media culture published by the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at the University of Texas at Austin’ - recently had a focus on Battlestar Galactica with a selection of articles and posts about the new series. You can find it at FlowTV | “Battlestar Galactica” Issue.
Secondly, I found that link via Confessions of an Aca/Fan: Resources for Science Fiction Fans.
And lastly, Paul Walker, over at Out of the Cocoon had a post Out of the Cocoon >> Science Fiction and the emerging church. I’m not sure I’d agree with his comment that religion is toned down in the new version of BSG, rather that is has become more complex than the religious dualism - humans (religious) / cylons (secular) - present in the original series. Certainly, both human and cylon in the new series seem to have to wrestle with issues surrounding religion in interesting ways.
Related link: Greenflame · The Theology of Battlestar Galactica’s Cylons
A couple of links today to PBS articles that look at religion and cinema.
Frantic here at the moment. Old job stuff to finish, new job stuff to think about, last week of the school holidays, conference abstract due tomorrow, and going to Dunedin early tomorrow for the bioethics conference (so packing now).
However, still time to note that Dark Horse are finally going to release their next Firefly/Serenity comic book mini-series. Excellent, I can’t wait. See Dark Horse Comics > Profile > Serenity: Better Days #1 (of 3).
The article, ‘Sleep Dealer’ Injects Sci-Fi Into Immigration Debate, is yet another example of how science fiction’s speculative nature provides a space for engaging with questions and issues that challenge and stretch us - in this case a (not-so) futuristic exploration of how Western consumerism might be supported by the creation of virtual ’sweat shops’.
Another recent article picking up this function of speculative or science fiction is Clive Thompson on Why Sci-Fi Is the Last Bastion of Philosophical Writing.
Kevin Kelly, over at Conceptual Trends and Current Topics - Doomsday Art, has an article reflecting on the continuing trend of exploring contemporary concerns through the apocalyptic genre.
The prospect of being the last person(s) on earth is weirdly seductive. It’s not about the end at all. It’s a romantic vision of rebirth, of starting anew, but with more assets and wisdom that the last birth. It’s a romance that will probably continue to generate works of art in all media every year from now on, until …. the end of the world.
Kelly’s musing are prompted by the recent movie, Cloverfield, and these articles, Apocalypse New - TIME and Life After People - TV - Review - New York Times.
I’d also throw in this for good measure: MONDOLITHIC STUDIOS - An Earth Without Us - A Mondolithic Monday Image.
I enjoy seeing the different ways that libraries use to promote reading - the recent NZ libraries ‘Inspire me!’ campaign using some well-known faces is a good example.
Here’s one from the American Library Association that uses Alex Ross comic book watercolor artwork (and a couple of others) to promote reading. See Comics Should Be Good! » Some Neat Posters
I watched the new Babylon 5 DVD - Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales - tonight and really enjoyed it. Some other reviews I read said they didn’t enjoy the pace of the two interrelated stories on the disc, but I thought the pace was just right for the content being dealt with. The first story is a mix of theology and ethics, while that later concerns, perhaps, the qualities of mercy and kindness (again within an ethical context), and both connect plot-wise to the other. Nice to be back in the B5 universe, nice to see the updated CGI effects (no Amiga graphics here), and hopefully there’s a follow up in the near future (see Babylon 5: The Lost Tales - Wikipedia)
Of course, I’ll be back in the B5 universe for a while now after my folks gave me Babylon 5: The Complete Collection + The Lost Tales DVD set for my birthday. All the B5 seasons, the movies, the spin-offs - Crusade, Legend of the Rangers pilot, and The Lost Tales. A serious amount of shelf-space can be recovered when I get rid of my B5 VHS tapes, plus I also get to see/hear the commentaries and special features. Bliss, indeed.
One thing though. I’ve also having Star Trek cravings for Borg-related episodes. I shall have to borrow the Star Trek Fan Collective - Borg off someone sometime to fix that. Resistance appears futile.
Another thing - at some point I’d like to acquire the Jeremiah TV series. I really enjoyed Season 2 (esp. Mr Smith), but missed most of the middle of Season 1. Season 1 got released on DVD only in the US (Region 1) and season 2 is only available via digital download (and hence not to anyone outside of the US. iTunes link here - but strangely no Season 1 in iTunes. You have to get that via Amazon’s Unbox video). So I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.
As someone interested in both transmedia narratives and the TV show ‘Heroes’ I was really interested to read this article recently.
Confessions of an Aca/Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins: “We Had So Many Stories to Tell”: The Heroes Comics as Transmedia Storytelling and to find the link to the online ‘Heroes’ comics that add to the TV episodes at Heroes TV Show on NBC: NBC Official Site
More links to transmedia storytelling at Greenflame · Transmedia.
A couple of links from a recent Geek Speak - KUSP 88.9FM, Central Coast Public Radio podcast.
MacSaber is a piece of software that takes advantage of the motion sensor present in more recent MacBooks etc. to generate lightsaber noises when the laptop is moved. More information at isnoop.net blog » Blog Archive » MacSaber 1.1: Attack of the Backlight and a video of it in action over at YouTube - MacSaber Fighting :MacBook Lightsaber.
Sure to interest the usual subjects: Darren, Craig and Lindsay.
Right up there with the original hacks a friend of mine had to turn his Apple Newton into a tricorder 10-12 years or so ago.
The geekiness of the above topic is outshone though by the effort that went into creating a list of the 50 greatest fictional weapons of all time (which must be wielded by an individual so no Death Stars etc.) Some really strange entries in there (He-Man’s sword?), but nice to see the Green Lantern power ring at #1. Every so often you find a writer who grasps what it is capable of, but on the whole you mostly get the unimaginative fare found in the animated Justice League series of giant boxing glove constructs and the like. The whole list is at: Wizard Entertainment - ULTIMATE WEAPONS.
Various books on the go at the moment. Some good, some not so. Random comments follow.
“Metal Swarm” by Kevin J. Anderson (Book 6(!) in the “The Saga of Seven Suns” series). Should be right up my alley - ancient powerful alien races continue ancient wars while plucky humans (with strange alien sometime allies) strive to survive. It’s Babylon 5 all over again - even down to the human politics and civil war. But it reads really badly - too many characters to follow and a million very short chapters focusing on different characters means it feels like watching a TV where someone’s changing the channel every 10 seconds. No time for empathy to develop with any of the characters, and by now it feels like it’s just going through the motions. On a plus side you can skip whole chapters and not miss much of the plot. Undecided on whether I’ll read the next book.
“The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief” by Francis S. Collins, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. Recommended to me by a non-scientist/non-theologian (in the professional sense) so I’ve picked it up from the library. As usual I’ve started reading from the back, in this case the first few pages of the appendix on bioethics which gives some nice summaries of that field. (See also: Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . PROFILE . DR. FRANCIS COLLINS . July 21, 2006 | PBS)
“Saturnalia: A Marcus Didius Falco Novel” by Lindsey Davis. Falco novels are like a comfortable old pair of slippers for me. When I don’t feel like reading anything too heavy then I get the next one out of the library. I didn’t really like the last one (“See Delphi and Die”), but you know what you’re getting and I’ve always been interested in Ancient Rome. “Saturnalia” improved on the last book, but still missed something of the dramatic tension present in the early novels. (Related information: Second-born (9) has been devouring the children’s equivalent of the Falco novels - Caroline Lawrence’s “Roman Mysteries” - effectively a ‘Famous Five in Ancient Rome’)-
“Practical Theology: On Earth As It Is in Heaven” by Terry A. Veling. Because it was spoken highly of over at Simply Simon: Practicing theology and Simply Simon: Practicing theology II.
“The Blackwell Reader in Pastoral and Practical Theology (Blackwell Readings in Modern Theology)” by John Patton. Because it was near the Veling book on the shelf in the GSC library, and because it covers a wide range of perspectives on the field.
“Engaging the Online Learner: Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction (Online Teaching and Learning Series (OTL))” by Rita-Marie Conrad and J. Ana Donaldson. A book that collects a large number of different online learning examples and is really useful for showing you what other people have down and why, and also for helping design your own activities and assessements.
The Comics Show, which was a really enjoyable and informative documentary on the history of New Zealand comics is now available on DVD. More details at: Dylan’s Blog - The Comics Show - DVD now out!.
Related link: Greenflame · The Comics Show - documentary on NZ comics.
On the way to work yesterday say a handmade/handwritten sign on the side of the road for the next ‘Underpants on the Outside’ event. Apparently it’s a “comic book and sci-fi swap meet of anything that you would find in a comic store, this includes recent and back issue comics, sci-fi memorabilia, figurines & collectibles and more.”
I have no idea what it’s like but might head along on Saturday and have a look.
UNDERPANTS ON THE OUTSIDE!!!!!
DECEMBER 1ST, Grey Lynn Library Hall!!
474 Great North Road.
9.30am - 2.30pm.
Link to organiser’s MySpace page here.
I have a real soft spot for Dan Dare (along with the old black and white Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon TV programmes). When I was a boy I remember my Dad finding some old Eagle annuals from somewhere and introducing us to the Dan Dare he grew up with in the UK. And then later I followed, for a while, the rebooted Dan Dare in the early 2000AD.
