December Reading Log

 

In December I finished a task I'd been working on for years, completing the last books on my shelf I hadn't read. I also found time to catch up on some articles, read some comics, and review a book on pastoral theology for the Baptist Standard. Take a look!

4 Articles I Like This Month

"America Is Not Ready for the Next Crisis" by Lewis Brogdon, Christian Ethics Today. 10 minutes.

By any reasonable measurement, our nation's response to the pandemic has been an abysmal failure. It has divided us further instead of uniting us, exposed the dangers of extreme individualism, and illustrated governmental incompetence. And, as Lewis Brogdon eloquently and frighteningly shows in this article, the worst may be yet to come. If we cannot rediscover a notion of the common good, the next crisis will be even worse than this one.

"The 50 Best Texas BBQ Joints" by Staff, Texas Monthly. 48 minutes.

Texas Monthly's list of the state's best places for barbecue, released every 4 years, is a brisket lover's Bible. Print this list (or better yet, buy the magazine), and keep it as a reference as you travel our great state.

"The Gospel of Donald Trump, Jr." by Peter Wehner, The Atlantic. 3 minutes.

In an address to white evangelicals, Donald Trump, Jr. said the quiet part out loud, that Jesus's teachings (specifically regarding turning the other cheek) "have gotten us nothing." The sentiment betrays an insidious attitude I hear far too often in evangelicalism: power, not Jesus, is Lord for too many of the so-called faithful.

"Desmond Tutu Was Exactly the Radical Moderate the World Needed" by David Von Drehle, The Washington Post. 3 minutes.

In light of the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, writer David Von Drehle praises him for the Anglican moderation he showed in his approach to post-apartheid South Africa. In a world dominated by extremes, moderation can be both radical and convictional.

Reading Through the Fantastic Four- #209-231, Annual #14-15

My past month of FF reading saw the title moving from the loose wackiness of the Bronze Age to the professional, corporate attitude of Jim Shooter's 1980's Marvel. Here we see the FF reclaiming what was good about the Silver Age while casting aside the excesses of the 1970s. The result is 20+ issues that feel like a transition, but in an encouraging way.

The first highlight is John Byrne's initial run as artist, a precursor to when he would become both writer and artist from issues #232-293. Byrne, inked by FF legend Joe Sinnott, is reliably excellent in these issues, putting down the clean lines and retro attitude that would make him arguably the most beloved artist of the 1980s.

The second highlight is the partnership of writer Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz, more famous for their work on Moon Knight. For about a year, they were the creative team on the FF, focusing on the little-explored nature of Franklin Richards' mutant powers and lending an air of dynamism to the team before Byrne's run began in #232. Sienkiewicz, now a legend, particularly draws Mister Fantastic in a way no one ever had before, borrowing from DC's depiction of Plastic Man to show all the possibilities of the hero's stretching powers.

While I'm excited to begin Byrne's run in January (it's my favorite run on the FF, and I own every issue), I wouldn't have minded more of the Moench-Sienkiewicz team...where were they in the doldrums of the mid-1970s?

PASTORAL THEOLOGY IN THE BAPTIST TRADITION by R. Robert Creech

*I wrote a brief review of this book for the Baptist Standard which will appear in January's print edition of Common Call magazine . So as to neither plagiarize nor repeat myself, I'll link to it when it appears online.*

THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver

There are certain books that it feels like everybody I went to seminary with recommends. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. And yes, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. So this month I finally read and enjoyed Kingsolver's novel about a midcentury missionary family's life in Africa—and while I'm not sure it makes my "books every pastor MUST read" list, it's certainly an engaging story with an important message.

It tells the story of the Price family—a tyrannical, fundamentalist pastor; his strong but quiet wife; and their four daughters—and how together and separately they are affected when they move to a village in the Congo, ostensibly to share the gospel. What becomes clear early on is that Nathan Price is in way over his head and that his colonialist attitude toward missionary work is doing more harm than good for both his family and the village. The book's turning point comes when the family is met with a devastating tragedy, one which changes all of their lives forever.

Ultimately, The Poisonwood Bible's message couldn't be clearer: colonialism is bad. I have zero issue with that message, but did find the novel a bit preachy in the way it was conveyed. What was more interesting were the characters themselves, each of whom responds to the demands and consequences of their missionary journey differently. While the characters could easily have become mere ciphers in service to the greater message, Kingsolver's wise decision to narrate chapters from their individual points of view makes them feel like real people instead.

