C.S. Lewis and Comic Books
Door Jam: August 17, 2024
The Door Jam is a place to squeeze in relevant articles written about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, their work, adaptations of their fantasy worlds, and other potentially interesting news, information, and articles. Unless otherwise stated, I’m not necessarily endorsing (or criticizing) any of these, but merely sharing them with you.
In addition to Lewis talking about comic books, this week’s articles include engagement with The Problem of Pain, the “Learning in War-Time” essay, a new book on Lewis’ time at Oxford, and another chance for me to rant about the correct reading order of Narnia. As far as Tolkien is concerned, there’s an in-depth article on the history and complications of adapting his works, more discussion of the meaning of Middle-earth, and the latest on The Rings of Power, including a Tom Bombadil song.
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I had the opportunity to review Christianity and Comics: Stories We Tell about Heaven and Hell for The Gospel Coalition. The book, written by a secular scholar, traces how comics have interacted with the Christian faith since comic books emerged in the 1940s.
Since I had been writing about it here, I drew from Lewis’ An Experiment on Criticism. And, on the off chance, he had personally interacted with comics, I searched his letters for any reference. Lewis had actually talked about comics and engaged with some of the overreaction against them. Here’s the opening of my review.
C. S. Lewis never had the opportunity to share his thoughts on Marvel’s 1994 comic adaptation of The Screwtape Letters, but he did say much of the criticism of comics in his day was overblown. He wrote in a 1960 letter:
“I wonder do we blame T.V. and the Comics too much? … It annoys me when parents who read nothing but the newspapers themselves … complain of their children reading the Comics! Upon my soul, I think the children’s diet is healthier than their parents’.”
Read the full review at The Gospel Coalition.
Next week, we will start our Narnia read-along of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for paid subscribers. Because I want even more of you along for the journey, I’m offering a 20% discount on an annual subscription. I hope you jump at the opportunity like the Dufflepuds.
