Punk Rock Jesus

In the afterword to the book, Sean Murphy tells the story of how he lost his faith. He was a "devoted Catholic" when starting the script for Punk Rock Jesus, but a road trip with an atheist friend made him consider beliefs "based on science and not on dogma". There's a little bit of the born-again secularist to the story, including nods to Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens and Harris (as well as Bad Brains, Black Flag, the Sex Pistols and so on). But Murphy is not interested in propaganda, no matter how much these thinkers may have influenced him. At one point, his punker protagonist is criticised for "being overly preachy" and not taking a "softer approach". Rock and roll confrontation only stirs up more sectarianism. The slash and burn attitude gets the better of him in the end. In an act of poetic justice, Murphy has him killed shortly after he suggests that "religious freedom is impeding any progress".

Some of the energy of fast angry guitar music is channeled into the book, which is blunt, pacy and adolescent. Murphy is an extraordinary artist, but his characters are drawn into edgy, easily defined icons, and the attempts to add nuance is often clumsy and wordy. But even if it isn't technically flawless, I still like its ballsy honesty and good intentions. Garth Ennis has covered similar territory in a much bleaker and funnier fashion, but he's less interested in what makes believers tick, and has less sympathy for those still clinging on to faith. Murphy's approach is "softer" (he's been through it after all), and perhaps more affecting – and effective.

Goddess

A mid-90s DC mini-series written by Garth Ennis and beautifully illustrated by Phil Winslade, who handled drawing, inking and colouring himself. It's one of those comics where the art on the inside lives up to the quality of the art on the cover. The story revolves around a young Irish woman called Rosie, who discovers she has godlike powers she cannot fully control, and who is chased by an erratic, murderous CIA agent who wants to cut her open to find out how they work.

Not especially original, and indeed, Ennis spends most of the eight issues having fun in exotic locations and giving Winslade cool things to draw. Only at the end is the mystery behind Rosie's abilities revealed. She is the Goddess of the Earth, one of nine Goddesses, all daughters of the Sun. Her mother urges her to purge herself of the human element, which is polluting her body and mind -- a return to the natural, pre-human balanced order. Rosie rejects such nihilism, instead choosing to use her power to design the world anew.

Ennis leaves the reader with the impression that gentlemen are power-mad psychopaths, and the ladies 'knew what they were talking about' when it comes to ushering in the new world order. Rosie looks forward to being in charge, although she will not use her power too much, to avoid forgetting her humanity. Mudhawk, on the other hand, looks forward to being Colonel, General, President...

Ennis suggests we need an all-powerful benevolent female nature goddess to restore balance to human society and psychology. Read whatever you want into that metaphor, although I'm not especially keen on the notion that women necessarily have a better mind for political and environmental governance. I like Ennis best when he shakes loose of his gender bias, and pays closer attention to the depravities will-to-power is capable of -- like in his Punisher series for Marvel.

Kick-Ass

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw found its relentless outrage-provoking stunts a tickle to the diaphragm, and he gave the film five stars. Me being a superhero comics veteran, am slightly less impressed by the Kick-Ass agenda. Yes, I get the gloriously offensive silliness, the satire with a human face mentality. It's just that I've read comics that have done all this better, and am rather frustrated that THEY haven't been made into fims, as opposed to Mark Millar's creation.

My biggest problem with the film is the romantic interest character -- a pining blank beauty who forgives Dave's deceptions at the drop of a hat. There should be a rule: useless geeks should not be given an easy ride on the relationship front. They don't deserve it. Yes, Hit Girl is awesome, but Mrs. Kick-Ass is nerdy wish-fulfilment. This is not a step forward for girls in comics.

Second, smaller problem. The butterfly knife and the bazooka were cool, but were there any actual funny lines in this film? Most of the gags were physical, and some of the funniest looked like ad-libs (the boogie in the car for example). The film-makers could have done wonders with Nick Cage's weirdness, or the two nerds, or anyone really. But they didn't.

Again, to risk repetition, the world of comics offers so much more. Read The Pro by Garth Ennis and Amanda Conner, where the satire with a human face actually hits you. Or Nextwave by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, where pop ridiculousness gets taken to the next level. Or even Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, where the teen superhero and his girlfriend are real people you can sympathize with. Having this perspective means I cannot see Kick-Ass as anything more than average.

That said, Hit Girl really WAS awesome.