Is my comic book blasphemous/sacrilegious?

[The_Otaku]

The Otaku,

Listen…I think you obviously have to make the choice that you are comfortable with. Since (I’m assuming) there is no Catholic stamp of disapproval, you have to make the choice based on your well-formed conscience.

In the end, that’s the only thing I can do. No one can force my hand but me, which is one reason why I feel the desire to be extremely responsible about this. If I’m the one calling all the shots, I have the creative power, with this comic, to do something truly blasphemous or possibly something noble.

As long as you don’t have priests and nuns in the back of a car doing bad things or somehow disgracing them, I don’t see a problem. Frankly, I think the addition of Christian/moral characters in a world filled with very little of them is a good thing.

This story takes place in a fantasy medieval Europe (from what I can tell, France), so there were no cars for the nuns and priests to be jumping in the back of…but coaches and carriages…LOL

I agree. At first, that’s why I thought this wouldn’t be a bad idea, since using good themes and holy-like figures in a practical, albeit, entertaining way was harmless, admirable…but…it’s a double-edged sword, now isn’t it? Yes, it’s nice and good to see in a comic of all places, but because it’s a work of fiction things can get distorted really quick if you’re not careful, and when you’re dealing with the honor normally associated with the titles of priest and sister, it goes double.

Reduce the size of the nuns breast, put them into a modern looking, respectable habit and continue with your story. This is fiction after all.

I don’t think breast size has anything to do with it so much as how or if the breasts are emphasized and whether they pose an occasion of sin for me as the artist in drawing them, or an occasion of sin for the reader in viewing them. Considering the outfits and that there’s no exposed breasts or cleavage I think it’s ok, but that’s MY judgement call. The same goes with the habit. I can’t really put them in “modern” habits because this doesn’t take place in modern society and they’re main characters. It would present conflicting imagery and demphasize them as main characters. The other sisters wear the habits, though. These two cannot wear them especially, when you consider the action they get into. It would be much more blasphemous to have them running around in a fight wearing a habit than to have them in the clothing they have now.

There should be a message in your comic that brings good into the world. If it’s just a blast-fest with unmerciful killing and senseless violence that’s one thing. But if there is a moral to your story that encourages good instead of evil you will have nothing to be ashamed of.

Peace…

MW

The whole game, and my comic does have a good message, so that’s why I’m convinced that this is material I can work with. It’s not just a blast-fest and pointless killing and so forth. Even in the video game, theres acts of mercy, love, and compassion, and reaching out to other people. The killing and the fighting is very well balanced and has it’s purpose of making it possible to keep doing the good things. It’s just the way reality goes anyway. Evil wins if good people do nothing, so good people (in the case of these characters) DO do something.

Thank your for your post and reassurance.

 

[Mystic_Warrior]

In the end, that’s the only thing I can do. No one can force my hand but me, which is one reason why I feel the desire to be extremely responsible about this. If I’m the one calling all the shots, I have the creative power, with this comic, to do something truly blasphemous or possibly something noble.

This story takes place in a fantasy medieval Europe (from what I can tell, France), so there were no cars for the nuns and priests to be jumping in the back of…but coaches and carriages…LOL

I agree. At first, that’s why I thought this wouldn’t be a bad idea, since using good themes and holy-like figures in a practical, albeit, entertaining way was harmless, admirable…but…it’s a double-edged sword, now isn’t it? Yes, it’s nice and good to see in a comic of all places, but because it’s a work of fiction things can get distorted really quick if you’re not careful, and when you’re dealing with the honor normally associated with the titles of priest and sister, it goes double.

I don’t think breast size has anything to do with it so much as how or if the breasts are emphasized and whether they pose an occasion of sin for me as the artist in drawing them, or an occasion of sin for the reader in viewing them. Considering the outfits and that there’s no exposed breasts or cleavage I think it’s ok, but that’s MY judgement call. The same goes with the habit. I can’t really put them in “modern” habits because this doesn’t take place in modern society and they’re main characters. It would present conflicting imagery and demphasize them as main characters. The other sisters wear the habits, though. These two cannot wear them especially, when you consider the action they get into. It would be much more blasphemous to have them running around in a fight wearing a habit than to have them in the clothing they have now.

