She-roes and She-gods? Africana Religions and the Comics, pt. one

Are you a comics fan? My latest project deals with religion in comic books and graphic novels from the Golden Age to the present, where I look for characters who possess what might be seen as god-like powers, supernatural abilities, and fantastic technologies. Perhaps we might think of them as modern-day deities. Being obsessed with religion I wonder if there isContinue reading “She-roes and She-gods? Africana Religions and the Comics, pt. one”

Circus Freaks, White Voodoo Women, and the Amazing Afro

In between working on serious stuff that takes up my time, I look at images. Some of these images may seem as though they are not related – but they actually are – like these African circus “freak” posters from the early twentieth century and their counterparts from contemporary body mod subcultures in the United States. So who is the savage?Continue reading “Circus Freaks, White Voodoo Women, and the Amazing Afro”

Apotheosis of Marie Laveau, Hoodoo-Voodoo-Vodou Icon

I knew that it was time to write this post after everyone in the class I was teaching had seen the third season of the FX series American Horror Story, starring Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau, except me. Most of the students had never heard of Mme Marie before, mind you, so it was a perfectContinue reading “Apotheosis of Marie Laveau, Hoodoo-Voodoo-Vodou Icon”

Beautiful women with Cigars

As you might guess, this post is about pictures. But it might not be what you expect. I wasn’t exactly sure what I could say about this remarkable collection, compliments of the photographers at Flickr, that would speak any more eloquently than they do by themselves. But I am going to try. I want toContinue reading “Beautiful women with Cigars”

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