TenNapel

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

As TenNapel points out in the opening text piece, he's going to catch flack from both sides of the aisle on this book. TenNapel has the reputation for including religious elements in his stories. Critics now seek to find the tiniest morsel of religiosity to paint TenNapel as a lunatic radical religious freak.

I've only read Earthboy Jacobus by TenNapel, but it's mis-representing the work to say one had to 'search' for the 'tiniest morsel' of religion, when half way through the story it took a 90-degree turn into being about being Christian is the answer to all our problems - especially when fighting monsters from another dimension.
I must admit it quite annoyed me when I read the GN, as there was nothing on the cover that mentioned it, or in your review of it.
So it's not having a character say 'gay' as an insult that annoys people, it's the painting of anyone who isn't religious as a lying unhappy sleaze, and the ramming of christianity down one's throat, in a story where it wasn't advertised, or even structured to go that way.

This feels a bit like the time where you gave Marvel's Iraq war tpb a great review basically because it wasn't pandering to a left wing audience.

It's fine for a reviewer to have a bias - be it a bizarre love of lettering* or in political thinking/leaning - but don't slight others for not sharing it, defend the work on the basis of the work.

*I notice lettering as well, but I can never understand how you got so hooked on it!

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I never said you had to search that deeply. All I said is that there are those who will look with a microscope to find every little thing they can to mount a case, no matter how tenuous and specious the evidence gets. It also thus blow sthings out of proportion when they find anything of an actual religious nature. They will find it instantly offensive.

And I think you're misrepresenting my review of the TRUE TALES FROM IRAQ (I forget the title already) book, because I spent most of it explaining the faults in his writing, as coming from a writer who's never written for a comic before.

-Augie

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

I never said you had to search that deeply. All I said is that there are those who will look with a microscope to find every little thing they can to mount a case, no matter how tenuous and specious the evidence gets. It also thus blow sthings out of proportion when they find anything of an actual religious nature. They will find it instantly offensive.

Well, it just struck me as odd, as I've got to wonder why anyone would search when any case can be mounted on the surface level.

And I think you're misrepresenting my review of the TRUE TALES FROM IRAQ (I forget the title already) book, because I spent most of it explaining the faults in his writing, as coming from a writer who's never written for a comic before.

-Augie

Does anyone remember the title?
(Was it even ever released in singles?)
To be fair I am going off memory of whenever the review first went up (really can't remember when, so couldn't find it), but I can remember having the feeling that you went soft because of a love for the idea of the material/material with that POV, as opposed to what it was.
(Or was they're a an introduction bit where you said you were excited, but were then disappointed? I don't know Augie, I'm not TenNapel, I've had way too much alcohol since now and then to mount an argument off of memory!)

One thing I did agree with this week is that buying and reading the Tellos HC is going to be a totally different experience now.

[dancj]

This feels a bit like the time where you gave Marvel's Iraq war tpb a great review basically because it wasn't pandering to a left wing audience.

I don't know. I'm a left-wing atheist with an active dislike of religion. If I was surrounded by right wing religious comics I suspect I'd be inclined to warm to comics that broke that mould, so I can see where Augie is coming from (in terms of comics - not politics).

[mgs]

I kinda lost interest in Doug recently. I found his best work to be on Earthworm Jim. Since then, his books seem to be ideas already done and not sincere enough. I think his art remains very good, but he needs a better writer for his next book(s).

[kevhines]

I loved Tenapel's Creature Tech. It dealt with religon too, but maybe not as loudly as Earthboy Jacobus. It's main character was a priest turned scientist, and his dad was a scientist turned atheist. And I remember when I finished that book I thought how interesting that relationship was - and how I wished it had been developed further. So for that book, I wish they dealt with the religon MORE.

I've liked everything Tenapel has done (that I have read, I may have missed some things) and found his usage of religon interesting. It made it unlike other things I was reading. A bit of preaching your ideas is ok sometimes. If you have a good story to tell with it.

I am an atheist. I'm not sure why I feel the need to point that out, but I did.