The whole game, and my comic does have a good message, so that’s why I’m convinced that this is material I can work with. It’s not just a blast-fest and pointless killing and so forth. Even in the video game, theres acts of mercy, love, and compassion, and reaching out to other people. The killing and the fighting is very well balanced and has it’s purpose of making it possible to keep doing the good things. It’s just the way reality goes anyway. Evil wins if good people do nothing, so good people (in the case of these characters) DO do something.

Thank your for your post and reassurance.

I think you should continue with your comic. The more I learn of your work the less concerned I get. You know, as far as being an occasion to sin: that’s everywhere.

I go into a restaurant and I see beautiful women with cleavage and tight clothes. That’s an occasion. I can either simply appreciate the beauty and move on or I can sit there and think lustful thoughts. There is a difference.

Your last paragraph is the clincher for me. Keep doing it. You’re right. The reality is that evil happens and that good people fight it. It’s a classic struggle. As long as we live in this world it will continue to be a struggle between light and darkness.

Peace…

MW

 

[vee8]

The Otaku I dont have much time to reply to you right now but I just wanted to suggest to you the daily reading and homily from ewtn for the date of August 5th.
ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/intro.asp

I just listened to the homily on the 8th and I thought it might be of interest to you.

 

[Harmony1988]

I think the main thing is that it trivializes the issue of demons and such, thanks to movies and games and such it has set in mind to Christians that demons are some kind of fantasy based thing that are big with horns and red eyes and etc etc.

It’s like the idea that Satan is a skinny red character with a long nose and skin tights.

 

[Gamera]

The question is whether the fantasy characters act in a Christian manner in the fantastic circumstances in which they’re set.

Look at two contrasting examples that you, as a probable “fan boy,” might get. First, think of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” – a casual viewer might think a show about a teenage girl who wears a crucifix to fight demons might present some Christian themes, but the show actually is agnostic and nihilistic to the core – even when Buffy “went to heaven,” she got pulled out by witchcraft and returned to earth as a sex maniac. Then think of Daredevil: a casual reader might think a comic book about a vigilante running around in a red devil costume promoted evil, but of course Daredevil is among the most devout Catholics in the world of comics, to the point where he was ready to fight Milla over the annulment because he felt that the Church’s criteria weren’t met.

It’s fantasy — viewers / readers / players realize that this isn’t a documentary. The question is whether the nominally Christian characters act in a manner befitting a Christian under the circumstances presented. Within the realm of your fantasy story, are the Christian characters acting properly? That is the issue.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

It’s like the idea that Satan is a skinny red character with a long nose and skin tights.

Only in a Chick Tract.
Demons in anime and video games have much more complex designs (be it scary or seductive). And also, they’re not something players/watchers would take lightly. Sure some demons are depicted as easy kills but there are also more powerful ones that would have no trouble decimating you if you’re reckless. These are the ones that are really evil to the point of being terrifying.

Here’s one good example, his name is Aion from the anime Chrno Crusade and he’s both a really powerful demon and at the same time, he does and says things that would really make you hate him.

http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs17/f/2007/197/8/3/Evil_Yay_by_Awai_chan.gif

 

[The_Otaku]

The Otaku I dont have much time to reply to you right now but I just wanted to suggest to you the daily reading and homily from ewtn for the date of August 5th.
ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/intro.asp

I just listened to the homily on the 8th and I thought it might be of interest to you.

Thank you for the link, but it was hard to navigate and I’m not sure what show you want me to click on to listen to. They’re not dated, so I don’t know.

I clicked on “latest additions”, was that the one I was supposed to click on or something else?

 

[The_Otaku]

I think the main thing is that it trivializes the issue of demons and such, thanks to movies and games and such it has set in mind to Christians that demons are some kind of fantasy based thing that are big with horns and red eyes and etc etc.

It’s like the idea that Satan is a skinny red character with a long nose and skin tights.

I think that should be determined on a case by case basis. I think that when demons are portrayed in the light that they are a threat to life, they kill things, etc., or their mere presence brings darkness into the world, and there’s a group of religious people dedicated to countering this type of threat (in this case, the group of characters in this comic/game) then I don’t think the demons have been trivialized at all, since there’s a real effort to eliminate them.