For those whose view of missionary work is two-dimensional, this novel is an eye-opening look at how sharing the gospel and sharing Western values have been so easily intertwined over the centuries, and the importance of detangling the two. But more importantly, for those wanting a good character-driven story, you'll find one here. The message is good, just not unfamiliar. The story is both original and interesting.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens

Some books are so familiar you can almost recite them from memory, yet so beloved you take the time to reread them anyway. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens' much-adapted tale of how four ghostly apparitions managed to change the heart of one bitter old miser, is just such a story, one worthy revisiting every Christmas.

I'm sure I don't need to recap the story for you, since everyone from Bill Murray to the Muppets to my 4th grade class has told it in some form or another. What did surprise me in rereading the book was how faithfully many adaptations wind up being, not just to the plot but the dialogue as well. More than just the catchphrases ("Bah! Humbug!", "God bless us, everyone," etc.), there were almost zero lines of dialogue I didn't recognize, which I credit more to their repetition on stage and film than to my memory of prior readings of the book. The reason for this is simple: Dickens is—hot take—a delight to read, and his Victorian cadence is quite pleasant to the ear.

This book is a quick read; you can finish it in 2 hours easily (something that certainly can't be said of most of Dickens' novels.) If it's not already a part of your annual holiday traditions, I encourage you to remedy that in 2022.

ESSENTIAL GHOST RIDER VOL. 3 by Michael Fleisher, Don Perlin, Mike Esposito, Herb Trimpe, et al.

The embodiment of the 1970s continued his adventures into the early 1980s, as chronicled in this 3rd Essential volume of 4 (look for me to take a break in January and finish up in February). With writer Michael Fleisher at the helm for every issue in this volume, the stories get more consistent and more fun, albeit never really reaching the heights of any of Ghost Rider's Silver Age predecessors.

Full of mostly self-contained issues, Essential Ghost Rider Vol. 3 sees Johnny Blaze, stunt biker extraordinaire and part-time demon on wheels, shifting from a typical superhero-secret identity mold to more of a Jekyll-Hyde dynamic, something Fleisher was starting to foreshadow at the end of volume 2. Indeed, by the end of this volume, Ghost Rider is no longer a hero in any sense, more of an agent of chaos who Blaze reluctantly lets loose when confronted with situations in which he feels the demon's power could do some good. As a result, many of the issues in this volume aren't so much about Ghost Rider taking on villains as they are about Johnny Blaze getting into scrapes only for Ghost Rider to be unleashed in the last 5 pages.

The art in this volume is a collection of B-level Bronze Agers, nothing to write home about. The stories, similarly, are fun but quickly forgotten. What stands out most about these issues of Ghost Rider is their deviation from the superhero formula, Fleisher's willingness to make Ghost Rider more of an adventure-meets-horror title rather than a good-guy-fights-bad-guy comic.

For those who made it through the character's early growing pains, Essential Ghost Rider Vol. 3 sees the title finally settling into a groove. I don't know that I'd call it "essential" Marvel reading, but for those who like the Nic Cage movies and want to know what the character's about, these issues are worth breezing through.

THE OTHER HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE by John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli

When you look at the biggest heroes in the DC Universe, characters created primarily in the 1940s-1960s, it's a pretty homogenous group: white, straight, and moderate in temperament. They may fight for truth, justice, and the American way...but whose America?

In The Other History of the DC Universe, a 5-issue limited series from DC's "Black Label" line of alternative, adult comics, writer John Ridley of Twelve Years a Slave fame looks to tell the story of DC through the eyes of characters who don't fit the mold. You might consider this the Woke History of the DC Universe.

In the wrong hands, this could be a preachy, self-righteous disaster. But Ridley is an excellent storyteller, and with him at the helm, what is presented instead is a personal, powerful, character-driven new perspective on the DC Universe. With each issue telling the story of a different POC superhero, Ridley is able to tell a broader story about representation, power dynamics, and race. And the art, by Italian penciller Giuseppe Camuncoli, is a perfect accompaniment to Ridley's vision.

Admittedly this is a series intended to be provocative; it's not going to be for everyone. If "SJW" is a phrase you like throwing around, you'll probably want to steer clear. But for those willing to listen, there's not only a good story within, but a good message.