Now the quintessential British hero is getting year another reboot in a seven issue series. Looks good, though I’ll wait for the trade paperback before buying it. It’ll be interesting to see how the values of the 21st century get worked into the 1950s landscape Dare exists within.
More details on the release here at DAN DARE #1 - NEWSARAMA (with some sample pages).
Official release information at Virgin Comics brings back DAN DARE: PILOT OF THE FUTURE with GARTH ENNIS « Virgin Comics Blog
Reviews of the first issue here at Sunday Slugfest - Dan Dare #1 (of 7) Review - Silver Bullet Comics.
One of the reviewers asks some good questions about these sorts of reboots:
- Why don’t the revivals meet with greater commercial success? After all, they were huge successes when they first appeared.
- Since they keep failing to become contemporary commercial successes, why do people keep bringing these characters out of mothballs?
Most of the revivals (thinking of Flash Gordon, Tarzan and Buck Rogers here) fall flat, even with reshaping to new cultural conditions, though some, like the rebooted Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica series seem to get it right. Something to think about.
Received my first email a couple of days ago denouncing the upcoming screen adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novel, ‘The Golden Compass‘ (or ‘Northern Lights‘ if you’re not in the US) as having the clear objective “to bash Christianity and promote atheism”. I’m surprised that it took this long for such an email to arrive, given that the movie and books press a range of ‘conservative Christian’ buttons - fantasy, magic, critique of religious authority and religion in general, and a challenge to the Narnia stories.
Darren has posted the copy of the email he got at planet telex » The Golden Compass (and the Catholic League) and it appears to be cribbed from a longer post available here (which contains that classic ‘folk theology’ argument, “I heard that…”)
However, because it’s perceived as a children’s movie, and perhaps not as heavily marketed as ‘The Da Vinci Code’, maybe it won’t generate all that much heat.(?)
Now, I’ve read the three books in the ‘His Dark Materials’ series (’Northern Lights’, ‘The Subtle Knife’, and ‘The Amber Spyglass’), and thought they read well. However, I was prepared to take them as they come, to have my imagination stimulated, to engage with his critique of oppressive religious authority, to know how Christian doctrine of God, and particularly creation, differs significantly from his portrayal (particularly in the third book), and to know why I disagree with some of the themes in the book - rather than just reacting to the prompting of others.
What I would like to see is some way in which the themes in the book can be used as a springboard for examining our own conceptions of religion, creation and God, as well as a vehicle for engaging with the movie with a view to mission and listening to others’ critiques of us. (Similar to Steve’s use over at e~mergent kiwi: preaching the Da Vinci Code). Things like:
- Acknowledging that religious institutions (both local congregations and wider communities) have had, do have, and will continue to have problems with the abuse of power - whether that’s temporal or spiritual. And we shouldn’t ignore that, we need to deal honestly with it, and we need to continue to be proactively aware that it happens around us and people get hurt. And to be part of the solution.
- The books portray effectively a Gnostic form of creation with ‘God’ or ‘Creator’ as an somewhat less than omnipotent demiurge - a more finite and fallible creator. This should enjoin us to make sure that we really have a good handle on how we perceive the relationship between God and world around us - and what biases we bring to that discussions. Furthermore, revisiting an understanding of God’s plans and purposes for material creation would also be useful.
- Looking for how Christ would challenge the religion portrayed in Pullman’s world. While the email ranted against it’s anti-Jesus message, the religion portrayed in the books and film has little to say about a Jesus Christ figure at all. Looking at how Jesus challenged religion oppression (including those who assumed they were the ‘righteous’ ones), might serve to help us remove any logs from our own eyes first.
- Also, the last time I checked, C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books hadn’t been included in the biblical canon. And yet, they appear in some circles to be beyond critique - even though ideas of atonement, eschatology, and who gets ’saved’ found in them might not square easily with typical evangelical emphases.
- A discussion, perhaps, of the role of imagination in living the Christian faith.
However, I await the typical rants and sermons around the place about yet another attack on the Christian faith, of ‘Culture Wars’, and little constructive engagement. Sigh.
Anyway, here are a range of links (including some that deal constructively with the material). In particular, the Damaris/Culture Watch web site has a large range of articles etc. that deal with Pullman. (I’ve only included one or two here from that site - more links there).
- Apple - Trailers - The Golden Compass - Final Trailer
- Prodigal Kiwi(s) Blog: Rowan Williams, Philip Pullman and His Dark Materials
- The Dark Materials debate: life, God, the universe with Philip Pullman and Rowan Williams.
- His Dark Materials - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Third Way: Heat and Dust - interview with Philip Pullman.
- Damaris - Culture Watch
- “Dark Matter: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Philip Pullman (Thinking Fan’s Guides)” (Tony Watkins)
- Fernando’s Desk » Aimless Culture Wars - Round 769,873
A new comic book on the religion in comic books radar, Some New Kind Of Slaughter, or Lost In The Flood (And How We Found Home Again): Diluvian Myths From Around The World from Archaia Studios Press, which juxtaposes several ancient flood stories (e.g Noah, Atrahasis) with contemporary narratives of global warming and rising sea levels. Will be keeping an eye out for it.
There are some sample pages over at SOME NEW KIND OF SLAUGHTER #1 - NEWSARAMA
Looks like Warner Bros. might actually be getting a Green Lantern movie off the ground at some point in the near future. See E! News - Warners Rings Up Green Lantern.
You always want to see your favourite superhero on the big screen, but you know that to appeal to more than just the fanboys and fangirls they’ll have to be some liberties taken with the characterisation and mythos. (Tries to forget paying money to see Judge Dredd). Still, Batman Begins and the first Spider-Man movie captured the spirit of the characters, which leads to some hope that given a good script they might pull it off. The question will remain though as to whether they can capture the big space opera landscape that is GL, where team work is critical amongst GLs, or whether they make it a more Earth-based story. Personally, I’d like to see a galactic western-style take on the GL characters.
Related links:
And if you have no idea about Green Lantern:
I’m the only one in my household without a dedicated lunchbox. These look so cool that my situation could soon be a thing of the past.
Dark Horse Comics : Serenity Lunch Box
Dark Horse Comics : Serenity Lunch Box: Fruity Oaty Bar
Now, if only I could get one of these to go with it.
Following on from the animated Clone Wars short format television shows Lucas announces the continuation of animated/CGI developments and a live actor Star Wars spin-off for TV.
I liked the animated Clone Wars series - though it worked better as a series of short episodes rather than all the episodes viewed in one hit as a ‘movie’. However, the only live actor Star Wars TV I ever saw was the horrific Star Wars Holiday Special. Even as a child who was a huge fan of Star Wars I could see how bad it was. (See YouTube for excerpts of it). So who knows how this new series will turn out. Hope it works out.
See E! News - Star Wars TV Series Coming Soon - George Lucas
Ugh! Just remembered the extremely bad Galactica 1980 series too.
Damaris’ Culture Watch has an interesting piece up entitled Something Holy: the Spirituality of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. Personally I’m a fan of his writing - its wit in particular appeals to me, and it often cuts to the heart of a matter with its imaginative spins on the human condition.
As someone who finds the plots threads of new Battlestar Galactic series intrigues (and intersecting with my own research in some ways) I’ve been interested in the various religious themes that come up from time to time (Cylon religion, reincarnation, transcendence). So it was nice to find this Beliefnet interview with a creator of the series: The Theology of Battlestar Galactica’s Cylons — Beliefnet.com
Hat tip to Kevin Kelly — The Technium — Holy Technology
Tyndale have produced a new graphical Bible version entitled Manga Messiah, joining the growing throng of different graphical representations of all or part of the Bible. This time the art is Japanese, though it is colourised and includes more text than would be usual in more authentic manga. And it’s focused on the Gospels, with other parts of the Bible to be produced at later dates (I think).
There’s a review of it over at Manga Life - Manga Messiah Review, which concludes that its target audience is not clearly enough defined. At some point I’ll try and track down a copy, but from the sample art in the review I think “The Manga Bible” appeals more.
Related links:
Greenflame · In the post - The Manga Bible
Greenflame · The Bible - Graphic interpretations
A couple of books on the go at the moment that I borrowed from the library after seeing them on a couple of blogs.
Firstly, A Case Of Conscience by James Blish, which is centred around a Jesuit biologists struggle with finding the perfect, moral alien society that doesn’t have any understanding of God. In a similar vein to later books like Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow and Children of God, and to a certain extent Orson Scott Card’s Speaker for the Dead.
The book is part of the excellent SF Masterworks for Gollancz, a series of reprinted classic or significant science fiction works.
Other related links:
- SF Masterworks - Wikipedia
- A Case of Conscience - Wikipedia
- The SF Site Featured Review: A Case Of Conscience
I’ve read some other of Blish’s work before but had never come across this one until I say it mentioned on The Sci Fi Catholic: The Sacred & the Profane (with the follow article The Sci Fi Catholic: The Sacred & the Profane Part 2, Christian Tragedy?)
The second book is As Far As We Know: Conversations about Science, Life and the Universe by Paul Callaghan and Kim Hill, with excellent complementary illustrations by Dylan Horrocks. It’s a collection of edited transcripts of the conversations about science between physicist Paul Callaghan and Kim Hill on Radio New Zealand National: Saturday Morning with Kim Hill.
