Modern Books and Manuscripts

Cataloging work continues on Harvard College Library’s recently acquired collection of over 20,000 zines. Zines are non-commercial, non-professional and small-circulation publications that their creators produce, publish and either trade or sell themselves. For access to the collection, contact the Modern Books & Manuscripts department.

The graphic novel Persepolis illustrates the experience of its author, Marjane Satrapi, growing up during the Iranian revolution. This work features multiple conversations between the young Marjane and a cartoon version of God, as she transitions from wanting to be a prophet to criticizing God for allowing her uncle to be killed. In one amusing panel, the author brings together her image of God and that of Karl Marx, as she tries to reconcile their philosophies. In these ways, the comic format allows for an intimate yet challenging interchange between humans and God.

Persepolis, page 13

The Do-It-Yourself nature of zines, self-published magazines with limited circulation, shares  characteristics with graphic novels such as Persepolis. Along with text, this flexible medium often includes comics which depict a message-driven narrative. Since the writers/publishers of zines are often nonconformists who use their stories to challenge social norms, it’s not surprising that religion is a common subject. The informal comic narrative of the zine with its creative depictions presents still more interesting interactions between the human protagonists and a variety of gods.

Horus, by Johane Matte, named after the Egyptian falcon-god Horus, was first published in zine format in 2003. The narrative begins with an infant god (later identified as Horus) who is introduced to Nofret, a young Egyptian girl, as she is collecting water. Falcons call down to her, begging her to protect their son, and she senses at once that he is a god. But she feels unprepared for this moment and asks, “What do you want me to do? Go to the temple? Become a priestess? A chantress?” (Matte, 2003, page 6)

Despite her initial confusion, Nofret takes up the challenge of protecting this figure. However, the community is suspicious and fearful of Horus at first, fearing that he might be an evil demon. Later, once the King and his advisors realize a god is walking among them, they attempt to separate Nofret from Horus in order to take the little god into their sphere of influence.

Horus #2, page 4

There are many interesting aspects of the god-human relationship at play in this zine. While gods are typically treated with reverence, Matte turns this on its head by exploring what would really happen if a god walked among us. Who would blame humans for suspecting a bird-headed figure of being a source of evil? Secondly, Matte probes the potential class and power dynamics between gods and humans. Though the god Horus was historically seen as the protector of the Pharaoh, in this zine he allies himself with a poor, common girl. As a result, the difference in power between Horus the god and Nofret the human is less stark.

A different kind of challenge is apparent in the zine Heathens Idolize School Prayer, by the “Aquarian Tabernacle Church” published in 1996. In this work, a variety of characters—who appear to be Vikings and perhaps representatives of the Norse gods themselves—decide to confront a school official about the issue of school prayer, suggesting that school prayers be extended to their gods as well.

Here the author is less interested in the power or the privilege of class. Instead, the writer is protesting the imposition of one set of religious beliefs over another. In this case, the gods themselves are depicted only in the background, and the conversation is between representatives of different religious persuasions. The publishers of this zine are promoting an alternative theology and using the issue of school prayer to make their case. Like Matte’s Horus, the gods are less distant and more closely allied with the humans who champion their cause.

Heathens Idolize School Prayer, pages 8-9

In all these examples, zines use cartoon images to make a variety of gods smaller and more approachable. At the same time, the authority and power of these deities, and the power structures they represent, are also challenged, whether through a rewriting of the god’s relationship with social class (as in Horus) or through the insistence on many gods rather than a singular more powerful deity (as in Heathens Idolize School Prayer). As a result, the gap between humans and their god(s) is narrowed.

References:

Aquarian Tabernacle Church. Heathens Idolize School Prayer. Index, WA: Pathfinder Press, 1996.

Matte, Johane. Horus #2. Montreal, Canada: Ruff Toon, 2004.

Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. New York: Pantheon Books, 2007.

Thanks to Anna Ryerson, cataloging assistant in the Modern Books and Manuscripts Department, for contributing this post.