My Adam4d.com Top 5!
Adam4d.com is one of my favourite webcomics. Even better, it’s a great Christian comic with a sharp satirical edge. I’ve written about the comic before. A couple of months ago I promised to put up a Top 5 list of my favourite Adam4d.com comics and here it is! It wasn’t easy getting it down to five but I got there eventually. These are presented in no particular order. Is your favourite on the list?
Comic of the Week: Deadpool #23
Deadpool #23
W: Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan
P: Mike Hawthorne
Deadpool can be pretty hit and miss with me. The Joe Kelly run in the late 90s was one of my early favourites when I first started getting into comics (in fact I recently bought the Joe Kelly Deadpool Omnibus, which will make me very happy for a very long time). Since Kelly stopped writing the character, I haven’t really stayed that attached to the Merc With a Mouth. But this current run, which began with Marvel NOW, has really hit that Deadpool sweet spot – funny, dark and very violent.
Webcomic Review: Adam4d.com
Adam4d.com is a Christian comic that has grabbed my attention over the last few months. And judging by my Facebook feed, I’m not the only one. Often laugh-out-loud funny (yes, I’m old and I will not be using the acronym, thank you) and very often insightful, Adam4d is a comic you should be checking out regularly. There are some strips that I have bookmarked for future use, because they’re just asking to be used in a sermon or Scripture class. The creator, Adam Ford, has a way of taking complex ideas and satire and reducing them to punchy sound bites and drawings that I admire. I read a lot of webcomics, but Adam4d.com is one that I know I’ll be a consistently better thinker and preacher after reading it (I’m trying hard to lay it on to thick here guys, but I really love this comic!).
Wonderella and Footprints in the Sand
You know that bit in the Bible where it talks about one or more footprints in the sand? Me neither. Contrary to the beliefs of some, it isn’t Scripture (So please don’t ask me to read it out at a funeral). I love what the Non-Adventures of Wonderella do with that poem here. I like to think that it’s the poem rather than Jesus that comes off badly. I love how it just gets more ridiculous with each panel.
Webcomics Monday: Scenes From A Multiverse and the Existence of God
Scenes From A Multiverse is a webcomic that can go anywhere and everywhere. Absurd and unique universes are playgrounds waiting to be frolicked in. Which provides the author, Jon Rosenberg, plenty of room to play with ideas. Which also provides him plenty of opportunities to look at things such as religion. The genius of the setup is that he can explore the inconsistencies and fallacies that he sees in religion, without actually looking at a particular religion. Sure, we know he’s making comments about Christianity and other faiths, but he does it in a way that brings us to question our logic, not just assume he’s having a go. I don’t always agree with Rosenberg. And I don’t always agree with his logic. But I appreciate being given the opportunity to think through my beliefs and examine the logic behind them.
Webcomics Monday: Our Valued Customers and Thought Balloons
I’ve done my time in the front lines of the retail industry. I’ve worked the cash register and answered phone calls. I’m sure it’s a common experience for retail employees to have experienced their fair share of… unusual customers. People who ask for all kinds of crazy, unrelated products. Or just say things that are widely inappropriate for the social situation. I can only begin to imagine how much worse it would be in the kingdom of the nerds. Our Valued Customers is a webcomic created by a comic book shop employee. He takes the things said to him or overheard in the shop and turns them into comics. And these comics are equal parts insightful and disturbing.
The comic that I’d like to discuss fulfills both those criteria. It gives a great insight into our lives. But of course it has a bit of a disturbing feel. And it all has to do with thought balloons in comic books.
Coming Soon: Webcomics Monday
Starting next Monday, I’m planning a new weekly series for Pop Culture Christ called Webcomics Monday. Over the last few months I’ve been storing up a whole bunch of webcomics that deal with Christian and/or religious themes. Each Monday, I’ll be linking to one of these comics and briefly discussing them. So far, I’ve got enough to last me a few months at least, but I’d be very keen for people to link me to more. I don’t care how old they are, as long as they’re accessible on the net.
To get you into the mood, I thought I’d give you an idea of what webcomics I’m reading on a regular basis. Bonus points if you can link me to a comic with Christian themes that isn’t on this list!
Wonderella and The Second Coming of Christ
I’m a big fan of the webcomic The Non-Adventures of Wonderella. I’ve linked to the comic before and I’m sure I will link to it again. The main character, Wonderella, has a connection to the gods of myth, which often brings religious themes into the comic. On top of that, the author isn’t afraid to lampoon traditions that people have that they haven’t properly thought through. That’s not to say that the traditions are bad, just that people take them for granted.
Recently, Justin Pierce (the comic’s author) posted a 3 part comic depicting the second coming of Jesus. It’s well worth checking out and discussing. You can find it here, here, and here.
Jesus would totally win in a rap battle.
Trinitarian God of War
When you base a series of games around hunting down and killing gods of legend, you’re bound to end up here.
The new atheists might be up for such a game but I really don’t see the main player lasting long.
Penny Arcade is one of the big boys of webcomics. If you want to know what’s going on with video games, Penny Arcade is the site to check out. Just keep an eye out for the swearing and violence. They go there a lot.
Wonderella and The Point of Easter
The Non-Adventures of Wonderella is a wonderfully bizarre webcomic. The title character is a super hero who really couldn’t care less about saving people and is more interested in what’s happening on TV that night. The strip starts off in one place and by the time you reach the end of the page, you’re somewhere completely different.
Over Easter, Wonderella took on the Easter bunny. Her sidekick, Rita, asks what’s the point of Easter. Wonderella replies “Nobody knows.”
Jesus Doesn’t Offer Candy
Here’s a comic from Something Positive.
You should never accept candy from a stranger. However, Jesus isn’t a stranger. He is your creator. And he offers you something far better than candy.
Christian Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons isn’t exactly popular amongst some Christians. The whole pagan gods and sorcery thing adds up to a double whamy of let’s-not-go-there. Others, as seen in this PVP strip, take a different approach to Christian gaming.
http://www.pvponline.com/2009/06/24/holy-roller/
For the record: I’ve played D&D. I can see how it may be a stumbling block for some. I view it as a matter of freedom and choose to see it as engaging with fiction. But that’s a wisdom decision for the individual.
Gamers Church
Say someone wanted to start a new religion. Say they wanted to worship the gods of computer games, gathering together with their Nintendo DS’ and share in fellowship together. Now, say that some representatives of organised religion got upset and wanted them to stop. What would happen next? Ctrl+Alt+Del has been there, done that.
Shortpacked and the Deadbeat Dad
Shortpacked is a webcomic that quite often deals with Christianity and Christian pop culture. In a comic this week, we see one possible interpretation of the virgin birth. It’s pretty funny, but I’m glad it isn’t true. It would throw all kinds of things into chaos if Jesus wasn’t sent to earth on purpose. Instead he was promised from the start that he would come to deal with sin. You know you were expected when the entire creation was created for you and by you (Check out Colossians 1:16).
Still, pretty funny!
Something Positive
I read a lot of webcomics. And why not? They’re free after all. One of my favourites is a comic called Something Positive. This strip is witty, well drawn, and very, very not PC. If you even the slightest bit offended by almost anything, then do not read Something Positive.
Pop Culture Christ 
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