By Justin Martin I was raised to believe in grace. That we can be touched by the divine and transformed into a better person….But you should also know that I was raised to believe in retribution. So if you step out of line, I will be there. – Matthew Murdock (“Heaven’s Half Hour”) You know,…
Author: matthewbrake84
Call for Papers: Religion, X-Men, and Krakoa
Call for Papers: Edited Volume on Religion and the X-Men’s Krakoan Age Editors: Gregory Jones and Daniel Ambord Beginning with Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X limited series, the Krakoan Age X-Men stories occur against the backdrop of the establishment of a post-scarcity and post-mortality mutant homeland on the living island of Krakoa. The…
Extended Call for Papers: Theology, Religion, and Margaret Atwood
Theological and Spiritual Musings in the Works of Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale and Other Worlds Abstracts are being accepted for an edited volume (under contract) on the theology/ spirituality as is seen and engage with through the works of Margaret Atwood. Abstracts that discuss Atwood’s works with theological perspectives from across the religious spectrum…
A Nostalgic Journey and a Guiding Star: Revisiting Hercules, Xena, and the Magi
By Princess O’Nika Auguste During the holiday season, the pull of childhood nostalgia often leads me back to the familiar landscapes of my past. This means I return to the adventures of the mythological universe of Xena: The Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. In my rewatch, I find myself drawn more to Hercules…
Share Your Experience with Religion and Works of Fantasy! (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter)
Researchers at the University of Maine and Kingswood University are conducting a brief survey to understand Christians’ experiences with religion and works of fantasy. If you are 18 or older, grew up Christian, and were ever told by an authority figure like a parent, grandparent, youth leader, or religious official to avoid reading or watching what…
Overshadowed: Re-Examining Consent in Divine “Virgin Birth” Narratives from Luke to Xena
By Princess O’Nika Auguste The Christmas season centres the story of the Virgin Mary, a narrative of divine mystery and grace. Yet when we examine this sacred trope across scripture and popular culture, a troubling and consistent question emerges: what happens when a “virgin birth” is not a chosen vocation but a divine imposition? This foundational…
Extended Call for Papers: Religion and Peak TV
Extended Call for Papers: Religion and Peak TV Volume Editor: George Tsakiridis, PhD Abstract and CV Due: November 30, 2025 Initial Final Paper Due: June 30, 2026 Around the late 1990s/early 2000s a revolution in television began to take place, with HBO making waves with shows like The Sopranos and Deadwood, The Wire, and Entourage,…
Extended Call for Papers: Consequential Play – Theology, Video Games, & Culture
CFP: Consequential Play – Theology, Religion and Video Games Volume Editor: Trevor B. Williams Abstract + CV due: December 15, 2025 Video games have become a formative aspect of popular culture because they provide special opportunities for interactive storytelling, intense competition, leisure, and even artistic expression. Depending on how one defines the term “video games,”…
Call for Papers: Religion in Jack Kirby’s Fourth World and Beyond
Religion in Jack Kirby’s Fourth World and Beyond Editor: Matthew Brake Jack Kirby needs no introduction. He was one of the most prolific and creative figures in the history of modern mainstream superhero comics and few others have done more to influence the superhero genre in various media across decades. Plenty of ink has been…
Call for Papers: Religion and Peak TV
Volume Editor: George Tsakiridis, PhD Abstract and CV Due: September 30, 2025 Initial Final Paper Due: June 30, 2026 Around the late 1990s/early 2000s a revolution in television began to take place, with HBO making waves with shows like The Sopranos and Deadwood, The Wire, and Entourage, to mention a few. This wave turned into…
Pop Culture and Theology 