I wrap up my year-long overview of the late great Neal Adams as well pay some proper heed to the holiday with one of his more audacious co-creations -- Son-O-God Comics. The image above by Adams is one of the most brilliant single-image take-downs of the hoary religiosity which has come to stand in for Christianity. Co-created with writers Sean Kelly and Michel Choquette, Neal Adams and company give organized religion quite the bashing in a series of stories in the pages of the iconoclastic National Lampoon. If you're of a mind and want to read more of this savage take on Christendom's holiest figure, then check out this highly potent link.
National Lampoon, at least in its earliest days was the home to some savage satire about many of societies most sacred cows. The above cover by Mara Mcafee is perhaps my favorite from all their long catalog. It speaks to the holiday and at the same time makes it feel of the moment. At a time when Christianity is being use by some of its own adherents to promote singularly un-Christ-like agendas, scraping beneath the familiar ancient tales to get a fresh understanding seems a wise and prudent way forward. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday!
More Christmas fun coming later today.
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That's a fantastic Adams cover, I love the wolf in sheep's clothing illo. I eventually managed to track down a copy of National Lampoon with this cover and story. Great stuff again.
ReplyDeleteI was just a bit too naive to appreciate National Lampoon in its prime. But looking back at these gems is sweet indeed. My fave part is the Volkswagen.
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