Found via Physics illustrations published - Dylan’s blog
I’m enjoying both books, and the ‘As Far As We Know“ book is good for dipping into for a quick chapter or two.
Auckland City Libraries: A comics evening at the library on Friday October 19. Looks like a good selection of people and presentations.
Hat tip to Comics Fest at the Auckland City Library - Dylan’s blog.
As a fan of the Doctor from way back (I think I started watching around 1974) I’m intrigued by this: ‘Christlike’ Dr Who in church service | Metro.co.uk.
Out shopping for birthday presents at the weekend when I stumbled across a copy of Cult Themes - ITV 50 - Classic TV Show Theme Tunes which somehow had to find it’s way into the shopping basket. Some of the tracks are the original TV themes music, others are very good covers (not some guy in his garage with a synthesizer). I’m not particularly interested in many of the non-UK shows (though the Mission Impossible track seems a good rendition), but I’ve been looking for a copy of the Stingray theme music for a while now and there it was (along with the extended version of the UFO theme complete with clicking teletypes).
Listening to the CDs begged the question - did the BBC release a CD with the various incarnations of the Doctor Who theme? There are various MP3 clips over at BBC - Doctor Who - Sounds but no theme music.
Oh, and I’m really enjoying Season 3 of Doctor Who which is finally playing here. Nice to see the Season 2 episode ‘Girl in a Fireplace’ pick up a Hugo Award, and I’ll be trying and track down a copy of my favourite Doctor Who (Tom Baker) story Pyramids of Mars to watch again. Spent most of those four episodes watching it from behind the couch, if my memory serves me right. Far more creepy in places than similar Stargate episodes.
If you’re interested in the history of New Zealand comics then tune into TV One Sunday night (2 Sep) at 10:40pm for the broadcast of The Comics Show - documentary by Point of View Productions.
Hat tip to New Zealand comics on TV - Dylan’s blog
Related link: Artsville | TV ONE PROGRAMMES | TV ONE | tvnz.co.nz
A couple of blogs that explore science fiction and popular culture from a religious perspective that I’ve come across recently.
Another comic to add to the religion and spirituality in comics collection. The Rabbi’s Cat is a comic from French creator Joann Sfar that engages in discussions about theology, philosophy and love from the perspective of, strangely enough, a rabbi’s cat whose acquired the power to speak.
See Pantheon Graphic Novels: The Rabbi’s Cat.
Related links:
- NPR : ‘The Rabbi’s Cat’ Wishes to Be Jewish Too
- BEST SHOTS: BATMAN #666, BLACK SUMMER, BUFFY, CRECY AND MORE - NEWSARAMA (Scroll half way down the page)
A couple for recent Green Lantern links for all you fanboys and girls out there:
Henry Jenkin’s blog has a two-part interview with Kristin Thompson (film studies researcher) about the impact of Lord of the Rings films in cinema and the wider world. For Kiwi readers there’s an outsider’s perspective on their impact here.
See The Frodo Franchise: An Interview with Kristin Thompson (Part One) and The Frodo Franchise: An Interview with Kristin Thompson (Part Two).
Update:
The Frodo Franchise: An Interview with Kristin Thompson (Part Three)
Firstly, a (mini) colloquium on Media and Religious Authority on Tuesday, which included some of the Virtual Theology colloquium participants from a while back, along with Heidi Campbell. A good time to catch up with people, to meet Heidi in person for the first time, and to start to thrash out some ideas I’m interested in relating to various dimensions of religious authority in comic book and graphic novel genres.
More about it at:
- SansBlogue: Media and Religious Authority
- fishers, surfers and casters » Virtual Theology Colloquium
- When Religion Meets New Media: Media and Religious Authority Colloquium
Then Friday and Saturday I participated in the Metanexus/Tyndale-Carey sponsored conference New Perspectives in Science and Theology. Heidi (The Technologized Other: Considering the Posthuman and Prophetic Technorealism) and I (Image-bearing cyborgs?) were the opening speakers on Friday, and I got some good questions and comments after my talk (and over the weekend) that will help to shape a few areas that need tighter definition and reflection. And gave me some ideas for at least one other paper to write.
And that’s what I like about presenting at things like the two events this week. It gives you a chance to start a conversation about your work, and to make connections to other work that you haven’t made before. Doesn’t always make answering the questions being asked any easier though
A related link as I toss around some ideas about comic books, graphic novels and religious authority. See Bird, Plane or SuperMensch? Jews and Superheroes Share a Rich History on Wired’s site which interviews Danny Fingeroth, author of “Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society” and “Disguised As Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, And the Creation of the Superhero”.
A list of 74 Comic Book Adaptation Movies since 1978 rated by box office takings.
How many of you knew that movies like “Road to Perdition” started off as comic books?
Books on the go at the moment.
- Writing at the Edge of the Universe
- Published by Canterbury University Press (2003), it’s a collection of essays, interviews, reflections and talks from the ‘Creative Writing in New Zealand’ Conference. Covers everything from politics, young adults fiction, comics, hypertext, and definitions of ‘cultural’ within the NZ writing scene. Something to dip into every now and then.
- Spin Control by Chris Moriarty
- A mix of technology, religion and politics set in a posthuman future. Has a short bibliography of material relating to emergence, transhumanism, and social evolutionism. Oh, and lots of stuff about ants. If only my thesis read as well.
- The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card
- Finally got around to reading this collection of Card’s older science fiction material. Some interesting material relating to theodicy, suffering, pain, human perseverance, and free will, together with other observations about the technological quest for immortality.
- For Everyone Concerned by Damien Wilkins (2007)
- The most recent collection of short works by Wilkins, much of which is set in Wellington. I grabbed the library’s copy and found it a mixed bag (as with most collections like this). I loved the short story “Reunion” set in Wellington Library though.
Received a copy of The Manga Bible - Raw in the post this week via Conrad.
The artwork falls within animé genre, though with Western influences - think Ghost in the Shell imagery, rather than the large-eyed young girl and boy Pokémon style - and is particularly effective, I think, in conveying both the humanity and divinity of Christ. Elements of it reminded me of the various different Star Wars comics from Dark Horse (e.g. Star Wars Clone Wars anime stuff ). You can download some sample spreads from The Manga Bible web site download area to get an idea of the style.
The (relatively) brief volume covers a considered sampling of the New Testament - some Gospel accounts, bits from the Book of Acts, Revelation and parts of the Epistles. I found the latter particularly engaging. Taking the biographical, narrative and apocalyptic accounts of the NT and turning them into sequential art would seem to me to be easier than translating the various letters. But the bits from the Roman, Corinithian and Galatian correspondence are good, bringing the historical context of their writing and human figures into play with the issues being dealt with.
In an interview at the end of the book that artist, Siku, comments, “I don’t just see God as a shining light thing. I also see him as a dark, brooding force. I’ve tried to inject that into how I see Jesus.” Very much there is a sense (apophatic even) that God here is far more powerful and unknowable that the brief glimpse we get in the Jesus of the gospels - that for finite human beings, the infinite God is also totally other from us, as well as human flesh and blood in Jesus.
You can listen to the interview here and download the PDF of it here.
As I’ve mentioned before, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but my 9 and 11-year old sons expressed an interest in it, which may indicate a demographic that it would connect with. (There’s a set of youth group studies that uses TMB here.) I’ll pass my copy around to different people to see what reactions it gets. On the whole though, I’m impressed with it (in spite of not really being a real manga enthusiast). I’m looking forward to the Old Testament edition coming out soon.
Related links:
Following on from her blog post a while back about Lost (Greenflame · Lynn Schofield Clark on LOST), Lynn Schofield Clark’s published a recent interview in anticipation of the new Harry Potter movie and religious/spiritual themes with the Potter books.
See Lynn Schofield Clark - Harry Potter and Religion.
I’ve read most of the Harry Potter books. Some I enjoyed, others I thought dragged, needed shortening and some tighter editing. One thing that has consistently struck me is the ‘ends justifies the means’ approach that the protagonists often take. Provided you’re working for the greater good, then it’s okay to lie, steal, cheat etc. to get there. Just makes me a little uncomfortable with holding up the main characters as moral role models that happens from time to time.
Anyway, as always, some related links:
Damaris have a variety of bits and pieces - some explicitly relating to Harry Potter and others intersecting with it in relation to other authors and topics. Typically it’s in their Culture Watch section.
Grove Books have several related resources. See S 79 Harry Potter and the Meaning of Life, S 77 Spirituality in Story: ‘Of Lions, Rats, Wizards, and Lawyers’, and Ev 59 Faith and Film: Close Encounters of an Evangelistic Kind.
Listening yesterday to the Thursday arts slot with Lynne Freeman on Radio New Zealand National : Afternoons : Thu, 28 June and they had an interview with Johnny Angel, a graphic artist and writer creating a superhero comic series based around Polynesian characters. (Audio here for the next 6 days or so).
Sounded like an interesting contextualization project, and I’ll be looking in the library to see if they’ve got any copies of the graphic novels. If that fail,s then the university bookshop claims to be carrying it.
More about the project at The Aucklander News: Superhero bursts into life and TV3 have a video clip about it here.
