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.
Introduction
1 The 1940s: From Superheroes to Picture Stories from the Bible
2 The 1950s/1960s: Sunday Schools, Secularism and the Seduction of the Innocent
3 The 1970s: Comix, Jack Chick, Archie and Spire Christian Comics
4 The 1970s/1980s: Marvel, DC, Saints and Sinners
5 The 1990s: Vertigo, Hellboy and Marvel’s Illuminator
6 The 2000s: Genres and Auteurs
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
