Testament, My Testament
So here's my first blatant personal plug: my first comic series, Testament, has just been fully collected in four trade paperback volumes by DC/Vertigo. It's as close to an exercise in "open source religion" as I could imagine.
I've talked a lot about it in interviews online. But what I didn't explain before is that I meant the series to model both an approach to religion and money. As many have explained in the comments sections of my economy posts over the past couple of days, money and faith are intertwined. When the US took the US dollar off the gold standard they began printing "In God We Trust" on the bills. Coincidence? (Not that gold has intrinsic value, either. It's scarce, yes, but how truly useful except as a reflection of faith?)
Anyway, the series gave me a way to share a lot of the Torah, history, and myth I had studied to write my book on Judaism, Nothing Sacred, while letting me apply some of that mythology to our current financial and technological challenges. It takes place in a near-future where a rather viral-nano global currency is transacted via rfid tag. Those who refuse to participate in the economy are hunted outlaws. Meanwhile, the characters keep appearing in flashbacks to Torah scenes that amplify the themes. Eventually, they come to understand they're living both stories at once.
Outside the panels, attempting to influence the story, are the 'gods' - whose very existence depends on belief. And the whole saga boils down to who controls the writing of the story.
The question I'm attempting to answer - or at least explore - is whether the Torah's myths invite people to participate in the ongoing creation of the human story, or whether they mean to create the sense that it is in God's control. Or some contract between both?
There's a preview of the whole first issue here.
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Looks very interesting. The book on the Torah sounds good too. I wonder if Mr. Rushkoff is familiar with the writings of Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine who started humanistic Judaism here in the Detroit area.
I like your guest blogging... but I'm a huge comic fan myself and it's great to see you putting stuff like this up.
I'll check it out
"When the US took the US dollar off the gold standard they began printing "In God We Trust" on the bills."
Says who?
p.s. - There is no such thing as god
Testament was one amazing comic. Thank you for writing it. I was a monthly reader. Hated to see it go.
I would imagine that most of the readers of this here site would enjoy the story. I anxiously awaited each book and read it with much joy.
In God We Trust was on all bills by 1966 (and had been on (some) coins since the mid-19th century).
http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.html
We finally abandoned the gold standard in 1971.
re #3 - look at your older bills. I was a coin/bill collector as a kid. When the words on the left were changed from the longer paragraph about money being "redeemable" to the shorter one about it being "legal tender," the words In God We Trust showed up on the back. It did appear on 1935 one-dollar silver notes, but didn't get on the five, ten, and twenty dollar bills until the paragraph change. Whether it's cause and effect is anyone's guess - but I see it as a telling coincidence.
re #1 - Yeah - Rabbi Wine and some of his colleagues took me out to lunch in NYC and invited me to speak at their conference, but I was just too busy at the time. He was quite a character - I don't know if you know he recently died in a car accident in Morocco.
Mr. Rushkoff, yes I was aware of Rabbi Wine's unfortunate passing. If you are interested, Rabbi Wine has recorded lectures available. He was a very good historian and I think I learned a lot from him. Happy New Year, early.
I'm begining to question DR's methods of research.
In the first post, he refered to Da Vinci's Vesuvian Man [sic], stemming from the Rennaisance. It's actually the Vitruvian Man, stemming from the Roman engineer Vitruvius, in the first century BC.
Now he's saying that "IN GOD WE TRUST" was added to US bills because it was taken off of the Gold Standard. In actuallity, it began appearing on coins in the 1880's, and began appearing on paper money in 1957, fourteen years prior to going off of the gold standard.
I'm not going to lie, this took me about 0.5 seconds to verify on the US Tresasury website. Does DR actually do research? It seems like he's reaching for some kind of 'magic bullet' conspiracy theory. (I feel like he's a *huge* Oliver Stone fan.)
All skepticism aside, I have enjoyed the posts and it's a very interesting perspective on things.
I thought for sure this was going to be a post about being a thrash-metal snob.
"The question I'm attempting to answer - or at least explore - is whether the Torah's myths invite people to participate in the ongoing creation of the human story, or whether they mean to create the sense that it is in God's control. Or some contract between both?"
Both/and, I think. God creates, but humanity is sub-creative, always invited and intended to participate in God's dream for creation. The Law and Prophets tell the story of what that looks like.
Call and response, as they say....
#9- Me too!
Don't you know, Rushkoff, that we frown on personal plugs here? 'We' being relative, of course. Just kidding. -Winkwinknudgenudge-
I like reading you, Rushkoff. I guess I need to add your blog to my RSS now. Damn you guest bloggers and your further effect on my productivity.
s thr ny wy t fltr t psts by prtclr pstrs? hv n ntrst n rdng Rshkff's nn blthrng.
I was going to type up a whole bunch of thoughts about Testament here, but it all came down to exactly what Cocasio @4 said, so:
Me too.
Although I carelessly lent all my Testament trades to a minister friend of mine, so I haven't got even the first one back yet...
Yr gst blggng wld hv bn s mch bttr wtht slf-prmtn. Gv t rst.
The story of Isaac and Abraham seems like the ultimate "God is in control," myth. The way it is juxtaposed with the draft letter is absolutely terrifying.
I guess you could take comfort in the idea that God has a plan or maybe even that the government has a plan. Where was I reading about John McCain being like a paternal figure in whom we could (so the myth goes) safely place our blind trust?
Thanks Doug for delving into all these juicy topics... let's see, politics, religion, money, the nature of reality. What does that leave? Gender? Nah... WAY too loaded.
Just having a browse through that first issue now (having seen it on shelves around the place, but living in backwards old Australia where the rigmarole of getting back issues is irritating enough that I figured I'd wait for the TPB). Interesting stuff, and that lecturer on cultural icons looks *awfully familiar* from somewhere, Doug...
;)=
Testament was incredible... thank you Doug for writing it.
What's wrong with self-promotion? Do you people have any idea how hard it can to get noticed as a writer? Do you have any idea what an accomplishment it is to get in print and stay there? Just shut the frack up and let the writers sell their stuff and be glad you have a filtered source that promotes not only Cory's brilliant work, but stuff he and the other BoingBoing crew feel comfortable promoting. If you don't like that fact of life, why don't you just not come here?
Oh, we're doing writers we want to sleep with because they write so well? You better throw in David Rakoff and Chuck Palahnuik for me while we're at it. Did anybody read his latest novel, Snuff? (It's about porn.) I'm not saying he is the greatest writer, but I sure wouldn't mind putting a few back with him. Beers, that is. Hoppy fragrant beers. God, its not even nooon.
Self-promotion's about the only game in town.
Doug - great to hear that TESTAMENT is fully collected. Honestly, it'll read better in trades than the monthly books ever did. Just need to convince the readers of that...