The appearance the demons have vary from comic book artist to comic book artist, but in most cases I’ve seen, the demons are represented in a realistic way. Not only that, they’re often dealt with in a realistic way as well.

It’s actually the westerners (America) that had made the topic of demons in cartoons and media the most trivial, since in classic cartoons, they’re often portrayed as these cute little red devils, with hooves, tail, and a pitchfork, and they’re more like little trouble makers as opposed to being spiritual enemies. The topic of devils was taken very lightly in the early cartoon eras due to the innocent, child-like approach taken back in those days and it’s only now, in this day and age, that people take the topic seriously enough to make it a spiritual matter, which is why in the comics or anime, demons are more realistic in terms of the appearance of the demons, how they act, what they do, how they get here, and who is physically and spiritually capable of destroying them.

People were now able to tackle the issue of diabolic evil in a serious way, since back in the day it was too taboo to do so, especially in cartoons that children would watch. Nowadays, we have anime, which is primarily directed towards teens and adults, so themes such as demons and fighting evil can be taken to greater depth of clarity and accuracy than ever before.

 

[The_Otaku]

The question is whether the fantasy characters act in a Christian manner in the fantastic circumstances in which they’re set.

Look at two contrasting examples that you, as a probable “fan boy,” might get. First, think of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” – a casual viewer might think a show about a teenage girl who wears a crucifix to fight demons might present some Christian themes, but the show actually is agnostic and nihilistic to the core – even when Buffy “went to heaven,” she got pulled out by witchcraft and returned to earth as a sex maniac. Then think of Daredevil: a casual reader might think a comic book about a vigilante running around in a red devil costume promoted evil, but of course Daredevil is among the most devout Catholics in the world of comics, to the point where he was ready to fight Milla over the annulment because he felt that the Church’s criteria weren’t met.

It’s fantasy — viewers / readers / players realize that this isn’t a documentary. The question is whether the nominally Christian characters act in a manner befitting a Christian under the circumstances presented. Within the realm of your fantasy story, are the Christian characters acting properly? That is the issue.

While I am not a fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, I do admit to having watched the movie and a several episodes when it became a tv show.

The question is whether the nominally Christian characters act in a manner befitting a Christian under the circumstances presented. Within the realm of your fantasy story, are the Christian characters acting properly? That is the issue.

I can say they do and that they are acting properly, both in the bigger picture of the overall plot, and in their lives. However, I already knew this, and the issue for ME was in whether or not drawing priest and nuns, even of a fictional, not necessarily of or definitely catholic influence is wrong considering that they have adventures, do battle with enemies, monsters, and demons and sometimes act less than holy or even casually, as a lay person would within the confines of the religious order they belong to. Oh, and the female characters are young and sexy looking.

My whole issue started when I thought ‘hey, priests and nuns pray all day, do chores, tend the church, etc.if I draw them doing anything outside of these few things, it would be sensationalizing and exaggerating what it is to be a priest or nun, even a fictional one in a fictional church and a fictional religion.’

When you think of priests and nuns, you honestly think of boring stuff, since the lives of priests or sisters are pretty uneventful outside of the religious aspect. However, comic books cannot be sustained on such reality, and require imagination, the merging of other ideas, themes and concepts (even ones that are not christian), and thinking outside the box in order to make it work and be worth the time spent making it.

I’m sure you can understand how this felt like I was opening a can of worms, which is why I made the topic. In realizing what I was dealing with, there were too many issues coming at me all at once that I needed advice.

 

[Reynardus]

While I am not a fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, I do admit to having watched the movie and a several episodes when it became a tv show.

I can say they do and that they are acting properly, both in the bigger picture of the overall plot, and in their lives. However, I already knew this, and the issue for ME was in whether or not drawing priest and nuns, even of a fictional, not necessarily of or definitely catholic influence is wrong considering that they have adventures, do battle with enemies, monsters, and demons and sometimes act less than holy or even casually, as a lay person would within the confines of the religious order they belong to. Oh, and the female characters are young and sexy looking.

