By Camilo Lehnebach Bravo Stories are part of human nature. We tell them because that’s the way we can share our experiences and knowledge, and honestly, it’s the easiest way to communicate with each other. When you don’t know what to talk about with someone, you tell them what you did during the day, how…
Author: matthewbrake84
Call for Papers: Fantasy, Theology, and the Imagination
Call for Papers: Fantasy, Theology, and the Imagination Edited by Austin M. Freeman, Andrew D. Thrasher, and Fotini Toso In the world of High Fantasy, authors create fictional worlds that often reflect human religiosity and theological themes in new and creative ways. Through theological and religious analyses of high fantasy and fantasy series, the editors…
Who Watches the Watchmen: A Discussion with Church of the Geek Podcast
Hello everyone! As my friend Chris Maverick sometimes jokes, my goal is to be on every podcast ever. Not really, but I do enjoy getting invited on to be a part of various conversations. A few weeks ago, my friends at the Church of the Geek podcast invited me to participate in a discussion of…
DARK (Netflix) – Duality, Trinity, and Time
By Manon C. James Dark is a Netflix drama, produced in Germany and dubbed into several languages, including English. It is based in a fictional (but recognisable) town of Winden in Germany. As the title suggests, it is a dreary place, with a nuclear plant and a threatening forest (Forests are sinister places in German mythology)….
Help A. David Lewis Write KISMET, MAN OF FATE, Vol. 2
In 2014, writer A. David Lewis brought the first Muslim superhero in comic books back from oblivion. He produced, along with Noel Tuazon, Rob Croonenborghs, and Taylor Esposito, the first volume of KISMET, MAN OF FATE, a character not seen in print for over 70 years. Setting the story in the present, Kismet transitions from…
Analyzing Religion in Jonathan Hickman’s HOUSE OF X #1
Recently, I received an email from one David Canham, informing me that he was beginning to write an ongoing series for the website Sequart analyzing religious themes in Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men run. As a fan of Hickman’s work, and as someone who is writing his own ongoing series for Sequart about Hickman’s Avengers run, I was…
Jesus, Four Gospels, and the Reign of the Supermen
Back in June, I (Matthew Brake) began writing comic reviews for the website Monkeys Fighting Robots. I have very much enjoyed the experience, and through it, I’ve gotten to get to know some of my fellow reviewers. One in particular, Zac Owens, wrote a piece that I wanted to share with you all, looking at…
Matthew Brake Discusses Animal Man on Deconstructing Comics
Hello everyone! Recently, Tim Young of the Deconstructing Comics podcast had me on to talk about Grant Morrison’s Animal Man comics run from DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint (now Black Label). Those of you who know me know that I love Morrison as a writer, and I often use him comics in my Religion and Literature class….
Moira Rose: Learning to Pray from an Unexpected Teacher
By Christopher West Frustration, we might say, is part of the human condition; it is one aspect of our experience that never truly goes away—a rather frustrating fact(!)—but lingers on into the present. Several years ago, Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Canterbury, was quick to point this out, while delivering his homily during the eucharistic…
Evil and the Bat, Part Three: The Meaning of THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE
By Raymond Lam (Read Part Two of this blog series here) In this third and final exploration of Batman and the “theology” constructed by Grant Morrison over the decade of 2008–18, we dive into The Return of Bruce Wayne (RBW) (2010), one of Morrison’s finest Batman works and one that elevated the idea of Bruce Wayne to…
Pop Culture and Theology 