They say that no press is bad press. The idea is: 1. Someone says something bad about your product. 2. This brings awareness about your product to people who would, otherwise, not hear of it. 3. People, after hearing of your product, are more likely to consume it.
So, if no press is bad press, why should I review a comic that I can't recommend? The answer is simple. The positive things that I mention about the comics should be emulated. The negative things that I mention about the comics should be avoided. This way, I encourage the creation of better Catholic comics. With the end goal of creating better Catholics. Also, error should be addressed and I don't see anyone else addressing it. At least not in a meaningful way.
That being said, on with the review!
I can't remember which one I saw first. I remember seeing Jason Bach’s Catholic comics posted on Facebook many years ago. It was the famous St. Valentine's Day comic he made. I think it was around the same time that I saw Francis the comic strip by Pat Marrin posted on the Catholic Illustrators Guild site. I remember Marrin said that he planned to draw upon Pope Francis’ Angelus addresses in future comics.
It's hard for me to know what to think of these comics. On one hand, as a Catholic cartoonist, it's always nice to see other Catholics making comics. On the other hand, I'm not so sure these are the kinds of comics I want to see.
Jason Bach is very good at promoting himself. But, I also find the way that Bach presents his comics troubling. He makes statements like: “If you read a Catholic comic this year, I probably made it.” He also makes titles like: “The Ultimate Catholic Comic Book” for a book containing his comics. Promotion like this leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I understand that it might be good marketing in the secular world to do this. However, when you present yourself as Catholic to a Catholic audience, claims such as this require at least a sliver of humility. So, an example of a better statement is: “I make Catholic comics! You've probably seen them!” And an example of a better title is: “The Catholic Comics Anthology.” The options are limitless!
As far as craft goes, I appreciate Jason Bach's comics. They have a nice hand drawn quality. I see a good amount of Berkeley Brethed’s style (Bloom County, Outland) employed. Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) is an influence Bach mentioned in an interview. When color comes in, it adds a nice dimension to the line art. The coloring appears to be watercolor, or at least a facsimile of watercolor. Bach's background is not an art background. That is to say, he has no formal art training. I recall him saying that he never intended to be a cartoonist.
The writing is standard gag cartoon material, but with a Catholic dimension. The content is problematic at times. Using The Blessed Mother as a character in a comic and scripting new material for her is always problematic. I mean, she only spoke three times in the Gospels. Why is she speaking six times in your comic?
Things like this happen frequently these days. I think it's because Catholic comics don't have much to guide them. Catholic comics of yore, like Treasure Chest, had editorial oversight from priests and religious. That rarely exists, now. We're all sitting on our own.
The other problem, in our current era, is that, even if you do have editorial oversight by clergy, the orthodoxy of said clergy may be questionable. Many priests and religious are poorly formed. The advice they give is often bad advice. So, in this kind of environment, material that is not particularly blasphemous, but may be “offensive to pious ears,” gets through. For those not familiar, the expression “offensive to pious ears” or “piarum aurium offensiva” refers to when “...verbal expression is such as [to] shock the Catholic sense and delicacy of faith.” (Catholic Encyclopedia ). This is the same problem I see in the comic called“Tomics.” But that's the subject for another article.
Besides using The Blessed Mother as a scripted character, Bach's comic on the canonization of John XXIII is an example of problematic content. The idea of John Paul II and John XXIII sitting in a bar in Heaven talking about governing Christ's Church in terms of rock music is concerning. It depicts a completely worldly conception of Heaven. It depicts these popes, having attained the beatific vision, speaking in completely secular terms. I understand poking fun at the idea of a rock star Pope, but did it have to take place in Heaven? This doesn't even address the moral crisis that many went through, trying to square Francis' canonizations with 2000 years Church history. It's a tasteless depiction of Heaven addressing a subject that needs delicate and precise treatment.
A third example of troubling content in Bach's comics is a strip about Francis and the media distorting his message. In this comic, Francis asks for no anchovies when ordering a pizza. Word of mouth and media distortion ends up creating a story that reports that Francis thinks anchovies are evil. The progression of the writing works well, the punchline connects perfectly. The message? Francis is just misunderstood. Which implies, in parable form, that any kind of sensational message that Francis espouses is just media distortion. I'm not sure when in Francis’ papacy the creation of this comic occurred. History proves that the idea that Francis' sensational messages are just media distortion is false.
Pat Marrin, maker of Francis, the comic strip, has a similar problem. To lump these guys together might seem unfair. The problems stand, though. I figure Bach just makes his mistakes through lack of knowledge. I get the idea that Pat Marrin knows what he's doing.
Once again, the cartooning is not bad. It reminds me a little of European cartooning. The line work is loose, but not sketchy. The colors are either painted watercolor or watercolor analog. The style of the writing and the lettering bring to mind Doonesbury by Gary Trudeau.
I was not excited about Francis the comic strip when it came out, but I was interested to see how it progressed. The initial goal of mostly profiling Francis' Angelus addresses was an ok goal. Editing out parts of the addresses with bad theology or UN propaganda, a cartoonist could make a solid comic. The problem is, this didn't happen. The comic ended up being pure Francis propaganda. Instead of focusing on the positive and orthodox messages of Francis and skipping the other messages, Marrin includes and defends the problematic messages of Francis. For example, when Archbishop Vigano exposed the Cardinal McCarrick cover up, Marrin included Vigano in the comic. Vigano is “Vinegar-o” in the comic. He is a villain for trying to protect young people from predators.
Marrin includes other characters in the comics. I guess the Francis material runs dry, at times. So, we get promotion of women's ordination from a Muslim woman. A concept that doesn't make much sense. Or leftist commentary on US politics by a “simple Franiscan.” But, what's less simple than political commentary?
It's tempting to get the idea that Francis is impeccable in this comic. That is to say, instead just being infallible when speaking on faith and morals from the chair of Peter, everything the Pope says is infallible. I'm not sure how this did not apply to the previous 265 Popes with which the cartoonist did not agree. Maybe declaring papal impeccability when you happen to agree the Pope is just a convenient position.
If you're interested in reading Francis, the comic strip, The National Catholic Reporter publishes it here. What's that publication all about? The National Catholic Reporter has a long history of promoting the heresy of Modernism. The heresy in the magazine is so bad that the diocese took notice. The diocese asked The National Catholic Reporter to take the word “Catholic" out of its name. The National Catholic Reporter did not obey. It's not hard to see why Francis the comic strip finds a nice home in this publication
If you want to see the recent work of Jason Bach, you might not have much luck. You can't find much past 2022. Unless I'm just looking in the wrong places. I recall that he planned to pursue some theology degree. Maybe he's working on that and not making comics much, anymore. His website is still active, with a copyright for 2018.
So, how would one fix these comics? Humility. Present your comics with humility. Be humble enough to know that the angels and saints are not your playthings. There are some things that must never become the object of humor.
Also, be humble enough to realize not everything Francis says or does is worth emulating. Be humble enough to submit your will to the teachings and examples of Christ and His Church. Be humble enough to read the writings of Pope Saint Pius X, and so many other Popes, against Modernism. Be humble enough to apply these teachings to your life. And, after that, figure out how to make a good Catholic comic.
These cartoonists have visual talent.
They just need to write like Catholics.
-George Tautkus
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