My whole issue started when I thought ‘hey, priests and nuns pray all day, do chores, tend the church, etc.if I draw them doing anything outside of these few things, it would be sensationalizing and exaggerating what it is to be a priest or nun, even a fictional one in a fictional church and a fictional religion.’

When you think of priests and nuns, you honestly think of boring stuff, since the lives of priests or sisters are pretty uneventful outside of the religious aspect. However, comic books cannot be sustained on such reality, and require imagination, the merging of other ideas, themes and concepts (even ones that are not christian), and thinking outside the box in order to make it work and be worth the time spent making it.

I’m sure you can understand how this felt like I was opening a can of worms, which is why I made the topic. In realizing what I was dealing with, there were too many issues coming at me all at once that I needed advice.

I am assuming you’re going to webpublish or you wouldn’t be too concerned about your comic.

I don’t think there’s a problem as long as your readers fully understand this is not representative of the Catholic Church. However, there’s always the fear that some weak-minded person reading the comic gets the wrong impression of the clergy. I haven’t seen your comic so I can’t judge for myself. Just ask yourself this: Does your comic promote moral values? Does the comic belittle or mock God, his Saints and Ministers, His Holy Things (Sacraments)? Is there any slight chance a reader’s veneration for these things decrease because of your work?

If it really bothers you, perhaps you can make steps like put a little comment in the beginning, an introduction of yourself, your devotion to the Catholic Faith and how the characters in the comics do not resemble Catholic clergy in the slightest in spite of the trappings. And a little humorous and/or informative note at the bottom of each page like “So-and-so needs to go to confession after this” or “In a real church, we do not make pastries out of consecrated wafers.” And if you feel it won’t ruin the flow of your comic, additional notes explaining your beliefs. That way, you can have your creative freedom with less danger of influencing someone negatively.

Well, better safe than sorry.

 

[Steadfast_love]

I vote: draw the comic already!

Re: Catholic stuff.
I personaly would like to see more Catholic heros in manga. In the good old days, you could see vampire movies where priests held the blood suckers at bay. My wife loved those movies and, it sounds funny, but the Holy Spirit used those B-movies to draw her into the Church. So yes, please feel free to depict the power of Benedictine medals, cruxifixes and rosaries in a respectful manner. I know alot of people who are interested in sacrementals even though they’re not Catholic. (But avoid sacrelige like Host shrukien please.)

Re: Demon stuff
The sad fact is, hell and demons are a real threat. If it’s good to have reminders of this in Cathedral art (with gargoyles and depictions of the last judgement) why not put it in manga? If you haven’t read it already, take a look at Spe Salvi by Pope B16. He’s got a section in there on what the art in a Cathedral should look like and how one goal is to remind people of the real threat of hell. So sure, put demons in the manga just make sure they’re scary!

Re: Sexy nuns
On one hand, nuns are all about modesty so it seems wrong to present them as immodest. But that said, I think that Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta was beautiful, and if you can capture that kind of saintly beauty (as opposed to sexyness) you’d be ahead of alot of artists. On the other hand, it’s hard to compete with other Manga without attractive athletic bodies. I like your idea of picking angels for that role since they’ve got great bodies and tend to be naked or draped in fabrics anyway. But that said, don’t be afraid of drawing nudes. You’re Catholic, not a Prude! Perhaps you could take a look at what the Vatican accepts as art and judge your art accordingly? Sistine Chapel Last Judgement (warning! lots o’ naked bodies!)

Re: Perfect Catholics
Don’t feel like you have to make all the Catholics perfect. Actualy, would you mind making at least some of the villians Caffeteria Catholics? They need to get taken down a peg!

 

[Harmony1988]

Only in a Chick Tract.
Demons in anime and video games have much more complex designs (be it scary or seductive). And also, they’re not something players/watchers would take lightly. Sure some demons are depicted as easy kills but there are also more powerful ones that would have no trouble decimating you if you’re reckless. These are the ones that are really evil to the point of being terrifying.

