Comics and Religion

1. RELI 2850

2. 1. Definition
2. History
3. Genre
4. Narrative Patterns
5. Religious Themes
6. Understanding Comic Books
7. Methodology for Researching Comics
Outline

3. Definition

5. Golden Age
• Dates 1938 to 1954-55
• Begins with Superman in Action Comic #1
• Ends with the Comic Code Authority
• Superheroes were do gooders
• Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are examples
• Themes developed around fighting Axis and Cold War
• 1950’s drop in sales – readers wanted mature themes
• Frederic Wertham published Seduction of Innocent
linking comics to juvenile crime – est. CCA

6. Silver Age
• Dates 1956 to 1985 some will argue that Silver
age ends in 1968
• Older DC characters re-made
• Marvel sets tone for this age
• Scientific experiments cause superheroes
• Superheroes struggled with human flaws
• Socially conscious themes introduced like
drugs

7. Bronze Age
• Date 1968-1985
• Stan Lee challenges the CCA and wins
• 1970’s superheroes started killing villains i.e.,
the Punisher
• Marketing changed to create “fan” culture
• Story Lines became intricate
• New styles appeared which were dark, violent
and realistic

8. Post Modern Age
• Dates 1985 to present (some call this bronze age)
• Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns and Alan
Moore’s The Watchman epitomize age
• Supernatural and Occult enter into storylines
• Violence and mature themes
• Y2K scare creates many apocalyptic storylines
• Superheroes more violent, do not repress hidden
problems or sexual desires, and they kill

9. Broad Trends
Golden Age: Heroes stop bad guys
Silver Age: Heroes stop badness
Bronze Age: Heroes strive to stop badness
Post Modern Age: Heroes attack villains

10. Genre
• Superhero
– Mission
– Powers
– Identity
• Sidekicks
• Supervillains

11. Themes
• Underdog Theme
• Ethical Theme
• Justice over Law

12. Origin Story
• Story that explains how the superhero got
his/her powers
• Usually happens instantly with no hard work
i.e., Spiderman
• Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey fits with
origin story

13. 1. Community is threatened
2. A selfless hero emerges
3. The hero renounces temptation
4. The hero wins a victory (through super-
heroism)
5. The hero restores harmony to the community
6. The hero recedes into obscurity
American Mono-Myth

14. 1. The Israelites commit apostasy against God
2. People fall into oppression by foreign power
3. People repent and God sends a Judge (Hero)
4. The foreign power is defeated and the people
are saved
Old Testament: Book of Judges

15. New Testament: Book of Acts
• 1. Harmony: All believers are of one heart and
soul; no one regards anything as there own; all
things in common. (4:32-37)
• 2. Threat: Ananias and Sapphira lie about
retaining some proceeds from a sale of property
(5:1-2)
• 3. Resolution: Peter condemns them and they die
- threat eliminated (5:3-10)
• 4. Restoration: Fear (Awe) comes upon the whole
community (5:11)

20. Common Threads
1. Superheroes have super powers (mostly)
2. They receive powers by accident or chance
3. Superheroes wear costumes
4. Many have no parents or parents are absent
5. They experience a great tragedy, challenge or
responsibility that causes them to become a
hero
6. They have an uneasy relationship with law
authorities
7. Many superheroes mimic the god-man
mythology such as noble origins, god-like
powers and savior capabilities

21. Return to Eden
• Angst for a Paradise Lost
• Commissioned Savior/Messianic Hero
• Apocalyptic Battle
• Immortality in the New Eden

23. • Conventional, page operates as a neutral
place for the narrative
• Rhetorical, the page changes to
accommodate the needs of the narrative -
to express it
• Decorative, page is a field of designed not
constrained to the narrative
• Productive, design comes into existence
of its own outside of the narrative
Page Layouts

29. READING
• Traditional right to left and up to down
• Artists will control the direction of the eye to
regulate reading path

33. Closure and Gutters
• Closure, the phenomenon of
observing parts but perceiving the
whole
• Gutters, the space between the
panels

37. Moment to moment
Action to action
Subject to subject
Scene to scene
Aspect to aspect
Non-sequitur
Merging Closure and Gutters

44. Time
• Comics composed of panels so seemingly
quick to read, but as a whole takes time
• Japanese Manga takes 3.5 seconds to read
one page where graphic novels may take
several minutes

49. Motion
• Several ways to show motion
• Motion line most common
• Multiple images may also be used

51. Senses and Emotions
• Speech and thought balloons capture and
relate different emotions and a variety of
senses

53. Combining Words and Images
1. Word specific, pictures illustrate words
2. Picture specific, words add sound track
3. Duo-specific, words and pictures same
message
4. Additive, words amplify or elaborate
5. Parallel, words and pictures follow different
courses
6. Montage, words treated as integral part
7. Interdependent, words and pictures go
hand in hand to convey an idea

62. Methodology: Mythic Criticism
• Researcher focuses on
– What meanings are interpreted by audience
– What meaning is constructed within the text
• Type of rhetorical criticism that looks for
culturally symbolic meaning
• Researcher’s question: How key symbols in the
text are addressing additional culture concerns
(religious)
• Look for deeper meaning in the text (i.e., values)

63. RELI 2850