Related links to other NZ comics:
Artistic interpretation of the Bible and its contents is as old as the stories themselves. From decorations in places of worship, to imaginative storytelling, through to icons, paintings, flannelgraphs(!) and sculpture, artists have sought to bring their interpretation of the stories to life. And recently, there’s been an increased production of related-material in the comic book/graphic novel format - from both religious and secular content creators.
This week I managed to get my hands on the public library’s copy of Marked!, Steve Ross’ contemporary graphic interpretation of the Gospel of Mark. (BTW - Public libraries want you to recommend books for them to get. If they don’t have a book and you can give them the details they’ll normally buy a copy for the library.) I enjoyed it, and thought the reframing of the story within the context of a contemporary occupation by a Western superpower - both physically, ideologically and economically - would allow the book to open doors to discussion with an audience not served by other ways in which the gospels may be communicated.
That said, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. The graphic novel genre doesn’t work for many people, and the artistic rendering of the story (and the spin it’s given) might clash, or at least hinder, those who prefer the text to provide a world that they fill in the details of in their own minds. You can read an interview with Steve Ross about Marked! at Emergent UK Media Arts: Interview with Steve Ross.
The other day I saw a copy of The Manga Bible in the front window of one of NZ’s major book chains in town. It’d be interesting to compare the intent of the different authors and their styles. I’ll see if the library can get a copy in. (All graphic novels end up in the young adults section though - in spite of content - which says something about how the library here sees them).
Related links:
Greenflame · The Lone and Level Sands and Greenflame · Middle Eastern video games and comic books on various recent religion-related stories told using comics.
Greenflame · Society of Biblical Literature and comics on (theological) academic engagement, Greenflame · God, superheroes and the graphic novel genre.
The range of Christian/religious use of comics is huge too. Some other examples include:
- The infamous Chick Tracts and the related comic books relating to salvation, the occult and evolution.
- Comics like those produced by Calvary Comics including Glory to God.
- Greenflame · Serenity (The other one).
- Royden Lepp: Shepherding Comics
- Comic Books Spread The Word, Christian Titles Grow Rapidly As Artists Draw Inspirational Stories - CBS News
- The Lion Graphic Bible (Mike Maddox. Illustrated by Jeff Anderson). Interview here.
The links in the list above are presented ‘as is’ and are given as examples of the genre, not as recommendations per se.
Tom Russell over at Monitor Duty (the comic book and geek culture web site) details what he calls the The Arthur Effect. This is where an intellectual property, such as a fictional character, has its distinctive characteristics smoothed out under the (invisible) pressure to make it more accessible (and marketable).
All the discussion of about Spider-Man and the shift from the Lee-Ditko Spider-Man to the Romita Spider-Man could equally be applied to the Jesus of the gospels, and the progression to a more palatable (and less disturbing) “Buddy Christ”.
I like the genre of Steampunk - which fuses the historical setting of 19th century Europe with advanced technological visions. Think steam-powered spaceships or Sherlock Holmes stories with mechanical computers thrown in. Elements of it crop up in comic books - the 2000AD series Nemesis was set for a while in a alien society that modelled itself on Victorian Britain and in Star Wars: Dark Empire II there’s a cool steam-powered spaceship - and also in movies like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (based on the comic series), Wild Wild West and Steamboy. Primarily it’s located in books though - Philip Reeve’s Hungry City Chronicles is an example of it for young adult/adult readers, while Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age mixes nanotechnology, AI and neo-Victorianism.
Basically, think airships, goggles, steam-powered computers, clockwork robots and difference engines.
Wired has a nice selection of pictures of contemporary steampunk inspired projects with current technologies - I love the steampunk laptop.
See Steam-Driven Dreams: The Wondrously Whimsical World of Steampunk.
Of course, Wikipedia has an extensive section on Steampunk. I tried Britannica Online, but alas, no information there.
SHOOTER & WOHL ON SEVEN - NEWSARAMA have an article on a new comic book ‘Seven’ which connects the superhero genre with the spiritual themes from Kabbalistic literature.
Another comic to add to the religion and spirituality in comics file.
The Warner Brothers BABYLON 5 web site has the trailer up for new B5 movie due out in a month or two. Also available at: YouTube - Babylon 5: lost tales.
There’s also a two part article on the new movie available at:
A movie promotion falls foul of the US Mint. See US MINT NOT HAPPY WITH SILVER SURFER QUARTERS - NEWSARAMA. I guess, they get the media presence they were after one way or the other.
NEWSARAMA.COM: JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #6 PREVIEW has some sample pages from an upcoming issue of the Justice Society crossover with the Justice League and the Legion of Super Heroes. The first three sample pages refer to an old issue of the Legion of Super Heroes I owned when I was about 6 or 7. Funny how little things like this bring a rush of childhood memories flooding back.
Finally picked up a copy of Will Eisner’s A Contract With God today from the public library where I’ve been swotting for the thesis defence. Looking forward to reading it sometime next week, as it’s held as a classic in the history of comic books. (More at A Contract with God - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
This semi-autobiographical work captures with pen and ink the drama of the city and its all-too-human inhabitants. Set in the same Bronx neighborhood as later works Dropsie Avenue and A Life Force, the four stories that comprise the book — “A Contract With God”, “The Street Singer”, “The Super” and “Cookalein” — examine the world of immigrant life in New York City in the 1930s with a unique look at the emotion and character of its denizens
And, though I’m on a comic buying ban at the moment, I’m sorely tempted to go into town and track down issues of ACTION COMICS #848 (Redemption - Pt.1) and #849 (Redemption - Pt.2). What if the baby Superman had been raised by fundamentalist Christians or a cult? The premise looks intriguing as both the depowered Clark Kent and the re-powered Superman investigate such a situation.
Reviews here that make me want to add them to my collection of comics that contain religious themes.
Lore Sjöberg over at Wired investigates the plethora of toys designed to turn you into your ‘friendly neighborhood Spider-Man’ as the movie tie-ins ramp up their presence.
- Caught Up in an Ugly Web of Cheesy Spider-Man Marketing
- Still Caught in an Ugly Web of Spidey Marketing
All the new Spidey stuff has taken up the shelf space of other actions figures in the toy aisles. I saw a big bin of DC Justice League Unlimited toys heavily discounted the other day but managed to avoid the wrath of Kim by restraining myself. Still I’d like to get the GL set sometime soon to add to the figures on top of the monitor. (Would also like to get the other 6“ B5 figures (and Firefly ones) to go with the Sheridan figure in the office too.)
Oh well, let’s get a job first that pays me to ‘research’ pop-culture.
Gwyneth Jones on developing robot technology | Features | Guardian Unlimited Film talks about how much more prescient the genre of cyberpunk was/is at looking at the future, as opposed to more general science fiction. The article also takes the slant that technology is a value-neutral instrument that only achieves moral dimensions when humans choose to use it in certain ways. I’m not convinced, because I think the socio-cultural forces that shape technological development contain values that are incorporated into the output of that development.
Anyway, the article fitted well with the book below that I’ve just finished reading. I’d give the book a C+, though. Apart from William Gibson’s short story ‘Burning Chrome’ and Philip K Dick’s short story that inspired the movie ‘Total Recall’ I wasn’t gripped that much by it. Maybe get Gibson’s own collection of short stories, also called ‘Burning Chrome’.
Lynn Schofield Clark - While I’m here, update on LOST is a interesting look at how religion has been seen by viewers of the TV show LOST. I don’t watch the programme (the TV ads they had here promoting its arrival turned me off), but I found the article intriguing.
(Hat tip to Tensegrities » Back from oblivion)
Paul Teusner’s ‘What should we read about mass media?“ lists includes this one on his site as well: fishers, surfers and casters » Top 5-10 list from Lynn Schofield Clark.
This re-release of the comic book that tells the story of Giuseppe Desa, a 17th century monk from Copertino in Italy, who could levitate and perform other miraculous acts, via the grace of God, looks like it would make an interesting addition to my small but growing collection of comic books with religious themes.
Darren’s put together a study guide for youth groups based around the new Spider-Man movie over at planet telex » Spiderman 3 Discussion Guide. (We still await the forthcoming Serenity one)
Links to a two-part post on the creation of immersive story worlds that span soaps, wrestling, and superhero comics. Interestingly, another post on the blog connects the worlds of soaps with comic books more explicitly using the example of DC’s recent 52 and Marvel’s Civil War. Not too surprising really, given that Star Trek and Firefly are probably better classified as ‘space opera‘ rather than hard science fiction. People watch as much for the interplay of the characters as for the speculative devices.
See:
- Confessions of an Aca/Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins: Immersive Story Worlds (Part One)
- Confessions of an Aca/Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins: Immersive Story Worlds (Part Two)
Related link: Greenflame » Dylan Horrocks on comics, games and world-building.
If you’re a comics fanboy or fangirl then this is quite amusing. (Even if you’re a DC fan like me)
Fairly true, though I think (if we ignore the recent ‘The Batman’ animated series) that the DC/Warner animated Justice League, Batman and Superman series worked pretty well on the small screen. And the Teen Titans theme song is a favourite to sing along to in the car with the kids.
