1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9911009204703321

Autore

Davis Blair

Titolo

Christianity and Comics : Stories We Tell about Heaven and Hell

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Brunswick : , : Rutgers University Press, , 2024

©2024

ISBN

9781978828230

1978828233

9781978828247

1978828241

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (315 pages)

Disciplina

741.5/3823

Soggetti

Christianity and literature - United States

Comic books, strips, etc - Religious aspects - Christianity

Comic books, strips, etc - Social aspects - United States

Superheroes - Religious aspects - Christianity

LITERARY CRITICISM / General

Comics criticism

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Sommario/riassunto

The Bible has inspired Western art and literature for centuries, so it is no surprise that Christian iconography, characters, and stories have also appeared in many comic books. Yet the sheer stylistic range of these comics is stunning. They include books from Christian publishers, as well as underground comix with religious themes and a vast array of DC, Marvel, and Dark Horse titles, from Hellboy to Preacher. Christianity and Comics presents an 80-year history of the various ways that the comics industry has drawn from biblical source material. It explores how some publishers specifically targeted Christian audiences with titles like Catholic Comics, books featuring heroic versions of Oral Roberts and Billy Graham, and special religious-themed editions of Archie. But it also considers how popular mainstream comics like Daredevil, The Sandman, Ghost Rider, and



Batman are infused with Christian themes and imagery. Comics scholar Blair Davis pays special attention to how the medium’s unique use of panels, word balloons, captions, and serialized storytelling have provided vehicles for telling familiar biblical tales in new ways. Spanning the Golden Age of comics to the present day, this book charts how comics have both reflected and influenced Americans’ changing attitudes towards religion.