Christianity and Comics: Stories We Tell about Heaven and Hell

Christianity and Comics offers readers an 80-year history of how comic book creators have used the Bible since the early 1940s. It examines overtly religious comic books like Picture Stories From the Bible and Catholic Comics, kids comics like Archie and Hot Stuff, superhero comics from Marvel and DC starring Daredevil, Ghost Rider and Batman as well as more recent titles like The Sandman, Preacher and Hellboy offering more challenging approaches to Christian themes, tropes and images. Early publishers used Christianity for both educational and entertainment purposes, while new generations of creators reimagined these aspects in later decades as changes in where comics were sold and who read them affected what kinds of stories could be told. Because stories shape how our culture is developed and transformed, the evolution of how comic books have represented Christianity demonstrates the visible changes in religion's role within both society and popular culture.