I watched Spider-Man 2 the other day in preparation for going to see the new Spider-Man movie at some point. Both Spider-Man 1 & 2 capture, I think, the tragedy inherent in the character of Peter Parker/Spider-Man that is in the comic books. None of the boosterism of Superman, nor the darkness of a Batman seeking to make sure no child loses his parents like he did. Just trying to live with the guilt of not doing good when one could have, and having no choice about being who he is, and entangled with who he is. An everyman in other words. All the other Marvel movies didn’t get it quite right, but S-M 1 & 2 did, I think. Which doesn’t bode well for S-M 3. Could this be Schumacher’s “Batman and Robin” to Burton’s “Batman”?
There’s more on comic book movies as morality plays lurking in the Greenflame Comics archives, I think.
I think the Flash, Green Lantern and Justice League movies could be done well, but I’m not convinced they would be (See here for a JL movie that didn’t work). I’d really like to see a GL movie set in space (not here on Earth), maybe in the manner of a Western where the marshall/ranger is sent in to do a job (with associates like Texas Rangers?). More humanity, perhaps, and less of the Earth (except to bracket the start and end). The weaknesses inherent in the GL ring would allow that in the character development.
A page has appeared on Amazon for the first installment of the new direct-to-DVD Babylon 5 series: Amazon.com: Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales. So, it should be here sooner rather than later (at least for Region 1 release). Will it stand up to watching in the post-Firefly universe though?
More information over at:
- J. Michael Straczynski - B5:TLT Pre-Production - Babylon5scripts.com
- Lurker’s Guide to B5: “Voices in the Dark”
Update
Comic buying is temporarily on hold at the moment, but that isn’t stopping me from paying attention to the developing story of the Sinestro Corps within the DC Universe. Finally, the villain Sinestro seems to have moved from an almost comic (pardon the pun) character to one who is deadly serious. It was hinted at in the Green Lantern: Rebirth series and now it seems like more depth will be added to the character. Way back in Emerald Dawn II (early 90s) Sinestro was portrayed as a control-freak who imposed (his) order upon the world in clear cut, black and white categories - a fundamentalist almost in some ways. Now, we get to see where being thwarted in that goal takes him.
Newsarama has an interview here about the upcoming mini-series: TAPPING IN TO EVIL: ETHAN VAN SCIVER ON SINESTRO CORPS - NEWSARAMA.
My only quibble with the interview is that it does seem to ignore the fact that something similar was done way back in March 1982 with the creation of the Anti-Green Lantern Corps (see picture). On the other hand, the new attempt at a dark mirror to the GL Corps looks far less cheesy than that.
Damaris have released some study resources for Firefly to go with the Serenity resource,
Link off Monitor Duty: Lileks on Batman to an old (2005!) podcast about the evolution of Batman theme music. I still find it amusing that the 1960s Batman theme music is still chanted in the school playground by my children, even though none of them have seen the original TV show. (All that might change though now Prime is showing it after their Sunday morning Star Trek sessions.)
Anyway, I’m partial to Danny Elfman’s themes from Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns (the Schumacher sequels have been surgically erased from my memory because they were so bad - see here) , the animated Batman series, and the The Flash - Must be all that brass in it. Though I also loved the theme from Batman Begins. (And did you know that Wikipedia has a Batman Music category? Cool.)
Just saw the Call for Papers (closed) for “World Building: Seriality and History” conference on comics held by the University of Florida. Nice to see Kiwi, Dylan Horrocks (Hicksville) as a keynote speaker. Now I know the conference exists then I’ll be on the lookout for other CFPs from them. Hopefully by then I’ll also be financial enough to get there.
Related links: Greenflame: Dylan Horrocks on comics, games and world-building.
Time Magazine’s Top 10 graphic novels of 2006 - TIME 25 Top Ten 2006
Locus’ lists for 2006 - Locus Online: Locus Magazine’s Recommended Reading: 2006:
Link here to some photos from the set of the new direct-to-DVD Babylon 5 stories currently being produced. In theory, they’ll be out in the US in the second quarter 2007 (and who knows when in Australasia?). The page has some comments at the bottom from JMS too. See J. Michael Straczynski - B5:TLT Pre-Production - Babylon5scripts.com.
More details too at the Babylon 5 Lurker’s Guide page “Voices in the Dark”.
See also the entry on Wikipedia - Babylon 5.
AKMA (AKMA’s Random Thoughts - Convergence) points to a couple of articles in SBL Forum that begin to take the genre of comics as serious fodder for theological engagement. As he points out though, the engagement is fairly cursory and doesn’t really begin to scratch questions about why religious motifs and symbols appear in comic books (and in the case of these articles, superhero comics only). See:
- Society of Biblical Literature: Comics and the Bible: Reinterpretation and Mythic Understanding - Greg Garrett
- Society of Biblical Literature: Do Superheroes Read Scripture? Finding the Bible in Comic Books - G. Andrew Tooze.
For example, Tooze’s article refers to Kevin Smith’s Daredevil story, Guardian Devil, as an example of the use of Catholic symbology and apocalyptic texts. But that’s as far as it tends to go. What would make a really good article, I think, would be to examine how Christian (and other) eschatologies form part of the common universes that comic book stories inhabit. Matt Murdock’s (Daredevil) Catholic background forms a continuing theme through his stories and that in itself might be worthy of investigation of how different writers and artists have portrayed it. Moreover, DC Comics’ universe (which filters over into Vertigo as well) tends to function with a much more explicit religious background, while Marvel tends not to (at least in my reading of both publishers). Why is this, and how does it shape how religion is portrayed by these two major publishers?
This is all in my mind at the moment as I’ve just reread Waid and Ross’ excellent Kingdom Come, where themes of judgement, redemption, justice, power, tragedy, human and superhuman nature are told through eyes of the Spectre and a pastor, set in an explicitly apocalyptic framework.
Articles like the above ones tend to focus upon the spandex-clad superhero sub-genre of comics. What would also be interesting would be to look at the breadth of the genre and how it engages with religion. For example, how do we think theologically about the creative act of sub-creation present in building these graphical worlds? (See Greenflame: Dylan Horrocks on comics, games and world-building).
And what about the spirituality in things like Will Eisner’s A Contract with God, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, J. Michael Stracinzki’s Midnight Nation, and Douglas Rushkoff’s Testament. Now, I’m not necessarily agreeing with the portrayal of the spiritual in these comics, but theological engagement with such rich sources should go beyond just pointing out that religion and its symbols appear in comic books and graphic novels.
More thoughts on some of these things in the comics category - Greenflame (Comics).
A new type of fish with a Batman-like marking on its tail is named after the Caped Crusader. Cool. See New fish is named after Batman | Practical Fishkeeping magazine.
Dropped by my comic shop today to collect a couple of Christmas presents I’d ordered through them (games, in this case). Reminded me about the way they organize their customer files. If you have subscriptions for comics etc. with them you have your own folder in the filing cabinet behind the counter. The folders are organized by first name, and then surname. So, within a short time they remember your first name when you come into the shop, adding an extra dimension of hospitality to their service.
It’s only a small thing, but it makes you feel that you personally, and your custom, are welcome.
It’s like the church we joined when we moved towns once. I visited one church (among several), filled out the ‘visitors card’, and had a very brief chat with someone who approached me. Then, later on that week the church found someone in the congregation who worked in a related field to phone up to see how we were settling in and to see if we needed help with anything. The fact that they a) bothered to get back in touch, b) had remembered who I was from the brief conversation, and c) found someone to contact me with whom I had a vocational connection, made me feel like they had something good to share.
Wired News: Firefly Reborn as Online Universe.
I’ve tended to avoid MMORPGs, but this one might be irresistible.
Later on this week I’ll hopefully have time to pop into town and pick up the next issue of Ion from the comic shop. And it’s nice to find someone else who has been pondering some of the the plot lines relating to what exactly morality is the Green Lantern Corps, particularly in terms of who defines what “good” and “evil” are in the GL oath. The old O’Neil/Adams issue #76 (April 1970) with it’s oft-cited three panels here started one discussion of what exactly “good” and “evil” were in GL. I’m hoping for another.
Some of these are very clever. Some are very funny. Wired Magazine asks various authors to supply six (6!) word short stories. See Wired 14.11: Very Short Stories.
Russell Kirkpatrick is a geography lecturer and writer of fantasy novels from down the road in Hamilton. I’ve just finished reading his “Fire of Heaven” trilogy, which was a good read for the stage I’m at in the thesis (i.e. something with no robots in it that is easy to read). An interesting mixture of “classic” fantasy geography and cultures (e.g. Nordic, Oriental) but will some Maori and Polynesian landscapes, characters and culture woven into it. The books have an element of gentleness to them, amongst the grand epic fantasy stuff, and the characters flaws weave their way into the story well.
Each of the books has some maps in them. As a lover of maps it was great to see the detail in them, and a more realistic view on the way geography shapes the speed and path that journeys take. In the books the black and white printing loses some of the detail but the web site below has them in glorious colour. Excellent.
When I started the books the theistic slant to them was apparent, and by the end of the books there’s places where Christian imagery and allegory are obvious. But they probably wouldn’t be so obvious to someone brought up in a post-Christian world, and the reader isn’t beaten over the head with the imagery like some other authors like to do.
