Posted in: Comics | Tagged: ahoy, dc, Mark Russell, second coming, vertigo

Ahoy Comics to Publish Controversial Jesus Comic, Second Coming

Published Tue, 12 Mar 2019 14:30:36 -0500

Last updated Tue, 12 Mar 2019 14:31:50 -0500

Ahoy Comics has picked up Second Coming, the controversial comic by Mark Russell and Richard Pace that was originally set to be published by Vertigo until DC Comics, under assault from conservative religious groups, trying to find their way under a new corporate organization, and still suffering from the effects of showing Batman's naked penis in Batman: Damned #1, bowed to pressure and allowed Russell and Pace to take the comic elsewhere. That elsewhere ended up being Ahoy, a new publisher that came onto the scene last Summer.

The New York Times reported the news, showing that a little religious controversy could lead to the most publicity a comic book has received from the mainstream media in years. Of course, that comes on the heels of coverage of the comic by Fox News, who mined a Bleeding Cool interview for salacious quotes sure to get the knickers of Jesusbronies (a colloquial term for hardcore fans of Jesus Christ) in a bunch, such as this one:

The conceit is that God was so upset with Jesus' performance the first time he came to Earth since he was arrested so soon and crucified shortly after, that he has kept him locked-up since then. God then sees this superhero on Earth a few thousand years later and says, 'that's what I wanted for you!'

According to the Times, Ahoy's publication of the comic means they can use nudity and foul language again, which would have been censored by Vertigo. With dollar signs in his eyes, Ahoy publisher Tom Peyer said, "I don't think a comic book is anything to get that upset about. I just think it's a really good story that people have a right to read."