Pope reborn as a comic book hero

[Grojlach]

Good god. I'm sure this'll spark some controversies...

John Paul reborn as ‘Incredible Popeman’
Comic book turns late pontiff into Satan-fighting superhero

Pope John Paul II is being reborn in a Colombian comic book as a superhero battling evil with an anti-Devil cape and special chastity pants.

The first episode of the Incredible Popeman is about to go on sale in Colombia and shows the late Polish pontiff meeting comic book legends such as Batman and Superman to learn how to use superpowers to battle Satan.

"The pope was a real-life superhero, of flesh and blood," said Colombian artist Rodolfo Leon, a non-practicing Catholic who has been working on the comic book for about a year.

Like any self-respecting superhero, the Incredible Popeman has a battery of special equipment. Along with his yellow cape and green chastity pants, the muscular super-pontiff wields a faith staff with a cross on top and carries holy water and communion wine.

In the comic book, the pope dies and is reborn with superpowers beyond the infallibility Catholic doctrine gave him on Earth.

Leon said he was saddened by the death Saturday of John Paul II, whom he admired. The artist worried some people might be offended by such a revered figure becoming a comic book hero, but said the reception so far has been good.

Apart from predominantly Catholic Colombia, the book will be sold in Poland and publishers in Mexico, Canada and the United States have expressed interest, Leon said.

He also plans to produce Incredible Popeman action dolls.

"He isn't John Paul II any more," Leon said. "From now on, he's the Incredible Popeman."

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7394352/

And here is a picture of the cover, apparently the Colombian title is going to be "Homopater".

[ 04-07-2005, 04:51 AM: Message edited by: Grojlach ]

[Harkoliar]

that is soooo wrong..

[shamrock_uk]

Well he did drive the Popemobile. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[wellard]

But did you hear Grojlach….

There was going to be a spin off comic called super woman pope who would have equal respect and powers but I heard the Catholic Church just laughed that idea down as being way to silly and far-fetched

[Grojlach]

Originally posted by wellard: But did you hear Grojlach…. There was going to be a spin off comic called super woman pope who would have equal respect and powers but I heard the Catholic Church just laughed that idea down as being way to silly and far-fetched

Well, back in 2003, author Peter Milligan tried to resurrect Ladi Di in a comic and use her as a superhero addition to the X-Statix team (X-Men spin-off); but it all ended in a huge scandal (up to Buckingham Palace interfering), that didn't only ask for last minute changes to take out her character from the story arc entirely, it also forewarned the cancellation of the entire series due to decreased interest and Milligan not really caring anymore for his book after being censored.
So with that in mind, I'm not so sure this won't spark the same controversy.

[wellard]

Errrr groj bob ... it was just a subtle joke [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Grojlach]

Originally posted by wellard: Errrr groj bob ... it was just a subtle joke [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Woops. Maybe I should read more carefully, then. I did feel like adding that bit of trivia to the topic, though. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[johnny]

Popie Jopie.

[AngelofDeath]

Originally posted by shamrock_uk: Well he did drive the Popemobile. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Technically he rode in it, someone else did the driving, I wonder if St Peters has the rotating floor?

[quietman1920]

Technically he rode in it, someone else did the driving

I always wondered what happened to Cato...