There’s bits of the books, maps and diagrams on the web site plus a blog (to add to my RSS feeds from other fantasy and sci-fi writers) all at RussellKirkpatrick.com.
With the “Revenge of the Green Lanterns” story arc coming to a close last month, current Green Lantern writer Geoff Johns gave this recent interview over at Newsarama.com: GEOFF JOHNS - GREEN LANTERN, OA, PRIME, & MORE - NEWSARAMA.
Now, I liked the story arc, and on the whole I’ve enjoyed Hal Jordan’s return, the ongoing development of Kyle Rayner’s character over in Ion (Ion #6 Review - Silver Bullet Comics), and the new Green Lantern Corps series (which is in comic relief mode at the moment). The idea that Jordan gets some space to work out some sort of redemption for his past atrocities (even if they were technically not his fault) is good - though I think the run of Jordan as Spectre did it better. And I even liked them bringing Arisia back (even if the retcon wasn’t great). But Arisia’s costume was not great (an understatement).
One of the things that appeals to me about the concept of the comic book Green Lantern Corps is that the defining characteristic of a Lantern is that they can overcome fear, are strong willed, and have a firm moral centre (of sorts). Gender doesn’t come into it. Age doesn’t come into it. Body-shape doesn’t come into it. Species doesn’t come into it (they’re an inter-galactic organization, after all). To paraphrase Paul, “There is neither human nor alien, animal nor plant, male nor female, for you are all one in the Corps.”
Which means, by implication, that the characters in the stories shouldn’t looked like the epitomes of Western ideals of beauty and sex sprayed with latex. Rather, they should look and dress like everyday persons (allowing for the alieness of that). If they can have Mogo, Gnort and Jack T. Chance (not to mention Alan Scott - yes, I know he’s not in the Corp technically) then they should be able to have an Arisia or Jade (who are/were strong-willed, intelligent female characters) able to be portrayed differently. I guess it wouldn’t sell as well though.
Anyway, Karen Healey, over at Girls Read Comics (And They’re Pissed). Karen Healey: Snarkier Than The Collected Works Of Lewis Carroll - Post Hoc Something, Ergo Whatever takes this up. (Warning - profanities abound) [Hat tip to Matt at Problem Attic — #20 / 2006-09-28]
Now that’s a pretty awesome looking cake - Discworld Cake
Here’s something I hadn’t considered. Taking the 9/11 Commission’s report and reworking it in a comicbook/graphic form to make it accessible for a different audience. See The 9/11 Report - Graphic Adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón.
Just listened to the podcast of this weeks “The Spirit of Things” from ABC in Australia.
The Spirit of Things - 20 August 2006 - Virgins, Vampires & Superheroes
Popular spirituality is not a new phenomenon, but the media, cinema and the internet have conspired to make it more diverse than ever before. Miraculous sightings of the Virgin Mary have generated recent cult followings in Australia. And the darkly erotic mythology of vampires and hyper-real superheroes like Superman and Luke Skywalker are attracting young women and men in growing numbers.
Each of the topics could have had an entire programme dedicated to them, though I especially liked the last interview with Adam Possamai on links between spirituality and superheroes. Wouldn’t agree with his definition of superheroes (it would exclude someone like Batman), and the notion that their powers are totally secular (what about Dr. Fate or Wonder Woman?), but on the whole I enjoyed the interview. Nice to see someone working in that area.
BTW - It’s a shame they couldn’t think of a third noun beginning with “V” to keep the alliteration going, but the title should boost their hit rate in the search engines.
Joff alerts me (via email) to the news that JMS will be coming to the Auckland Armageddon in October. See pulpexpo.com - Joe Straczynski - Film and Comic Writer. (Curses! The link disappeared over the weekend)
Related links:
Joff’s experiences of the Wellington expo.
Greenflame: Post-Armageddon.
2002 article - Wired News: Of PowerPoint and Pointlessness on Powerpoint in schools. Via slacktivist: PowerPoint sucks.
Undeniable Facts: Undeniable Friday- a fact a day - Levitating screw.
What with the various Crises in the DC Comics universe(s) in the past 20 years or so, it’s pretty hard to figure out what’s what with all the retconning. (See Crisis on Infinite Earths, Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, plus Zero Hour and other bizarreness.)
Post Infinite Crisis DC Comics produced a serialized (new) history of the universe to bring everyone back to speed. It’s not gripping, nor exhaustive, but might just make everything a little clearer (especially when you’re trying to figure out just which Superboy, Hawkman or Flash is being talked about.
See DAILY PLANET 52 WEEK SPECIAL: History of the DC Universe (Part 1). Should be 10 parts when all done, I think.
Papercutz, more well known for their comic book versions of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, have release a biographical graphic novel of Pope John Paul II. See John Paul II - in comics!.
A different slant from the Homopater comic (and the very bizarre Battle Pope comic).
According To Me: The Rules has a bit of a rant about the importance of paying attention to the rules and background that belong to this history of comic book characters.
Good stuff.
The announcement of JMS producing new Babylon 5 material on DVD. Series of new short movies/stories set in the B5 universe, using new and existing characters. Can’t wait. See Ain’t It Cool News: New B5
Via Tensegrities a link through to Confessions of an Aca/Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins: Sneak Preview: NBC’s Heroes. Contains a good overview of what the new TV series “Heroes” looks like (having seen the pilot). He argues it’s in the style of a Vertigo or Image style comic - darker and with more human interest stories.
The trailer for the series can be seen here: NBC.com > Heroes
Not holding my breath for it arriving in NZ any time soon.
The Lone Ranger gets a makeover in a new comic book series produced by Dynamite Entertainment. It’s being co-written by Brett Matthews who wrote for Firefly and worked on the Serenity comic book. See Dynamite Entertainment! - Lone Ranger #1 for some brief details and some page images, and NEWSARAMA.COM: BRETT MATTHEWS TALKS THE LONE RANGER for an interview.
I figure they’ll probably do the character justice. A while back I picked up the first issue of Dynamite’s Battlestar Galactica series and it had the same feel as the new TV series. (Random trivia - the writer of the BSG comic is Greg Pak - who directed the quite interesting series of short films using robots to explore the human condition. I’ve got the DVD and it’s worthwhile having a look at - just don’t expect a Terminator style movie. See Robot Stories.)
Not satisfied with just watching the films of their favourite superheroes some fans set about making their own fan films and trailers for the films they’d like to see. Three good examples are:
TheForce.Net | World’s Finest - Superman/Batman team up.
TheForce.Net | Grayson - Robin seeks justice for the death of the Dark Knight.
Collora Studios: Batman - Dead End - the Dark Knight meets more than even he can handle?
A couple of reflections from the latest Superman movie.
Darren’s finished off his study guide for the movie and posted it over at Digital Orthodoxy - Superman Returns.
And Dave Zimmerman ponders his sympathy for Lex Luthor at Strangely Dim: Sympathy for the Bad Guy.
Heidi Campbell’s new blog, When Religion Meets New Media, has a link to this article Muslims craft their own video games | csmonitor.com. Looks like an interesting game. I wonder if it’ll be available here in NZ?
Related to this is the development of Middle Eastern comic books. At this point they follow American formats reasonably closely, but open up the possibility of developing their own style more close related to local themes. See Silver Bullet Comics: Special AK: AK Comics and Heroes of the Middle East and AK COMICS Inc.
Marvel comics have a venture in the Middle East too, though Teshkeel Comics.
Selection of articles on spirituality and religion in comic books.
At the comics shop, religion goes graphic - MORE NEWS AND FEATURES - MSNBC.com.
Sequential Tart: Tart To Heart (vol VI/iss 12/December 2003) : Spirituality In Comics.
Discussion spawned by X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills at Religion in God Loves, Man Kills - Captain Comics Round Table.
I read a lot. For pleasure and work. But it’s not the primary way I like to engage with ideas and stories. I prefer diagrams and other graphical representations to complement the written text. So today I was looking forward to swinging past my regular comics shop and picking up a copy of Action Philosophers Volume 1: Giant-Sized Thing. Philosophers (and theologians) in comic book form - cool.
Alas, they had sold out already and I have had to backorder a copy. Who said philosophy was unpopular?
Related links:
Interview with the creators over at Comic Book Resources - CBR News - The Comic Wire.
Action Philosophers! at Evil Twin Comics (with online samples).
And no, this does not mean that there’s a career out there for spandex-clad theologians. We’ll leave that to Bible Man (action figure here) and Dave Zimmerman.
Sometimes you just have to admire some people’s obsessions. Not only does it look good, but it feels right too. See The “Ultimate Thing” costume.
Looks like the new Serenity comic book series from Dark Horse will be called “Better Days”, and will be set before the Serenity movie. It will explore some of the unresolved plots from Firefly and will be written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews (who did the first series). Can’t wait.
Random links - with a geeky theme, of course.
William Shatner Rocketman - Google Video. Inspirational.
Leonard Nimoy - Ballad of Bilbo Baggins (MZK) - Google Video. Unforgetable.
More from Nimoy and Shatner at Frogstar - Star Trek Fan Page. Outstanding.
