Written by Paul Asay
Published at Tyndale
About the book
What do God and the Caped Crusader have in common? While Batman is a secular superhero patrolling the fictional streets of Gotham City, the Caped Crusader is one whose story creates multiple opportunities for believers to talk about the redemptive spiritual truths of Christianity. While the book touches on Batman’s many incarnations over the last 70 years in print, on television, and at the local Cineplex for the enjoyment of Batman fans everywhere, it primarily focuses on Christopher Nolan’s two wildly popular and critically acclaimed movies—movies that not only introduced a new generation to a darker Batman, but are also loaded with spiritual meaning and redemptive metaphors.
Who is Paul Asay?
Paul Asay is associate editor at Plugged In, a ministry that reaches more than six million people with movie reviews that help people understand popular cultural trends and how they intersect with spiritual issues. Paul is an award-winning journalist who covered religion at The (Colorado Springs) Gazette and whose work has been published by such outlets as The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Youth Worker Journal and Beliefnet.com. Paul has a special interest in the unexpected ways faith and media intersect. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Wendy, and two children.
My Thoughts
This isn’t the first Christian book making a connection between God/Jesus and Super-Heroes that I have seen. However, it is the first one I know dealing specifically with a comic character from the big screen. The author decorticates the stories found in the recent Batman movies and attempt to draw a connection between life and God. He has chosen to limit himself in the character presented in the movies and not extrapolate too much with the character in the comic books.
As I read the author’s childhood, I was choked by the reaction of his dad. But then I recall what my husband told me what happened when he became a Christian. He really thought that comic books were not good and sold the comic collection he then had. But with time, he realized that they are not that evil and restarted it. When I met him he had about ten boxes in his apartment. Since then the collection grew,the kids started their own and we are having fun together reading and purchasing new comics when possible. In the midst of our collection, you will find some numerous Batman comics which is one of my husband favorite. What distinctively separate Batman from the other heroes is definitively the word SUPER. Batman doesn’t have special powers. He rely on his skills and intelligence to fight the bad guys in his city.
I must admit that I don’t agree with everything I have read in this book but the idea behind the book is interesting. I like to see comparison and similarities between God and super-heroes. Some Christians might think that comic books are not good but did you know that you can have lots of spiritual messages within them. That’s what the author of this book did based on the movies of Batman. Though I must say that sometimes it could be a bit stretched. Nevertheless, the reading is interesting and it’s the kind of teaching book that is out-of-the-ordinary.
If you are a fan of Batman – whether in the comics and in the movies – I think you will enjoy this book. However, if you are a die-hard fan of the comic book character and didn’t like the movies that much, well I suggest that you read this book with an open mind. Nevertheless, I thinkthe author has done a good job in extrapolating life with the Batman movies and presenting God in the midst of it.
God on the Streets of Gotham is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.
It is also available on Kindle. From Dec 2nd to Dec 6th, 2012, the Kindle version is FREE!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book for review purposes from Tyndale. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
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