When he was a teenager in the 1990s, Jordan Morris was always on a little misconception – until he involved sex or drugs, two things he must have killed.
So he went to the Megachurch Megachurch, who promised Teen Shenanigans without much danger. “Sanatized misconceptions,” as described it, was perfect for Morris, which grew up as nervous, nervous.
“The youth group was great for me,” Morris said. “We can put on the exhibition, we can sing small songs, we can do a little off Pastor’s house and clean later. And I just don’t have to worry that someone will try to press me into something I’m afraid of.”
Now a comedy writer in Los Angeles, Morris has a simder on his time in Youth Group. These memories – and his love for horror films like “exorcist” – she inspired him to write a “Youth Group”, a graphic novel on church teenagers fighting nonsense about Jesus.
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You mean “Buffy The Vampire Killer” – the 1990s Hit film and later television series – goes to church.
“I thought it was going to be a fun challenge,” Morris, whose previous graphic novel “Bubble” was nominated for the Eisner Award, told the religion of the news in the interview earlier this year. “Can we make one of those religious horror stories, but let him feed on some funny?”
Morris also said that he would rarely see stories placed in the type of youth group he grew up.
“I just didn’t see that the little world was written in the way I thought as, precise or, like, who got what it was about,” he said.
He posted the New York in the first other books “, Youth Group” Story Story of Kay Radford, a theater child who joins the Megachurch Youth Group after the parents were divided. Her mom is a real believer, but lonely. Kay is more skeptical, but lonely and angry with her father.
“Church It could help you in everything, “Kayina Mom tells her early.” I think we could both use a community. “
In the Youth Group, Kay meets the Leader Meg Park, a species, but sometimes a browsing young man in pink; Bradat, Hippi Pastor that turns “Pina Colada song” – Rupert Holmes hit “Escape” – in a spiritual search metaphor; And a band that expels the parishes like “I saw Christ” that sang the Melody ASA base “sign”.
Although fictional, songs match the type of pop culture reference – sometimes known as “Jesus Yuke” – for which young men can know.
“I always think there’s something funny about that move, where you take a secular piece of entertainment, like a song that’s in the zeitgeist, or a popular movie and try and give the hidden religious message,” Morris said.
Kay ultimately reveals young pastors and some of the older stone mission children fight and against demons. That struggle becomes personal after one of the demons go for her father, and Kay decides to join the fight. Along the way, stone mission children are associated with youth groups from other faiths – the temple of Beth Israel, flawless heart for the heart and Polaris Coven – to struggle with demonic invasion with the help of some training.
Morris said he and Illustrator Bowen McCurdy wanted to tell a story that was more than satire. And until no longer encompassing the faith of his youth, Morris still sees the value in the lessons he learned, such as the importance of loving your neighbor.
“We wanted to tell a story about people from many different religions consisting of a common goal,” he said.
Matthew Cressler, Scientist Religion and Creators Wepcomic Series “Bad CatholicsGood problems, “Comics with evangelical or denomination settings like” Youth Group “are unusual. Religion in comics, he is often considered a” marker difference “: for example, Kamal Khan, MuslimAmerican The hero known as Mrs. Marvel, or Matt Murdock, better known as Daredevil, who is Irish-Catholic. In the 1960s, when Daredeville was created, Catholics were still outsiders to American mainstream, and many of the most popular heroes, such as Batman, were seen as Mainline Protestants.
While comic books for gospel, they were often evangelically, like controversial Jack chollen roads or Christian adventures of Archie and his friends, who published strapped comics since the 1970s. And the gospels often reduced the type of sacramental image and architecture found in the main or Catholic setting and try to avoid the type of visual necessary for comics, said Cresler.
Matthew brake, founder and editor of the Network Publication of POP culture and theology, they said that non-denominational churches often have “Go to the shopping center aesthetics” and lacking visual visual catholicism.
“The Nonnenamination Church is somehow a cultural underwater,” he said.
This can change, the brake said, as creatives such as Morris, which adults in non-denomination settings, come from age. And these settings often contain surprises. Although the most famous of things like the worship of the culture of music and cleanliness, Megachomes also provide space for discussing things like social justice.
Still, he is surprised if there were many non-renovated Christians to fans who would enjoy a book like “Preacher”, late in the 1990s coming on the Evangelic Pastor ending the observer’s supernatural being.
David Canham, which is reviewed by the comics for the secular pop culture website, short for “adventures in bad taste” – had mixed feelings regarding “youth groups.”
“First, there are a lot of” nostalgia – a well-intention language in the cheek “in many stupid and absurd things” 90’s culture “, with a focus on Evangelic Christian culture,” he wrote the book. “” Youth Group “brings at this time.”
But the book took on pluralism – the idea that all religion is on the same side – she stepped back like an Evangelic Christian. “I don’t want to recommend a book that promotes a worldview that doesn’t strongly agree with my beliefs,” he wrote.
Initially, Morris said he was worried, the book could be equally offended by Christians and Atheists. Some gospels can feel that the book is ridiculed by their faith, while the atheists can think that the book looks at the shortcomings of religious groups.
And those criticisms would be fair, he said. Religious groups get a lot of things wrong, and yet churches and other religious groups remain important for their members. Morris said that he tried to walk a fine line of light fun on faith while showing why he still has an impact on people’s life and how friends are made in youth groups.
“I didn’t mean to love to be the humor, the church stupid or says,” Look at this stupid church matter, “he said.” I wanted to be funny and familiar. “
Morris said he wanted to catch the mixed feelings people have about faith in which they grew up. While he appreciated biblical learning like worries about the need, some policies and social messages, especially in connection with LGBTQ + people, he said.
Religion, he said, was complicated.
“There are a lot of wonderful memories, and there are a lot of things that Ick gives me,” he said. “I hope it’s in the book. I hope you see that religious education can be upset and beautiful – comforting, but you’re crazy too.”