Shatner’s rendition of “Rocketman” reminded me of this version, Socketman, written by Unix hackers (available from MDFS::Docs.Humour.Computing.Songs). Unless you’ve been involved with porting code from BSD to SysV (and vice versa) it’s probably lost on you. Still remember the trauma of starting a new job working with SVR3.2 on AT&T 3b2’s, typing “emacs” and it not being there still lives with me.
Also, if you’re up for something really impressive check out Starlords:
Starlords juxtaposes similar pieces of familiar media structures.It experiments with sampling what is normally seen in entirety and in context (the films) and then linking them in time and space to a popular music track normally heard sampled, here played in its entirety. These cultural entities, two of the biggest juggernauts of global propaganda, share similar plots, soundtracks, characters, creatures and actors (Christopher Lee). They have large monetary and business interests as convoluted as the epic digital graphics engines, weaving fantasy worlds of white heroes from humble origins and dark lords with all-encompassing surveillance and power structures.
Neil Gaiman and Adam Rogers write in Wired on The Myth of Superman
Superman is different because he doesn’t really belong to the writers who’ve created his adventures over the last 68-plus years. He has evolved into a folk hero, a fable, and the public feels like it has a stake in who Superman “really” is. Schwartz quit writing Superman because his bosses were telling him to put in things that he thought were out of character. That was admirable, but really, the specific stories we tell about Superman – the what-happened and what-he-did – don’t matter that much. Superman transcends plot. We retell his tales because we wish he were here, real, to keep us safe.
BTW - did you know that Gaiman wrote a one-off comic called “Legend of the Green Flame” (cover here) starring Superman and Green Lantern?
International Superheroes is a web site that aims to build up a database of information about various superhero characters from around the world that are often overlooked in a world dominated by the US-based DC and Marvel characters.
Dave Zimmerman ponders To Be or Not to Be Super? On the Creating and Curing of Mutants at Pop Thought. Using the upcoming X-Men III movie he wonders about what exactly normal is. Some connections with discussions about therapy vs. enhancement related to technology, and to other discussions about the nature of personal identity.
Not the science fiction movie based on Firefly but rather Serenity - America’s Premier Inspirational Manga a newish Christian comic book series.
Anyone know anything about it and if you can get it in NZ? I’ve seen some pretty awful Christian comic books in my time but maybe someone’s got the right end of the stick here.
Issue 3 was reviewed “secular” comic reviewers here: Serenity v3: Basket Case Review - Silver Bullet Comics.
Hardware Wars (1977), the Star Wars parody that was played in cinema around the world, is now available at HARDWARE WARS - Google Video. (I definitely remember classmates of mine seeing it in Wellington cinemas in the late 70’s.)
Other related links: Grocery Store Wars | Join the Organic Rebellion, Fanboys (2003 NZ short film), and Feel the Force: The Jedi Street Preachers of Auckland (2004 NZ short film). The last two from Peter Haynes at www.haynesfilm.com.
Article here by The Minneapolis Star Tribune (I think) on the recent (international) free comic book day. It’s done as a comic itself and it’s not too bad. See TwinCities.com | 05/05/2006 | Saturday is free comic book day. I didn’t get to a shop on the day as I had to pick up my copy of Ion the day before (curses!), but hopefully next year I’ll be synchronised.
Sitting in the tea room today (drinking coffee) I flicked through a recent issue of the Spiritual Growth Ministries journal Refresh and saw this article - Spirituality and the Science Fiction Atheist by Adrienne Thompson. (SGM Journal Refresh Vol. 5 No. 2 (Summer 2005-6), 14-17).
It’s a brief reflection on the writing of Ursula Le Guin and has a nice quote in it about stories. LeGuin says,
What you get out of that story, in the way of understanding or perception or emotion, is partly up to me—because, of course, the story is passionately meaningful to me (even if I only find out what it’s about after I’ve told it). But it’s also up to you, the reader. Reading is a passionate act. If you read a story not just with your head, but also with your body and feelings and soul, the way you dance or listen to music, then it becomes your story. And it can mean infinitely more than any message. It can offer beauty. It can take you through pain. It can signify freedom. And it can mean something different every time you reread it.
(from interview at CBC Magazine: Meet the Author/Illustrator: Ursula LeGuin)
Thompson’s article didn’t transfer well to the web - some formatting is lost - but the content’s all there.
See also:
Well, it’d be interesting if they get it going, but I imagine it’d have US-only stamped on the delivery mechanisms. See Joss Whedon’s Firefly Season 2.
A click on the “Publish” button in Ecto instead of the “Save” button will have given a odd posting. Apologies to all and sundry.
I’ve been reading several of the books from the British Film Institute’s Modern Classics series while I revised the introductory chapter to the thesis. Skimming through the books on The Matrix (Joshua Clover) and Blade Runner (Scott Bukatman) was helpful in straightening out some examples I wanted to use of cinema serving as an arena for public concerns about technology to be expressed within.
The books are shortish and easy to read - though in a couple of places I needed to decode the film/media studies jargon. Well worth having a look at, if only briefly.
Stumbled across this online Green Lantern game the other day at DC Kids. Sure it’s Kyle Rayner and not Hal Jordan. And he’s in his original outfit (not enough green and too much “metal”) but it’s the only online Green Lantern game that I know of.
See : DC Kids : Green Lantern Game.
A posting on possible future audiences for comic books (and the genre) at Wired 14.04: Posts: The Gamines Love Gaiman. Coincidentally this fits with the section I’m currently reading out of “Comic Book Culture: Fanboys and True Believers (Studies in Popular Culture)” (Matthew Pustz) which is on the bedside table.
Actually, I’m not just reading for interest. I have a couple of ideas about comic books as vehicles for exploring attitudes towards technology that would fit quite nicely in the introductory material in the thesis. Just searching for that elusive footnote to add support to my excursis.
Damaris’ Culture Watch have two new articles up online. The first is a brief study guide for the movie Serenity, and the second a more in depth reflection upon the anime film Ghost in the Shell 2 : Innocence.
See Culture Watch - Serenity and Culture Watch - Ghost in the Shell 2 : Innocence.
The Sci Fi Channel is creating a reality TV show around a superhero that you design and portray. See SCIFI.COM | Who Wants To Be A Superhero?
The potential for spandex-clad inanity is mind-boggling.
Stephanie posts some good thoughts on why there should be no more Star Trek series at TV: The Failure of “Star Trek: Enterprise”.
On my favourite Star Trek movies - definitely ST II : The Wrath of Khan and ST : First Contact.
Least favourite - ST V : The Final Frontier. Every time I’ve seen it I’ve wonder how they could have made Star Trek so bad. Still it does have that great line of Kirk’s - “Excuse me… Excuse me… I just wanted to ask a question. What does God need with a starship?”
A breakdown of religious adherence for comic book (mainly superhero) characters at Religion of Comic Book Characters (Religion | Comics). The links at the bottom of the page are interesting (in parts) too.
Hat tip to AKMA.
The other day I was visiting the local clearance bookseller, where all manner of books end up, and saw a pile of “Miracleman: The Golden Years” by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham. So I had to buy it. I grew up on British comics (including Starlord, Tornado and 2000AD, plus some old Eagle comics) but hadn’t read any recently, plus I like some of Gaiman’s stuff, so it seemed like the thing to do. An eclectic collection of stories looking at life in the new utopia (distopia?) enforced upon the world in the near future (with some transhumanist-type themes in places). Definitely different from the other comics I’d read recently and I may go off and find some more issues. (For those of you who are interested in the character its history makes interesting reading - see the link above).
It got me thinking about other non-US comics I’d read as a kid, and I remembered that my brother had bought the first (and only) issue of “Captain Sunshine” - a NZ superhero comic. It even came with a cool sundial watch. I have dim recollections too of it being somehow promoted at our primary school but I can’t remember why - though there may have been an ecological thrust to the comic. (Colin Wilson, the artist, went on to do work for comics like 2000AD after it.) The internet being like it is there’s information here and I’m now looking for a copy of that first issue, hopefully with the Solar Watch or whatever it was called.
More information at Kiwi Comics: History Questions (scroll down for Captain Sunshine).
Did the quiz “Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in?” which put me in Matrix. Obviously there were no questions about important things like whether you can speak Narn or Vorlon, and whether you’d invite a Reaver to tea.
 |
You scored as Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix). You can change the world around you. You have a strong will and a high technical aptitude. Is it possible you are the one? Now if only Agent Smith would quit beating up your friends. |
|
Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) |
|
81% | |
|
Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) |
|
69% | |
|
Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) |
|
63% | |
|
Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) |
|
63% | |
|
Moya (Farscape) |
|
63% | |
|
SG-1 (Stargate) |
|
63% | |
|
Serenity (Firefly) |
|
63% | |
|
Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) |
|
56% | |
|
Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) |
|
56% | |
|
Enterprise D (Star Trek) |
|
50% | |
|
FBI’s X-Files Division (The X-Files) |
|
44% | |
|
Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) |
|
44% |
Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com
Neil Gaiman writes on the relationship between comics and films in Guardian Unlimited Film | Features | ‘$1m a minute to film? No problem’. As well he points to the similar, and in Gaiman’s opinion, much better article by Dominic Wells in It’s not always who draws wins - Saturday entertainment - Times Online. (On page 3 of the latter you’ll find a list of films made from comics including some you might not have known were originally comics.)
