Greenflame

Jottings on science, religion, technology, pop culture, photography and faith from the Aotearoa New Zealand

Category: Pop Culture

  • Videogaming Theology

    Over at Awkward Asian Theologian, my friend Matthew Tan links to a book review he wrote recently on Frank G. Bosman’s Gaming and the Divine for Humanum Review. Tan, Matthew John Paul. “Playing for Eternity.” Humanum Review, no. 2. (2022): np. https://humanumreview.com/articles/playing-for-eternity. In it, Tan comments on how gaming connects in many ways to the…

  • American Jesus: A Graphic Apocalypse in Three Parts

    Reading Mark Millar’s American Jesus comic series.

  • Comics and Graphic Novels on Waitangi Day

    Just a short post today highlighting some comics and graphic novels which might be of interest on Waitangi Day (and through the rest of the year too).

  • Sacrament: Exorcists in Space

    Billed as “The Exorcist meets Alien” by AWA Studios, the five-part comic book series Sacrament wrapped up recently. Set in a future where religion of any sort has been made illegal, replaced by a form of militant scientism that requires a “pure faith” in science and human reason, the story centres on a case of…

  • Comics and Climate

    A while ago, Upshot Studios/AWA produced an excellent series of stories from the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic (see: COVID Comics). Over the past few months, in partnership with NBC News, they’ve been doing the same thing with grassroots stories of climate change. The stories are published online (at the link below) and will be…

  • Religion and Comics: The Golem

    As well as all the angels and nephilim in comics, I’ve also been reading a number of titles based around the golem – the creature in Jewish folklore created from clay or mud who typically then becomes a helper or protector. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem Here’s a small selection of some of the graphic representations of the golem…

  • Comics and Religion: Recent Reading

    Recently there have been a bunch of comics either engaging with religion or taking religious elements and reworking them into their stories. Here’s the list of what I’ve been reading recently. (There will be a follow-up post on Golem-related comics)

  • Wellington ComicFest 2022 – Videos

    The ComicFest 2022 event run by Wellington Libraries back in May now has interviews and sessions up on YouTube. Some good sessions there to watch. Official ComicFest 2022 website: https://www.wcl.govt.nz/comicfest/ YouTube channel for ComicFest 2022: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwXHoIEe-2TKaF_2OqReIx96Ea6tvu68Q

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer – 25 years on

    I came lately to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) when I started watching it on DVD while preparing material for the Bible in Popular Culture course back in 2009-2010. Somehow, I missed its arrival on television here in the early 2000s, had no idea there was an original film back in 2002, and sort of…

  • Comics and Mental Health and Wellness

    Recently, I’ve been reading a number of comics and graphic novels that deal with aspects of mental health and wellness. This is part of the wider project I’m developing on Comics, Social Change, and the Public Good which I’m hoping to work on more next year. Below I’ve listed a number of comics and graphic…