Monthly Archives: March 2009


Chrono Crusade (Daisuke Moriyama) 1

Chrono CrusadeDaisuke Moriyama I’m not usually very fond of manga — there are certain stylistic choices common to the medium that irritate me, not even mentioning the fact that most manga don’t know how to end — they just keep stretching out into the thirties and forties of volumes, like the graphic counterpart to the Animorphs series. But Daisuke Moriyama’s Chrono Crusade really impressed me. The vision is unique and cohesive, drawing heavily on the resonant power of religious icons, Sinners and Apostles, while talking about something wholly different. It’s set in the Roaring Twenties, which automatically gives you extra […]


The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)

The Da Vinci CodeDan Brown This book surprised me. With all the uproar from the Church, I did not expect it to be so reverent, so respectful, of forms of faith. The history of the Catholic Church is very critical at times, but by the time the book wraps up, everyone is given at least one sympathetic dimension, even Opus Dei. Overall the book avoided villainizing or bashing any one religious group, which is remarkable considering how easy it would have been. The symbolic and historical depth of the book is also quite interesting, although none of it is terribly […]