Just found out that Andreas Katsulas, the actor who played G’Kar in Babylon 5, died a fortnight ago from lung cancer at the age of 59. Katsulas also played Commander Tomalak from several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as featuring in the remake of The Fugitive.
More at: The Official Andreas Katsulas Website and Sci Fi Wire — Babylon 5’s Katsulas Dies.
Inspired by Steve’s use of the book (e~mergent kiwi: spirituality resources) I’m going to use Richard’s Burridge’s “Faith Odyssey: A Journey Through Lent” for my Lenten reflections this year. A quick skim of the back of book shows a significant lack of Babylon 5, Firefly and Stargate references though I might be surprised when I actually read the book.
Pancakes tonight with the kids and their friends too.
Loren posts some interesting thoughts on Douglas Rushkoff’s Testament comic book series over at Suspension of Disbelief: Gimme That Old Time Religion.
A while back I had to choose between heading into Old Testament studies or into (systematic) theology. I chose the latter, though the Old Testament intrigues me and I enjoy working with OT texts as part of my theological studies (though my Hebrew hasn’t had a good workout lately). So when I see a comic book that attempts to integrate an interpretation of Old Testament narrative with socio-political commentary and cyberpunk genre I’ll be first in line to buy a copy to see what it’s like. (Rushkoff’s motivation including his idea of the Bible as open-source can be found here.)
So having read the first three issues here’s some thoughts.
Rushkoff’s approach of taking three narratives and interweaving them is interesting. In each of the first three issues he takes a story from the Genesis narrative, adapts it, and juxtaposes it against a contemporary story set in an America in the not too distant future. So he takes the Abraham and Isaac story (Gen 22) in issue #1 and sets that against a US military complex that seeks the sacrifice of young persons in multiple “wars against terror”, and then in #2 he uses the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18-19) and Lot’s incest (Gen 19) in #3. Linking these ancient and contemporary narratives is the third narrative within a mostly spiritual dimension. Here the figures of Astarte and Moloch vie with agents of Abraham’s god, though the use of human agents in the narratives.
It’s a novel approach which works sometimes and other times doesn’t. Some people have found a lack of Ancient Near Eastern background a problem with understanding the deities and others have found that Rushkoff’s allegories are too heavy-handed. Personally, I thought #1 and #2 did it pretty well, but #3 didn’t work for me.
In order to do this Rushkoff has to play imaginatively with the biblical narratives - his method asserts the text is a fluid framework that we then interweave our own narratives and imagination into. So literary context falls victim (e.g. Gen 22 occurs before Gen 18-19) in places (see also Loren’s comments). But it does an almost Ignatian meditative approach in allowing figures in the narrative to ask questions of the text. So Abraham’s people ask why he goes to sacrifice his son if he follows this new god, and Lot’s wife asks why is it okay to save the visitor(s) to Sodom by “sacrificing” his daughters to the mob. Good questions that people might ask of the text. But the additional material linking Lot’s daughters to the cult of Astarte’s temple prostitution (#3) is not supported by the text - though necessary for Rushkoff’s contemporary narrative.
As well, the comic is definitely for adults - it has a “suggested for mature readers.” Any comic with that disclaimer, and has an active fertility goddess in it can expect nudity and sexual content, though the violence isn’t as overt as it could be. Various characters become associated with the different deities and so manifest behaviour associated with them.
So does it work? As a style I think it has merit, though I’m not sure Rushkoff can pull it off in the long term. Halfway through #3 I had decided I’d seen enough of the style to get the idea of how it was being used, but the narrative in #3 didn’t grab me. So I’ll file the three issues together in the comics file and look out for the TPB when it comes out. Maybe I’ll pick it up them. In the meantime I’ll be looking out for other comic material in a similar vein.
Official DC Comics information
- VERTIGO - Testament #1 - had sample pages and mini-poster.
- VERTIGO - Testament #2
- VERTIGO - Testament #3
Relevant articles and interviews
- Comic Book Resources - CBR News - The Comic Wire - TESTIFYING: RUSHKOFF TALKS VERTIGO’S “TESTAMENT”
- NEWSARAMA.COM: SDCC Day 2: CSN@Newsarama - DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF TALKS TESTAMENT
- Rushkoff Deconstructs the Bible in Testament - 1/3/2006 - Publishers Weekly
- Testament #2 Review - Silver Bullet Comics- Friday, February 10, 2006
- Testament #3 Review - Silver Bullet Comics
Blog postings
- Suspension of Disbelief: Gimme That Old Time Religion
- TallSkinnyKiwi: Rushkoff’s Testament
- way out west: Rushkoff Comics
- Greenflame: The Lone and Level Sands
Useful Wikipedia articles
Finished reading Hicksville and loved it. Enjoyed the New Zealand themes entwined with the comic book themes. There’s several bits in it where Charles Heaphy, James Cook and Hone Heke continue their conversation about why the islands of Aotearoa-New Zealand seem to be physically drifting (read the book for more explanation), and there’s a strand to do with the maps we impose upon the land - from Heaphy’s surveying and painting, to Cook’s exploration through to Maori maps of words and stories. Heke remarks that sometimes we treat the land as a corpse, a dead thing, and that we’re surprised when our geography changes - both physically, and in some way, spiritually - as the land is actually not static. Resonated for me with Steve’s e~mergent kiwi: place, spirituality and mission.
Oh, and Horrock’s included a nice glossary at the end of the book to explain people, places and terms to the uninitiated. He quotes cartoonist Wally Wood who said,
working in comics is like sentencing yourself to a life at hard labour in solitary confinement. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t do it…and yet, I’m not sorry for where I am.
That’s very close to how feel about the PhD at the moment.
Excellent little essay here by Dylan Horrocks, comic book artist and writer, who has been appointed the 2006 University of Auckland/Creative New Zealand Literary Fellow. In it he says,
We are used to thinking of Tolkien or Raymond Feist as writers who create imaginary worlds, but the same is also true of Elizabeth Knox, Barbara Anderson or Maurice Gee. The worlds in which their stories take place each have their own history, atmosphere, and sense of time. No matter how much it may resemble the “real world,” it is actually something else. This is neither good nor bad – it is simply an inescapable fact. Every time a writer tells a story, they also create a world.
and
In comics, even the laws of physics are side effects of the cartoonist’s ‘way of drawing’ – the way clothes drape across a body, the way shadows fall and water flows. In this sense, the cartoonist is a kind of God, creating a whole universe in their own image.
Horrocks goes on to look at this idea of world-building or sub-creating with the genres of comics, role-playing games and electronic gaming (incl. online gaming). Some interesting parallels with some of the stuff I’ve been reading about virtual reality and the metaphysical quests of technologists.
The essay can be found on Horrocks’ web site at THE PERFECT PLANET: Comics, Games and World-Building.
There was also an interview with him last Saturday morning on Radio New Zealand - Saturday, 18 February. (Link active for at least the next week)
I heard about Horrocks’ comic book Hicksville a while back but had never gotten around to reading it. Today I picked it up from the library so I’ll be thumbing through it tonight.
One man’s quest to make his own life-sized Dalek. See Relative Dimensions: The Dalek.
Editing a chapter I wrote several years ago on the historical interpretation of the imago Dei. Yesterday I went through the Protestant Reformation, so Luther, Calvin and others like Osiander and Flacius and leading into comparisons with Socinian interpretations (Racovian Catechism), as well as tidying up the stuff around Eastern Othordoxy and theosis. Today it’s Augustine, Aquinas and others like Lactantius, Justin Martyr and Origen.
Anyway, it’s been interesting seeing where my thoughts when years ago and what needs to be reworked now to fit with the thrust of the thesis. It’s like exploring a long, lost continent. You have the myths of what is there but I keep surprising myself with new discoveries while I following up references etc.
BTW - I know the title of the post is from Hamlet and is more about death than the past but it worked for me.
Obligatory space opera reference - Star Trek and Shakespeare.
The Babylon Podcast has started up. This is a good thing.
Also, while link surfing today trying to find an article on science fiction and religion I came across this - Joe’s Store : CafePress.com. A veritable treasure chest of B5 stuff to wear and drink from while watching re-runs. Would go nicely with Shepherd’s Abbey : Out To The Black Outfitters : CafePress.com.
It’s Serenity Day!
The Serenity was released today in NZ (DVD Region 4). A display stand at the door of the local Whitcoull’s had a pile on display with the sign “Get your free gift too.” And so I’m now the excited owner of the “Limited Edition” double-disc edition and I have a Serenity mouse pad to complete my desk. A Serenity poster would be nice for the office too but I haven’t seen any for sale in NZ.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to enjoying the movie again and I’ll actually be interested in the extra features on the DVD this time - unlike many other DVDs I have. (The other exception to this rule is the “I, Robot” double disc set that has some quite good documentary stuff on the second disk - a veritable who’s who from my thesis bibliography.)
At some point I’ll have to watch all the Firefly episodes, read the comics and watch the movie in a marathon to get that real fan boy experience.
BTW - Steve has a review here. Written from the point of an “outsider” but still contains many good points. See EmergentKiwi: Serenity Film Review.