“Can you actually find spiritual truths in comicbooks and superhero movies?”
Yes, you can!
For more than 75 years of comic book history and dozens of gigantic cinematic releases, Superheros have captivated our imagination--filling our senses with heart-pounding adventures, riveting plots, and spectacular special effects—and sometimes they have profound messages woven into them. Often the underlying themes reveal a Judeo-Christian influence, and even when it isn’t intentional, you can still draw deep lessons from them. Whether it’s the self-sacrifice and humility of Captain America and the Hulk’s struggles with anger or the parallels between Superman and Jesus or between Black Widow and a ruthless Bible heroine, your favorite heroes and heroines (and even villains) have much to teach.
If you’re a fan of this good vs. evil world, you will love The Superheroes Devotional—featuring 60 interesting, challenging, and encouraging readings. With devotions drawn from dozens of favorite superheroes from both the Marvel and DC Comics universes—well-known names like Captain America and Batman and lesser-known heroes like Shazam and Gambit—each reading includes spiritual lessons relating superheroes to the heroes of the Bible in themes like faith, hope, courage, pride, and power. You’ll also enjoy reading about the history and background of each superhero, shared by author and lifelong fan Ed Strauss.
Read on, True Believer, and may you draw inspiration and encouragement from the characters and stories that you know and love from comicbook pages and big screen movies alike.
My review:
I'll admit that I was a bit dubious about this one. A superheroes devotional book......But I do like superheroes, and Barbour Books doesn't put out junk, so I requested it.
First off, one might think that this is a devotional book for kids. That is not the case. This is definitely for adults, and the length of the devotions are even longer than the average devotional book. Most of them go between 4 and 5 pages in length. The topics covered are not necessarily deep theological topics, yet they are deep enough to bring home a point that is worth considering.
If you know much about superhero comics and/or movies, there is usually a fight between good and evil, thus it isn't difficult to find Christian themes in the comics and superhero movies..... though the author does an even better job of it than I expected.
I have been reading a devotion a day from the book, and have not had enough days to read the whole book. However, I like what I have read and have been encouraged by what I have read. Each devotion starts with a reference to something in a comic book and/or movie, and ends with a spiritual application.
This is a devotional that is geared for people who read comic books and/or watch superhero movies. If you do neither, you most likely won't understand or enjoy the book. However, if you are into superheroes..... this book is definitely for you, or would make a great gift for the superhero fan in your life.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
About the author:
Ed Strauss is a freelance writer living in British Columbia, Canada. He has authored or coauthored more than fifty books for children, tweens, and adults. Ed has a passion for Biblical apologetics and besides writing for Barbour, has been published by Zondervan, Tyndale, Moody, and Focus on the Family.
The Superheroes Devotional is available from Barbour Publishing.
Thanks to Barbour for the review copy.
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