Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books Graphic Novels [Paperback]

Comic books have increasingly become a vehicle for serious social commentary and, specifically, for innovative religious thought. Practitioners of both traditional religions and new religious movements have begun to employ comics as a missionary tool, while humanists and religious progressives use comics' unique fusion of text and image to criticize traditional theologies and to offer alternatives. Addressing the increasing fervor with which the public has come to view comics as an art form and Americans' fraught but passionate relationship with religion, Graven Images explores with real insight the roles of religion in comic books and graphic novels.

In essays by scholars and comics creators, Graven Images observes the frequency with which religious material-in devout, educational, satirical, or critical contexts-occurs in both independent and mainstream comics. Contributors identify the unique advantages of the comics medium for religious messages; analyze how comics communicate such messages; place the religious messages contained in comic books in appropriate cultural, social, and historical frameworks; and articulate the significance of the innovative theologies being developed in comics.

Explores the roles of religion in comic books and graphic novels.This scholarly anthology is a brilliant work on a number of levels. First and foremost, it is a beautifully written and often gripping read, with all of the essays demonstrating a similarly high level of academic rigor and accessibility... it would make an ideal starting point for anyone who wishes to explore the world of serious graphic novels (read: not just superheroes punching communists). In addition, Graven Images would make an excellent, in-depth secondary source for students and scholars of graphic novels from the undergraduate level up through the faculty. This volume is highly recommended. Religious Studies Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword: Looking for God in the Guttelc8