In Christianity and Comics, Blair Davis presents an exhaustive survey of how Christianity has been depicted in comics from the 1940s to the early 2000s. In doing so, Davis makes a compelling case for the importance of comic books as a medium in studying Christianity. Through his historical and textual analysis, Davis demonstrates that comics provide a powerful source for understanding how people are interpreting Christianity and its significance in American culture.

Davis organizes each chapter around one or two decades and its dominant patterns in the retelling of Christianity. Chapter 1, for example, analyzes two dominant trends that emerged in the 1940s and continued in subsequent decades. First, the use of Christian figures (Satan, Sampson), and Christian concepts (heaven, hell) to create dramatic and compelling stories. Second, the adaptation of comics to teach Christian stories, beliefs, and morals, as seen in the three-part series The Life of Christ Visualized (1942 and 1943) and Picture Stories from the Bible, which began in 1942.

Chapter 2, which focuses on the 1950s and 1960s, examines the backlash against comics, the introduction of new comics for Christian educational purposes, as well as the emergence of underground comics (comix). In the 1950s, the Catholic-focused Timeless Topix “presented short biographies of notable Catholic missionaries, martyrs, and other luminaries” (65). The more successful and enduring Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact featured an adventure story, as well as information about Catholic practices, such as Lent, and facts about animals or science for young readers. To attract this audience, the art of these comic books resembled that of secular comics with many artists working for multiple publishers across religious/secular lines. Satan or related demonic beings continued to appear in secular comics – sometimes as an evil threat and sometimes as a humorous infant. During this time, many publishers focused their marketing efforts on children; however, in the 1960s, with the advent of comix, adult readership and provocative themes became more central to the genre. Zap Comix creator Robert Crumb consistently included Christian content in transgressive ways. In “Horny Harriet Hotpants,” for example, Harriet marries Jesus Christ in issue 4 of the series (105). Davis highlights how this introduces a third important and enduring trend – creators using comics to work through their own struggles with Christianity.

In the 1970s (chapter 3), Davis analyzes Justin Green’s 1972 Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, in which Green grapples with his Catholic past. The chapter then examines Jack Chick’s tracts and his Crusader Comics that emphasized the importance of conversion while perpetuating numerous racial stereotypes and virulent anti-Catholicism. Davis also investigates Spire Christian comics, which offered readers a less extreme option than Chick’s Crusader Comics through a licensing deal to produce Christian Archie titles.

Chapter 4 investigates Christian themes in Marvel and DC comics in the 1970s and 1980s. DC, for example, released their collector’s edition of The Bible in 1975, while the biblical Cain and Abel served as storytellers in The House of Mystery and House of Secrets. Other DC comics incorporated Christian elements to develop characters and heighten the significance and scope of their stories. Marvel comics featured updated characters based on Satan, such as Mephisto, Ghost Rider, and Son of Satan. In that same decade, Marvel also published three one-issue comics based on Catholic figures (Saint Francis, Pope John Paul II, and Mother Teresa).

Chapters 5 and 6, dedicated to the 1990s and 2000s, highlight the rise of independent publishers and the increasing shift of comics toward adult audiences, more graphic violence, and more bold uses of Christianity. The Sandman explores and develops the character of Lucifer (215–217), while The Goddamned offers “a serious take on events from the book of Genesis” (255), and Savage Sword of Jesus Christ envisions “Jesus as a Conanesque warrior” (259).

As a professor of communication and comics scholar, Davis’s vast knowledge of the genre anchors this book and provides its greatest strength. In many ways, Davis’s outsider status to religious studies means that his approach is not bound by the typical dividing lines that separate our research – biblical studies from US religious history, Protestantism from Catholicism, or Christian popular culture from secular popular culture. By bringing these diverse areas together, Davis’s expansive historical investigation demonstrates the significance of comics to the study of religion broadly and Christianity specifically. Each chapter provides some broader religious context and examines the creators and works of representative examples from various decades. The inclusion of numerous half and full-page reproductions adds another layer of depth to the analysis and allows readers to engage with the book’s primary sources. The writing is clear and compelling, the chapters are accessible for students and scholars, and the book (or excerpts of it) would be great to use in a wide range of classes.

Some religious studies readers may want more nuance on certain issues, for example, a more in-depth comparison of Catholic and Protestant comics or more context on theologies of Satan and hell in the 1950s or 1980s. Others will want more references to scholars of religious and biblical studies. Additionally, for those less familiar with comics, a glossary and/or timeline would have been helpful to include given the extensive range of comics, characters, and publications covered across multiple decades. These additional elements, though, are beyond the scope of the book. Davis notes in the book’s introduction that his training and approach are as a comics scholar, and he explicitly states that he is writing for “both comics fans and comics scholars” (8). However, he hopes to reach a range of diverse readers with different interests and needs (10). In this goal, I think, Davis succeeds as Christianity and Comics invites religious studies students and scholars to bring their own knowledge, theories, and questions to the world of comics studies. It is an invitation that we should accept.