Here’s one good example, his name is Aion from the anime Chrno Crusade and he’s both a really powerful demon and at the same time, he does and says things that would really make you hate him.

http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs17/f/2007/197/8/3/Evil_Yay_by_Awai_chan.gif

Thanks for the lesson in game demons, but I’m well aware, I play quite a bit of games. That’s the point of it, games are fantasy based and people know it. I know I get annoyed with characters in games all the time, especially n00bs like nemesis from resident evil 3 when he popped up from nowhere, however I never believed he existed. So being an annoying, ugly looking demon in a game isn’t a precursor to settling in the viewer’s mind as it existing.

 

[tabsie3210]

First of all, thanks for the response. Second, and again, I can’t believe I’m meeting another otaku on a catholic website all in the same topic. I guess it really is a small world, and internet for that matter.

So that makes three of us? The Otaku, Spirithound, and me (I may have fallen away from some anime, but I still go to the conventions regularly, and usually dressed as a cat-girl). This is awesome.

Wait, four! There was another person who was doing his bishounen act earlier, too…

 

[The_Otaku]

So that makes three of us? The Otaku, Spirithound, and me (I may have fallen away from some anime, but I still go to the conventions regularly, and usually dressed as a cat-girl). This is awesome.

Wait, four! There was another person who was doing his bishounen act earlier, too…

Perhaps the four of us meeting under these conditions on a catholic website was not a coincidence and God wants this, since we can lift eachother up when we’re stumbling or being tempted in the areas of anime and manga. Even beyond that, maybe anime is just the icebreaker that will bring us closer together.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Thanks for the lesson in game demons, but I’m well aware, I play quite a bit of games. That’s the point of it, games are fantasy based and people know it. I know I get annoyed with characters in games all the time, especially n00bs like nemesis from resident evil 3 when he popped up from nowhere, however I never believed he existed. So being an annoying, ugly looking demon in a game isn’t a precursor to settling in the viewer’s mind as it existing.

Sorry, I seem to have misunderstood your statement. I thought you were saying that anime and video games were making demons look weak.

 

[The_Otaku]

I’d like to thank everyone, again, who has helped or has tried to help me with this issue. Because my posts are becoming redundant, I thought an easier way for you to be able to judge this situation for yourself is if I created my own list of questions answers. Sort of like an examination of conscience (kinda silly but it might be helpful to you). Creating this Q&A will help me be more specific in areas that matter most to my original query. The questions will be answer with a yes or no, followed by a brief explanation of why it is a yes or no answer. Not all of them will require an explanation on my part.

To aid you in your judgement calls, opinions, and/or (preferably) discernment, I will provide links to actual pictures of the main characters from the game, some of the demons you encounter, as well as some of the visuals of the church.

I’ll also provide a short biography of each character, quoted from the strategy guide for the game so you’re understanding their personalities. I’m hoping all of this will help make it clearer and easier for you guys to address this issue, and might make it easier for you to help give suggestions for how I can change some of these things (provided I didn’t address it already in the Q&A).

Because preparing this information, pictures, and a Q&A will take some time, I might not get to this until later today or tomorrow. But I’m hoping once I’ve posted it and you’ve responded to the information, that we can conclude this topic and I’ll (hopefully) have a solid answer or better moral direction than I did before.

 

[Julianna]

I’d like to thank everyone, again, who has helped or has tried to help me with this issue. Because my posts are becoming redundant, I thought an easier way for you to be able to judge this situation for yourself is if I created my own list of questions answers. Sort of like an examination of conscience (kinda silly but it might be helpful to you). Creating this Q&A will help me be more specific in areas that matter most to my original query. The questions will be answer with a yes or no, followed by a brief explanation of why it is a yes or no answer. Not all of them will require an explanation on my part.

To aid you in your judgement calls, opinions, and/or (preferably) discernment, I will provide links to actual pictures of the main characters from the game, some of the demons you encounter, as well as some of the visuals of the church.

I’ll also provide a short biography of each character, quoted from the strategy guide for the game so you’re understanding their personalities. I’m hoping all of this will help make it clearer and easier for you guys to address this issue, and might make it easier for you to help give suggestions for how I can change some of these things (provided I didn’t address it already in the Q&A).

