Stepping away from vampires and Japanese anime, today’s comic-based films are back in the action-adventure categories of hitmen (Accident Man) and westerns (the star-studded Cowboys and Aliens).
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Jottings on science, religion, technology, pop culture, photography and faith from the Aotearoa New Zealand
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Over the past few months I’ve started to collect comics and graphic novels that document the experience of COVID-19 in various communities. Most of these books are anthologies – collections drawing together vignettes of life from the perspective of people from all walks of life. There is something about how COVID-19 has permeated the everydayness of life in all manner of places and situations around the world that lends itself to this format, much as photo essays or books might have in the past.
In this post, I’ve collated some of the ones I’ve collected so far, as well as links to others who are using the graphic medium of comics to engage creatively and constructively with this particular time and place. Some of this will feed into the comics and social good project, if I can find time out of other things to really get stuck into that.
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As I return to a piece of writing that intersects with cyberpunk, dystopias, and visions of the future, I’m reminded of how hard science fiction can be to define. In his short book, Science Fiction: A Very Short Introduction (2011), David Seed sketches out this problem out in his introduction to the book.
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This time we’ll look at two comic-based films based on Japanese manga set on post-apocalyptic contexts. Firstly, Akira directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, set in a future Neo-Tokyo, and then, Alita: Battle Angel, set in a similar environment. Both of these, as well as a slew of other Japanese manga turned into film and television, del with common themes around government, socio-economic divisions, and the nature of being human in light of catastrophic changes to the world. Other similar film and TV works, all heavily influenced by manga, include:
- Bubblegum Crisis (1987-1991)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996, 1997, 2007-2021)
- Ghost in the Shell (1995-current)
- Appleseed (1998, 2994, 2011, 2014)
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In this installment of comic-based films we turn to the (now) venerable Marvel character, Blade, and how the Blade films provided the much needed life for the flagging Marvel empire enabling the later development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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I had some follow up comments and emails from the Jesus and Time-travel Stories post with some further suggestions, so I’ve listed those below. I’m also wondering if there might be some stories in comics like 2000AD that I might be missing too.
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This week I had a chance to talk with some colleagues in Australia around theological and religious reflection on science fiction, dystopias, and popular culture. One of the questions that came up were what comics I’d suggest might engage with that topic, so I’ve put together a selection of recent (and some not so recent) comics and graphic novels that are on my bookshelf which connect with that. Not a definitive list, but hopefully a helpful list. Not real commentary to them, but I’ve included the publisher’s blurb where possible along with a link to both paper and digital editions.
Of course, I encourage your to support your local comics retailers (Local NZ Comic Retailers)
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Last year the film Assassin 33 A.D. (AKA Black Easter Resurrection) was released. The plot hinges around a terrorist plot to go back in time to 1st century Palestine and assassinate Jesus of Nazareth and the disciples and hence change the course of world history. Of course, a plucky band of young people – including the inventor of the time machine – have to go back to stop them and the resulting apocalypse. Sounds plausible, as far as these things go.
The film is based on the work of Jim Carroll who writes “faith-based” thrillers, of which, this screenplay is an example, along with the books “Cover of Darkness” and “Angel Vision“.
I’m not particularly interested in this film, though when I can get my hands on it I will watch it as part of the Bible and Popular Culture research, but what I am interested in is the way that time-travel and religion, and in particular, Christianity interact with each other in fictional narratives.
Science fiction short stories are one location that happens in and there have been some classic tales of the years, as have TV and comics. We’ll highlight a few of those below.
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The previous two posts () focused on films with a live-action vibe, albeit often augmented by various forms of computer animated graphics. In this post we’re going to go for a fully animated film, which means that we’ll be going with a big, cuddly robot, some action and emotions, and connections to US and Japanese comics with Big Hero 6.
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Last time we did Greeks, gangsters and gargoyles. Today we turn to some pulp heroes of yesterday, namely The Spirit, Dick Tracy, and Modesty Blaise for a blast of nostalgia.
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