RELIGION IN COMICS 505
medium’s foremost creators have been Jewish. Th ese include the creators of Superman ,
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster ; the creator of Th e Spirit and early proponent of the graphic
novel, Will Eisner ; the creator of Batman , Bob Kane ; and the creators of numerous
Marvel Comics titles, Stan Lee (born Stan Lieber) and Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtz-
berg). Th e climate in which these pre-World War II Jewish artists worked became the
inspiration behind Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel Th e Adventures of
Kavalier & Clay. Since that era, a number of other notable Jewish creators have made
their marks in the fi eld, among them Stan Goldberg ( Archie ), William Gaines ( MAD ),
Art Spiegelman ( RAW ), Harvey Pekar ( American Splendor ), Joe Kubert ( Sgt. Rock ),
Trina Robbins ( Wimmen’s Comix ), Howard Chaykin ( American Flagg! ), and Peter
David ( Th e Incredible Hulk ).
Outside of the Judeo-Christian tradition, the U.S. comics industry has felt the
infl uence of writers and artists from other faith groups. Companies such as the Egypt-
based AK Comics and Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa’s Teshkeel Comics have brought Islamic
English-language works to the fore, as have stateside creators such as G. Willow Wilson
( Cairo ) and Toufi c El Rassi ( Arab in America ). Th e eight-volume story of Buddha has
been translated from its original Japanese by Osamu Tezuka into English by pub-
lisher Vertical. Further, Liquid Comics (originally Virgin Comics) features a stable
of Hindu talents; an adapted, New Age version of the Vedanta also appears in the
chaos magic practices of Grant Morrison ( Invisibles , Vimanarama ). Along similar
lines, Neo-Pagan voices can be found in the work of Alan Moore ( Watchmen ) and
Holly Golightly ( Sabrina ).
Devout Christian authors and their products also fi ll signifi cant corners of the fi eld.
Mike Allred , most popularly known for his superhero work on X-Statix , has produced
Th e Golden Plates , a comic-book account of the Book of Mormon. Christian comic
books themselves have become a cottage industry, with Jack Chick and his proselytizing
Chick Tracts having continued publication since the early 1970s. International Chris-
tian publishing company Zondervan has expanded into comic books with their line of
Z Graphic Novels including Hand of the Morningstar , Kingdoms: A Biblical Epic , and
their series of Manga Bibles. Zondervan’s should not be confused with Th e Manga Bible
by British artist Siku nor with the Manga Bible from Living Bible publisher Tyndale.
Even mainstream creator Mark Millar has begun exploring his own Christianity,
starting with the miniseries Chosen , the fi rst in his planned American Jesus trilogy.
In addition to these, a number of biblical accounts have been transposed into the
comic book medium by faithful and non-faithful alike. Th e small press Archaia has re-
leased several works among its other fantasy and genre titles dealing with re-readings
of the Bible: Th e Lone and Level Sands , a telling of Exodus from the Egyptian royal
family’s point of view; Th e Secret History , the story of ageless immortals living through
biblical times into modern history; and Some New Kind of Slaughter , a compilation of
fl ood myths from all time periods, including that of Noah’s era. (Th e publisher has
also produced series based on the Greek pantheon, Hybrid Bastards , and Mayan and
Aztec apocalyptic lore, Th e Long Count. ) Portions of the Hebrew Bible have been