Because preparing this information, pictures, and a Q&A will take some time, I might not get to this until later today or tomorrow. But I’m hoping once I’ve posted it and you’ve responded to the information, that we can conclude this topic and I’ll (hopefully) have a solid answer or better moral direction than I did before.

Hello Otaku,
My son is one as well. He has played La Pucelle and I just showed him the link to the trailer. He said, yeah, I’ve played that, it’s a good game. He likes to write fan fiction and is into video games and also subscribed to manga Shonen Jump. (whatever that is). He is a college student, soon to be 25. He plays GTA which I do not care for at all. He favs are FFVI and FFVII…any of the Chrono Cross series, DragonballZ. He prefers RPGs. He also plays my husband, his dad…in Command and Conquer.

As for Catholic faith, he isn’t on board with that, as religion to him is complex.

It is great reading posts from you all, it helps me understand where he is coming from.

 

[vee8]

Thank you for the link, but it was hard to navigate and I’m not sure what show you want me to click on to listen to. They’re not dated, so I don’t know.

I clicked on “latest additions”, was that the one I was supposed to click on or something else?

Sorry for throwing up the link and not giving advice on how to actually find the program I was talking about. First click on latest editions and scroll all the way to the bottom # 21 to the program titled Todays Homily, click on it and scroll down to the one for August 5th and there you have it a very pertinent homily I think. A couple of readings come first you can skip if you want, and the homily itself is around 10 mins long.
ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/intro.asp

 

[The_Otaku]

Hello Otaku,
My son is one as well. He has played La Pucelle and I just showed him the link to the trailer. He said, yeah, I’ve played that, it’s a good game. He likes to write fan fiction and is into video games and also subscribed to manga Shonen Jump. (whatever that is). He is a college student, soon to be 25. He plays GTA which I do not care for at all. He favs are FFVI and FFVII…any of the Chrono Cross series, DragonballZ. He prefers RPGs. He also plays my husband, his dad…in Command and Conquer.

As for Catholic faith, he isn’t on board with that, as religion to him is complex.

It is great reading posts from you all, it helps me understand where he is coming from.

Thanks for the response.

To answer your question/remark, Shonen Jump is an anime magazine which basically showcases currently hot titles, anime related merchandise, video games, art, and offers news, articles, up-coming releases, and reviews, among other things. It’s basically a magazine which helps an otaku keep up to date with what’s going on in the anime world here and abroad. If you’re at all concerned with this, there’s nothing to your son’s determent in there, save for sexy anime girls, but at his age, I’m sure he’s mature enough to realize and seperate fictional, exaggeratedly proportioned girls from real women.

I’ve never personally played GTA or any of it’s sequels, and I have no desire to. I think they’re too violent and they’re not for me. I’m not really into video games that much anymore, to be honest. Usually I’ll only buy a game if I’ve been expecting it’s release, it’s drawn with an art style I like, and a story I can get behind (as is the case with this game, La Pucelle, enough to make me want to write a full comic book for it). Usually it’s an RPG, which meansI will get my money’s worth (though also take up alot of my free time, admittedly).

I also play Command & Conquer. Ask your son and/or husband if they have Kane’s Wrath and they play it online. I’d be interested to play a match with them/against them if that’s the case.

Finally, keep praying for your son. He will come around. I’m 25 as well (26 on the 24th of this month), and I can say I wasn’t always into my spirituality. I’ve only really started taking it seriously about two years ago. If it wasn’t for the prayers of my mother and other friends of the family praying for me, and priests praying, I might still be like I was a few years ago- going to church but not really getting anything out of it, professing to love Jesus without making an attempt to understand or bond with him.

I’m sure your son can be brought back in God’s time. Just keep praying for him.

 

[The_Otaku]

Sorry for throwing up the link and not giving advice on how to actually find the program I was talking about. First click on latest editions and scroll all the way to the bottom # 21 to the program titled Todays Homily, click on it and scroll down to the one for August 5th and there you have it a very pertinent homily I think. A couple of readings come first you can skip if you want, and the homily itself is around 10 mins long.
ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/intro.asp

No need to apologize. I’ll, of course, want to listen to the whole thing. The first readings might be inspiring somehow.

Thank you for your help and for tracking it down for me. I appreciate it.